With this post, I return to the Roman Republic, and a coin from Lucius Cornelius Sulla. This denarius is from Sulla's dictatorship, 82 BC to 79 BC. Crawford adds a possibility that this coin may have been issued in celebration of the restoration of the republic when Sulla abdicated the dictatorship, or this coin may have been minted earlier as Sulla terrorized Rome and murdered those whom he considered enemies through proscriptions. Q. Fabius Maximus, Sullan Restoration Issue, AR Denarius (17mm, 4.00 g), struck circa 82-80 BC Obv: ROMA Q MAX, laureate head of Apollo right; lyre before Rev: Cornucopiae upon thunderbolt; all within wreath Ref: Crawford 371/1; Sydenham 718; Fabia 6 Notes: more on this coin and other coins connected to transitions between authoritarian and republican government Governments of Men and Laws Three coins were issued from 80-82 BC - Crawford 369, 370 and 371 - are re-issues, or restorations, of moneyers' types from 127 BC (Crawford 263, 264 and 265). The moneyers were ancestors of Sulla’s supporters, with Crawford expressing some uncertainty about whether Q. Fabius Maximus was included to complete the threesome or because he was also an important supporter. Q. Fabius Maximus, 127 BC, AR Denarius (17mm, 3.93g), Rome mint. Obv: ROMA Q MAX, helmeted head of Roma right, with star on flap; mark of value below chin Rev: Cornucopia over thunderbolt; all within wreath Ref: Crawford 265/1; Sydenham 478; Fabia 5; RBW 1073 Appian describes Sulla's restoration of the republic. "The next year the people, in order to pay court to Sulla, chose him consul again, but he refused the office and nominated Servilius Isauricus and Claudius Pulcher, and voluntarily laid down the supreme power, although nobody interfered with him. This act seems wonderful to me — that Sulla should have been the first, and till then the only one, to abdicate such vast power without compulsion, not to sons (like Ptolemy in Egypt, or Ariobarzanes in Cappadocia, or Seleucus in Syria), but to the very people over whom he had tyrannized. Almost incredible is it that after incurring so many dangers in forcing his way to this power he should have laid it down of his own free will after he had acquired it." -Appian, Civil Wars, 103.1 This end does seem quite surprising, and there are other theories for why Sulla might have stepped down, ranging from "his work was done" to "illness". A short paper by Ian Worthington suggests that his supporters pushed him into retirement : Worthington, I. (1992). Coinage and Sulla's Retirement. Rheinisches Museum Für Philologie, 135(2), 188-191. Post restoration issues, coins from the Sullan Civil Wars, or anything else you find interesting or entertaining.
Excellent, @Sulla80 ! I agree, I always thought it very cool he RETIRED. Personally, I feel he "knew" his time was near. 82 BCE RR Manlius Torquatus L. Corn Sulla 82 BCE AR den 17mm 3.7g Mil mint w Sulla. Roma - Sulla triumpl quadriga vict wreath Cr 367-3 Syd 759 S 286 81 BCE RR Annius Luscus Hispaniensis 82-81 BCE AR Den Fem scales caduceus Quadriga Q Sertorius S 289 Cr 366-1 Here is a denarius from 80 BCE, last year at work... RR C POBLICIUS Q f 80 BCE AR Denarius serratus 3.94g Rome Flan wgt control gouge Hercules strnglng Nemean lion club quiver Cr 380-1 Syd 768 Here is one from 79 BCE while he was retired... (And, it's a friggin TRIGA!) RR Naevius Balbus 79 BCE AR Den Venus SC TRIGA Sulla S 309 Cr 382-1 78 BCE, the year he passed... RR M Volteius Mf AR Denarius 78 BCE 18mm 3.96g Hd Hercules R lion skin headdress - Erymanthian boar Cr 385-2 ex SteveX6
..i have several coins from that era...but no Sulla coins yet.. but that is one of me goals set a lone time ago...very nice!
It's nice when the coin says SVLLA: 84-83 BC. L. SVLLA, IMPER ITERVM (Imperator for the second time) with two trophies and jug and lituus Crawford 359/2. Sear I 276. The obverse has the head of Venus and a cupid holding a palm brach vertically. Venus was Sulla's chosen protectress (Sutherland, Roman Coins, p. 79).
Was Diocletian inspired by Sulla's example ? Q. Fabius Maximus AR Denarius. Restoration issue under Sulla. Rome, 82-80 BC. Laureate head of Apollo right; Q•MAX below, ROMA behind, lyre and monogram before / Cornucopiae over thunderbolt, all within wreath. Crawford 371/1; RSC Fabia 6. 3.93g, 17mm, 10h. Ex Andrew McCabe Collection
A very desirable type – I'm actively looking for an example of my own. Here are some denarii from Sulla's reign: Roman Republic, imperatorial issue of Q. Caecilius Metellus Pius, AR denarius, 81 BC, Northern Italian mint. Obv: diademed head of Pietas r.; to r., stork standing r. Rev: Q C M P I; elephant standing l., wearing bell around neck. 17mm, 3.55g. Ref: RRC 374/1. Ex JB collection; ex AMCC 2, lot 105. Roman Republic, imperatorial issue of Q. Caecilius Metellus Pius, AR denarius, 81 BC, Northern Italian mint. Obv: diademed head of Pietas r.; to r., stork standing r. Rev: IMPER; jug and lituus; in laurel wreath. Ref: RRC 374/2. 19mm, 3.90g. Ex Artemide, e-auction 12, lot 271. Roman Republic, moneyer: C. Marius C. f. Capito, AR denarius serratus, 81 BC, Rome mint. Obv: CAPIT; head of Ceres, diademed, r., control number CV; control mark (whip?) before. Rev: C. MARI. C. F. / S. C; ploughman with two oxen l.; above, control number CV. 18mm, 3.88g. Ref: RRC 378/1c. Ex Numismatik Naumann, Auktion 49, lot 518. Roman Republic, moneyer C. Naevius Balbus, denarius serratus, 79 BC. Obv: diademed head of Venus right, SC behind. Rev: Victory in triga right, C NAE BALB in exergue; above, CLXXXX. Ref: Crawford 382/1b. Ex Artemide, e-Live Auktion 10, lot 256.
NOT MINE. Just after the treaty of Dardanus (85 BC) with Archelaus and then Eupator, Sulla was inducted into the Elysian mysteries . Some think this rare Pseudo-Athenian NewStyle came around this time and the 2 trophy's referred to his 2 crucial victories over Mithradates on the Greek mainland-one of the victory monuments still exists as ruins. I feel the Roman Sulla copy is a copy referring to these 2 victories not any battles against fellow Romans when he came back to assert his claim.
Thanks, all, for the gallery of Sullan examples! @Ryro - now that you have an L. Philippus as your avatar, are you turning Roman republican? For me it does seem easy to imagine that health was at least a contributing factor. His wife Caecilia Metella died ~80 BC too. And then there is Plutarch's story of Valeria and his descriptions of disease ridden Sulla, which do get colorful. With a NewStyle already on my wish list - now a rare Pseudo-Athenian must be added Yours is a nice example of this issue that is rarely beautiful in my view. But is does have "L SVLLA" on the obverse... and here are the other two 127 BC coins that were "restored", I don't have the 82-80 BC versions. Crawford 263 (M. Caecilius Q.f. Q.n. Metellus) Crawford 264 (C. Servilius Vatia) a nice ex Andrew McCabe denarius, and I suspect that Diocletian would not have invited comparison to Sulla - but, I stray from anything knowable.
I've always enjoyed Roman Republic coins more than any other Roman era. Get outta town. My first Roman coin is this fouree gift from my dad: And one of my favorite, and longest lasting, avatars was the Gracchi bros:
