Finally, a denarius of Sulla.....

Well, not exactly of Sulla himself since this denarius was struck in 56 BC and Sulla died by 78 BC....and it does have some obvious 'flaws', yet it is mostly honest wear and the reverse (and the coin itself) was simply irresistible for me----especially after getting sniped a few days ago on my 'winning bid' for a denarius of Cassius. To quote the seller GMBH:

"The moneyer of the coin was the son of the Dictator Sulla. The reverse commemorates one of the most important events of his fathers early career---the capture of Jugurtha.

Jugurtha, was a Numidian prince who served in the Roman auxiliary cavalry, but who had come to blows with the Romans. Metellus Numidicus was given command to defeat Jugurtha, but Jugurtha was proving a wily adversary and through several campaigning seasons Numidicus was unable to defeat him. In 109 BC one of his legates, Marius, who disagreed with Numidicus' strategy for prosecuting the war, gained the consulship and command in Numidia. However, Jugurtha was proving just as slippery for Marius as he had for Numidicus, One of Marius' junior officers was Sulla and he managed to capture Jugurtha through a ruse. He invited both Jugurtha and Bocchus, the King of Mauretania and Jugurtha's father-in-law, to a meeting having already convinced Bocchus to betray Jugurtha. When Jugurtha arrived unarmed, his attendants were ambushed. Bocchus immediately handed him over to Sulla."

It further states that Sulla had a signet ring engraved showing the event and the... "reverse of this coin may be a direct copy of that signet ring"

Please post any coin however it may relate to this denarius. I'd love to see a few of Bocchus or Jugurtha, let alone of Sulla himself

AR denarius of Faustus Cornelius Sulla, Rome mint 56 BC
18-19 mm, 3.44 grams; Crawford 426/1
FAVSTVS, Diademed and draped bust of Diana. crescent above, lituus behind.
FELIX Sulla seated left on raised platform between Bocchus left presenting him a wreath, Jugurtha hands bound behind him, both kneeling.

 

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Beautiful coin, love the Diana portrait and cool reverse.

 

That coin has a lot of eye-appeal. Fun subject matter, too!

 

A wonderful type, one I'd like to have!

 

A wonderful coin, wish I had one of this type!!!

 

I simply adore the style on the portrait !

Q

 

No 'however related' posts??

But, thanks everyone for the kind comments !!

 

Ditto to what everyone else said.

L CORNELIUS SULLA & L MALIUS ROMAN REPUBLIC; GENS CORNELIA
AR Denarius
OBVERSE: Helmeted head of Roma right, L MANLI PROQ
REVERSE: Triumphator in quadriga right, crowned by Victory, L SVLLA IMP in ex.
Rome 82 BC
3.9g, 17mm
Cr367/5; Cornelia39

 

Love that 'life-time' denarius Bing!!!

 

Me have one @Mikey Zee !

Roman Republic
AR Denarius
Moneyer: Faustus Cornelius Sulla (Son of Imperator Sulla)
56BCE
Obv: Laureate, diademed, and draped bust of Venus r., scepter over shoulder, S C behind.
Rev: Three trophies between jug and lituus, monogram of FAVSTVS in ex.
Ref: Sear 386; Crawford 426/3
Comments: The three trophies were engraved on the signet ring of Pompey the Great symbolizing his victories on three continents... A little off-centered, but devices seem intact. Picked up at Charlotte Coin Show...

 

Felix = Lucky

Nice coins guys. Here's mine.

 

As in Felix the Cat?

 

Yep! That's where they got it from with his 9 lives just as Sulla seemed to as well.

 

Nice!

 

Awesome Sulla coins!
I only have one, but would like more varieties. Sulla was an amazing! Wrote his own epitaph, "no better friend, no worse enemy". I think he nailed it.

 

Ya that makes sense, through sulla the name Felix got associated to luck.

Being lucky in Rome was equivalent of favored by gods,like "godly", maybe a little different from "Oh lucky that one missed me".
Sulla seemed to always have the upper hand, was he ever in dire situation?

 

Mikey, super coin and type! I've had his on my want list for some time now.

 

WOW !!! Wonderful posts guys!!!

And @Carthago's example is just off the charts!!!

Decades ago I read a historical novel regarding Sulla and Marius etc but I can't recall the title or author....It seemed to be historically accurate and 'filled in the blanks' about those times. It mentioned the profligate life-style Sulla had as a youth (and young man) and that may be the only time when luck or the Gods seemed to be against him---yet he survived it and became the man we all most familiar with....

 

Faustus Cornelius Sulla.I wrote about this guy in The Numismatist a year or two ago; I'll look for a pdf.

 

Couple more: