Numismatica Ars Classica Zurich

Auction 86  –  8 October 2015

Numismatica Ars Classica Zurich, Auction 86

The Gasvoda Collection - Part I; Coins of the Imperatorial Period and the Twe...

Th, 08.10.2015, from 11:00 AM CEST
The auction is closed.

Description

Imperatorial Issues
Sextus Pompeius and Q. Nasidius. Denarius, mint moving with Sextus Pompey in Sicily in 44-43 or 42-38, AR 3.80 g. NEPTVNI Bare head of Cn. Pompeius Magnus l.; before, trident and below, dolphin. Rev. Four galleys without sails about to engage in combat, two moving r., two moving l.; below, Q.NASIDIVS. Babelon Pompeia 30 and Nasidia 21. C 21. Sydenham 1351. Sear Imperators 236. Woytek Arma et Nummi pl. 11, 282. RBW –. Crawford 483/1.
Of the highest rarity, only the sixth specimen known and the only one in private hands.
Among the rarest issues of the whole Republican series and missing in all
private collections. A bold portrait struck on a very large flan, slightly
off-centre on reverse, otherwise about extremely fine Ex NAC sale 59, 2011, 839.

It is rare that someone has called me personally after a sale to comment on a coin I had purchased. This was one of those times. Rick Witschonke called one day and simply said ”I heard you got the NASIDIVS. Great coin! I’m very happy for you”. Rick’s great republican collection never had one of these - it is a great rarity in the series. I have never seen another. There are perhaps a half dozen or so coins in this series that separate a really good collection from a great collection. This is certainly one of those pieces. MSG.

This denarius of Sextus Pompey is an extremely rare adjunct to a relatively large issue of Q. Nasidius that has on its reverse a single galley rather than the collection of vessels shown here in the midst of battle. Identifying the mint and vintage of the issues of Q. Nasidius has been a topic of debate among scholars.

The refined style suggests that they were struck somewhere other than Spain if the crudely rendered Spanish-mint denarii of the Pompeians are taken into account. Sydenham and Grueber both suggested Sicily, Crawford considers them struck at a moving mint with Sextus Pompey while en route to Sicily, and Sear has suggested Massalia.

Opinions on dating are likewise varied, with 38-36 B.C. offered by Sydenham and Grueber, and 44-43 favoured by Crawford and Sear. An early date does seem preferable since the coinage does not bear the lofty title ‘Commander-in-chief of the Fleet and of the Sea Coasts’ that he received from the senate in April of 43 B.C.

Nasidius had long been loyal to the Pompeians. In 49 B.C. he attempted to break the siege of Massalia by Julius Caesar’s legate Decimus Brutus. Afterward he held a command in the Pompeian fleet in North Africa and then joined the forces that Pompey Junior had assembled in Spain after the Battle of Thapsus. Clearly, as these coins show, he sailed with Sextus Pompey afterward, only to eventually join Marc Antony as an admiral in his eastern fleet. He participated in the disaster at Actium, after which nothing further is known of his life or career.

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Price realized 290'000 CHF
Starting price 64'000 CHF
Estimate 80'000 CHF
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