Denarius, 83-82 BC, Rome mint. Q. Antonius Balbus.

950,00 

 

 

Splendid specimen with cabinet toning

Category:

Description

Roman Republic. Q. Antonius Balbus. Denarius, 83-82 BC, Rome mint.
Obverse: Laureate head of Jupiter right, behind S C.
Reverse: Victory, holding a wreath in her right hand, reins and a palm branch in her left hand, riding a quadriga right, below P, in exergue Q ANTO BALB / PR (ligated).
Dimensions: AR, 3.90 g, 19 mm, 5h.
References: Crawford 364/1d;
Sydenham 742b;
BMCRR Rome 2763.
Condition: Stunning dark cabinet tone, slightly off center, minted from fresh dies. Extremely fine.
Provenance: From a private German Collection,
acquired from an old South German Collection (with collector’s tag).
Comment: The S C on the obverse of the coin is the abbreviation of senatus consulto „by the authority of the Senate“. This means the coin is a special issue, for which the senate had to authorize the silver. Therefore, the metal probably came from the inventory of a Roman temple. Unusually the moneyer Q. Antonius Balbus, followers of Marius, was a Praetor, who was allowed to mint coins to pay the soldiers in Sardinia to resist Sulla. The army was defeated in Sardinia by Sulla’s legate, L. Philippus.

The moneyer
Q. Antonius Balbus – Q. Antonius Balbus was Praetor in Sardinia in 83 BC and follower of Marius.

Additional information

Metal

AR (silver)

Weight

3.90 g

Diameter

19 mm

Die axis

5 h