My win from the recent Heritage signature sale finally arrived yesterday. Some of you have already had a sneak at it. The obverse here is truly a masterpiece of Roman Republican engraving. We know almost nothing about the moneyer apart from his coins. David Sear notes that this is one of the two rare 'types honoring Minerva and Hercules and allude to the forthcoming struggle with the Republican forces led by Brutus and Cassius. The goddess of war, the consort of Jupiter, and the legendary hero are invoked as powerful allies of the Triumvirs in their quest to avenge the murder of Caesar'. This type almost always comes badly struck or very worn. This is an extremely rare exception and probably among the finest specimens known with this almost perfect strike and very little wear. C. Vibius Varus. 42 BC. AR Denarius (19mm, 3.67 g, 11h). Rome mint. Obverse: Laureate and bearded head of Hercules right. Reverse: Minerva, helmeted and draped, standing right, holding spear in right hand and Victory in extended left; shield at side, C • VIBIVS downward to right, VARVS downward to left. Reference: Crawford 494/37 It was accompanied with a little box for storing the coin. Andrew McCabe recently received a coin with a similar box and managed to track the producer down (there is a separate thread on this forum concerning these). A certain businessman and collector named Thomas James Clarke who lived between 1875-1952. He had them made to house his coins and also produced them for other collectors. So my coin most likely has an early-mid 20th century pedigree hiding somewhere. Hopefully I'll find it someday.
This is a wonderful coin in so many ways! I would feel lucky to have even one of the worn and misstruck examples. Mention was made of it being one of two rare types (the other having Minerva on the obverse and Hercules on the reverse) but we might point out that there is a series of paired designs of which the only one we see with any frequency is the Bacchus and panther springing on an altar. If I specialized in Republicans, I would feel pressured to find them all. However, there is one that I found really special in an old CNG sale. Notice it brought $475 on an estimate of $75. 340, Lot: 588. Estimate $75. Sold for $475. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee. C. Vibius Varus. 42 BC. AR “Denarius” (17mm, 3.30 g, 6h). Forgery by Carl Wilhelm Becker, 1772-1830. ΙΟΥΛΙΑΝ ΑΦΠΟΔ ΔΙΤΗΝ, wreathed head of the Julian Aphrodite right / C · VIBIVS VARVS, Venus standing left, back facing; column to right. Hill 146; Gorny & Mosch 204, lot 2930. Near EF, toned. Ex Archer M. Huntington Collection, ANS 1001.1.24818. The inscription on the obverse is borrowed from a bronze coin of Pergamum with the busts of Julia and Livia. Odd? Perhaps CNG held it being a Becker 'forgery' against the coin more than did the bidding public??? They have also sold these much more cheaply in white metal made from Becker dies after his death. This shows at least the bidding public shows some taste in items illustrating the history of numismatic forgery. When I see a coin that is new to me, I like to search for a little background on the item just to learn something. I encourage those here who might find this coin more than just another gem condition bauble but who might not have known the type to do the same. One place to start would be: https://www.cngcoins.com/Search.asp...R_TYPE_ID_2=1&SEARCH_IN_CONTAINER_TYPE_ID_4=1
