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Crawford 447/1, ROMAN IMPERATORIAL, Pompey the Great, AR Denarius
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Rome, The Republic.
Pompey the Great & M. Terentius Varro, 49-48 BCE.
AR Denarius (3.77g; 18mm; 2h).
Mint travelling with Pompey in Greece.
Obverse: VARRO·PRO·Q; Diademed, terminal bust of Jupiter, facing right.
Reverse: Scepter flanked by dolphin and eagle; MAGN·PRO|COS in exergue.
References: Crawford 447/1a; HCRI 8; Sydenham 1033; BMCRR Spain 64; Pompeia 7; Terentia 15.
Provenance: Ex Schulman Vault Collection [Schulman Jubilee Auction 365 (22 Oct 2020), Lot 1510]; from a collection formed in 1950s-80s.
In 49 BCE, when Caesar crossed the Rubicon into Italy with his legions, Pompey was forced to flee to Greece to raise an army (his legions at the time were in Spain). This is the last coin type produced for Pompey before the decisive battle of Pharsalus in 48 BCE. Caesar’s victory in that battle would cement Caesar’s prominence in the Roman world and prompt Pompey’s flight to Egypt, where Pompey was immediately murdered by agents of the Ptolemaic royals.
This coin refers to Pompey’s imperium throughout the Roman world and his military prowess on both land and sea. Terminus was the Roman god of boundaries and boundary markers, and terminal busts were typically used as boundary markers in ancient Greece and Rome. In this case, the terminal bust alludes to the borders of the Roman empire over which Pompey had Senate-granted authority. The reverse suggests Pompey’s military successes on sea and land against Mediterranean pirates and Mithridates.
The coin was produced by M. Terentius Varro as Proquaestor. He was not likely the author of the same name, but perhaps his son or grandson.
This type is now generally assigned to a military mint with Pompey in Greece. However, numismatists previously thought it was an earlier issue by a Spanish mint, and it is worth noting the similarity of flan fabric to other Spanish issues – particularly the way flans were chisel-cut, which is particularly visible on the reverse of this specimen at 10h, 11h and 2h. For Spanish issues with similar flan fabric, see Crawford 469/1 (Spain); Crawford 532/1 (Spain). In addition, Crawford 519/2 (uncertain Eastern mint) often shows similar fabric.
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