The Roman Republic
Q. Pompeius Rufus. Denarius 54, AR 4.13 g. Q POM·RV[FI] – RVFVS·C[OS] Bare head of Q. Pompeius Rufus r. Rev. SVLLA·COS Bare head of Sulla r. Babelon Cornelia 48 and Pompeia 4. Sydenham 908. RBW 1544. Crawford 434/1.
Rare. Two wonderful portraits of fine style struck on excellent metal.
Light iridescent tone and good extremely fine Ex M&M 28, 1964, 226 and Gorny & Mosch 180, 2009, 310 sales.

One of the best portraits of Sulla that I have seen. We often think that the Roman imperatorial period started when Pompey and Julius Caesar confronted each other. The dramatic change in Roman coinage bears this out, but in reality the seeds for change in the empire started much earlier when the Roman generals Sulla and Marius battled for supremacy. When offered this coin I thought it was an ideal starting place for my collection. Not only is the coin historically important but the portrait is superb. Regardless of whether this coin fits into a republican collection or, like here, forms the beginning of an imperatorial collection, it is a great coin to own. MSG.