Featured OTD: Pompey the great gets that magnificent hair of his cut on the shores of Egypt

One of the greatest generals in Roman history, many say greatest general until Caesar came along (though Marius will always be my fav) Pompey the great, killed on the orders of a boy Pharaoh, in front of his family, while seeking asylum in Egypt.

Of course everyone knows the story of Julius crying looking at his ex son in law/rival/triumvir's head. After the hard fought battles between Pompey and Caesar could Julius have let "the great one" live?
With Caesar's history of forgiveness I believe he was planning on keeping the wanna be Alexander the great around.
But how different would Roman history be if Pompey had lived and gone back to Rome with JC?

(Caesar contemplating the head of Pompey)

My other question is around the "indecisiveness" Pompey exhibited in his war with Caesar. This wasn't Pompey's first rodeo. He had been leading armies to spectacular victories for years. And what, due to him growing long in the tooth doing lots of baby making with Caesar's daughter (whom died in child birth), he can't decide what direction his larger army should take in a pinch? When Pompey was defeated at the the battle of Pharsalus in 48 BC it paved the way for another all time great Caesar quote, "My enemies would have won today if they were not led by a loser." Ouch! Burn.



For a bit more on the man here is a snip it from wiki on his rise:
Gnaeus Pompey Magnus (Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus)[2] (Classical Latin: [ˈgnae̯.ʊs pɔmˈpɛj.jʊs ˈmaŋ.nʊs]; 29 September 106 BC – 28 September 48 BC),[1] usually known in English as Pompey /ˈpɒmpiː/ or Pompey the Great,[3]was a military and political leader of the late Roman Republic. He came from a wealthy Italian provincial background, and his father had been the first to establish the family among the Roman nobility. Pompey's immense success as a general while still very young enabled him to advance directly to his first consulship without meeting the normal requirements for office. His success as a military commander in Sulla's second civil warresulted in Sulla bestowing the cognomenMagnus, "the Great", upon him. His Roman adversaries insulted him as adulescentulus carnifex, "the teenage butcher", after his Sicilian campaign.[4] He was consul three times (twice with Crassus and once a consul without a partner) and celebrated three triumphs.

Pompey facing left his son Sextus (the man was clearly sex obsessed) facing right, this Janiform is my first and only, so far, featuring the likes of the great man


Sextus Pompey
Ӕ As. Spain or Sicily, 45 BC. Laureate head of Janus, with the features of Cn. Pompeius Magnus; [MGN] above / Prow right; [PIVS] above, IMP below. Crawford 479/1; CPP I 671. 19.23g, 28mm,

Fine.
Ex-Savoca


Julius Caesar
P. Sepullius Macer - Venus Denarius,lifetime issue Feb-March 44 BC. Moneyer P. Sepullius Macer. Obv: CAESAR DICT PERPETVO legend with laureate and veiled head of Gaius Julius Caesar right. Rev: P SEPVLLIVS MACER legend with Venus standing left, holding Victory in right hand, and sceptre set on shield in left. 20mm, 3.18 grams. Crawford 480/13; Sydenham 1074; RSC 39; Sear 1414. Fine. Scarce. Ex-Savoca

Please post coins and stories to help me celebrate the life of a man who did so much so young that if he didn't lose to Caesar he might've been stabbed to death in the forum underneath a statue of Julius Caesar!

 

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Super writeup, @Ryro ! Great captures...Those Pompey asses are aleays hard to get in better conditions. And your Caesar Dict Perpetuo Lifetime is a really cool one to have. CONGRATS!

POMPEY


RImp Pompey 42-38 BC AE As Janus Prow Magnus S 1394 Cr 479-1


Pompey's Signet Ring (Trophies of Battles won on 3 Continents)

RR Faustus Cornelius Sulla 56 BCE AR Den Venus Signet Pompey S 386 Cr426-3

 

Here are a few from my collection with portraits of Pompey Magnus


Sextus Pompeius. Denarius, Sicily 37-36, AR (3.89g, 19.5mm, 3h).MAG·PIVS·IMP·ITER Head of Cn. Pompeius Magnus r.; behind jug and before, lituus. Rev. PRÆF Neptune standing l., foot on prow, between the brothers Anapias and Amphinomus, with their parents on their shoulders; in exergue, CLAS·E.T·ORÆ / MARIT·EX·S·C. Babelon Pompeia 27. C 17. Sydenham 1344. Sear Imperators 334. Woytek, Arma et Nummi p. 558. RBW 1785. Crawford 511/3a.

Provenance:

• Sternberg November 29-30, 1974 Lot 6;
• Sothebys February 19th, 1969 Lot 2 (200 GBP sold to Spink);
• Ars Classica Auction XIII June 27-29, 1928 Lot 982

Cnaeus Pompey Junior and M. Minatius Sabinus. Denarius, Spain 46-45, AR (3.79g, 19.0mm, 3h). IMP (downwards) – CN MAGNVS (Upwards) Head of Cn. Pompeius Magnus r. Rev. PR·Q at l. Pompeian soldier leaning on spear with r. hand between the personification of two Spanish cities, the one on the l. wearing a short tunic with parazonium and turreted crown, holding caduceus with fillet and offering branch to Pompeian soldier; the one on the r., wearing stola and turreted crown, holding trophy over shoulder, crowns soldier with r. hand. In exergue, M·MINAT / SABI. Babelon Minatia 5 var and Pompeia 14 var. Sydenham 1038a. T. V. Buttrey, ANSMN IX, 1960, Reverse type C, example Syd 1038a 2.2 (this coin ex Hamburger & Ratto) and pl. VII, obv. 2, rev. g. Sear Imperators 50. Crawford 470/1c. Banti & Simonetti Vol. 1, Cnaevs Pompeivs Magnvs 36, p. 36 (this coin ex Hess-Leu March 1961).

Provenance:

• Adolph Hess & Bank Leu Auction 17 Sammlung E.S.R. (Erich Von Schulthess-Rechberg) March 23, 1961 Lot 7;
• Leo Hamburger Auction 95, May 10, 1932 Lot 310;
• Rodolfo Ratto Auction January 23, 1924 (Dr. Bonazzi) Lot 1268

Sextus Pompeius and Q. Nasidius. AR Denarius, mint moving with Sextus Pompey in Sicily in 44-43 or 42-38, (3.83g, 19mm, 8h). NEPTVNI Bare head of Cn. Pompeius Magnus r.; before, trident and below, dolphin. Rev. Galley r. with billowing sail and bank of rowers moving; in upper l. field, star. In exergue, NASIDIVS. Babelon Pompeia 28 and Nasidia 1. C 20. Sydenham 1350. Sear Imperators 235. Woytek Arma et Nummi p. 558. RBW 1698. Crawford 483/2.

And here's a few photos I took with my iPhone at the Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek in Copenhagen of probably the finest known bust of Pompey. No question who it is when you compare the coins. Quite a museum if you're ever in the area.

 

SEXTUS POMPEY; GENS POMPEIA
AE As
OBVERSE: MAGN above laureate janiform head with features of Pompey the Great
REVERSE: PIVS above, IMP below, prow of galley right
Sicilian 43-36 BC
22.8g, 31mm
Syd 1044a, Cr479/1, Pompeia 20v, Cohen 16

 

Sextus Pompey Ar Denarius 42-40 B.C. Obv Head of Pompey the Great right Rv. Neptune standing facing left between Catanean brothers CRI 334 Crawford 511/3a 3.80 grms 19 mm

 

Good thread @Ryro!

Amazing Pompeius coins shown here, beautiful! Here is my humble specimen. Even though it is quite worn, i like that one can still see his typical 'hair crest'(?):

 

Excellent writeup! A humble example here as well, but one that I was very pleased to score because the bust of Pompey is fairly strong despite the wear, and it has all the figures on the reverse on-flan.


ROMAN IMPERATORS, Sextus Pompey
AR Denarius. 3.35g, 18.6mm. Sicilian mint, circa 42-40 BC. Crawford 511/3a; RSC 17. O: MAG PIVS IMP ITER, head of Pompey the Great between jug (capis) left [and lituus right]. R: PRAEF CLAS ET ORAE / MARIT EX S C, Neptune, nude but for chlamys in the back, standing left, right foot set on prow of ship; he holds aplustre in his outstretched right hand; Anapias and Amphinomus (the Catanaean brothers) flanking him, bearing their parents on their shoulders.

 

Great thread and writeup, with beautiful coins shown all around


Sextus Pompey, As - Sicily c.43-36 BC
Head of Janus with features of Pompey the Great, MAGN above
Prow of galley right, PIVS IMP in field
16.57 gr
Ref : HCRI # 336, RCV #1394, Cohen #16



Sextus Pompeius and Q. Nasidius, Denarius
Mint moving with Sextus Pompeius, Sicily, 42-39 BC
NEPTVNI, head of Pompey the great right, trident before head, dolphin below
Q.NASIDIVS at exergue, galley sailing right, star in upper field
3.92 gr
Ref : HCRI # 235, RCV # 1390, Crawford # 483/2, Sydenham # 1350, Cohen # 20
Ex Freeman & Sear, Ex Barry Feirstein collection (NAC auction # 42/279)
Ex Roma Numismatics

Q

 

I remember reading Lucan’s DE BELLO CIVILI / PHARSALIA for the first time because it treated in epic fashion the clash between Pompey and Caesar. I didn’t know that Lucan had been ordered to commit suicide by Nero before he finished it. So when I got to the end of the book and it just stopped, boy was I p*ssed. Anyway, if you want to see how the Romans were thinking about that Civil War just a century after, it makes a good read. Just don’t expect a big pay off.

 

Cool! Thanks @lordmarcovan. I've removed the previous image and posted a wiki gallery image. The other images are from Wikipedia.
As well, happy birthday Pompey! That's right, killed the day before his birthday. No cake for the great one.

 

Putting this one on my list for a retake. Still, you can see the characteristic Pompey features.

In her pro-Caesar "Masters of Rome" series, Colleen McCullough says that Pompey only won (and only fought) battles with numerical superiority. So perhaps he wasn't such a great general after all. Which fits pretty well with him calling himself "Magnus."

 

@Limes your coin is a Slavey forgery, die match to the Slavey fake that was in B. P. Murphy´s collection (sold them at vauctions some years ago), he made good pictures of the Slavey fakes he bought from Slavey himslef. Murphy´s homepage ancients,info is dead where he has uploaded the Slavey pictures but some of his pictures has been uploaded to forgerynetwork. I will not upload his picture here but it can be accessed by those without forvm registration. BTW his Slavey collection was of course not complete because Slavey has made several new matrixes since then.

http://forgerynetwork.com/asset.aspx?id=ifZR3oXzKXc=

And another one

http://www.forumancientcoins.com/fakes/displayimage.php?pos=-1650

http://www.forumancientcoins.com/fakes/displayimage.php?pos=-6367



Copyright for Slavey matrixes pictures blongs of course to Slavey ^^

 

Carthago, Your three denarii are magnificent & help beef-up this fascinating article . The denarius posted by Terence Cheesman has a stunning portrait too.

 

Nice post, Scooby!

Great coins, everyone

I have an as from a large group lot. It's not in great condition but it's still worth keeping. Needs a reshoot.


SEXTUS POMPEIUS MAGNUS, son of Pompey the Great
Circa 43-36 BC, Sicilian mint?
AE, 29 mm, 19.8 gm
Obv: Laureate head of Janus with features of Pompeius Magnus
Rev: Prow of galley right; [PIVS above, IMP below]
Ref: Sydenham 1044?

 

Lolli appears correct. The weak strike/excessive wear on the coin makes it difficult to recognize as a Slavey, but it clearly is. Good eye, Lolli.

I'm sorry about your coin, Limes. Hopefully, you bought it from a dealer who will take it back.

 

@Lolli, @Carthago, thanks for your analyses. Darn, i totally missed that one. The wear doesn't suggest its a fake, and when comparing to fakes its difficuly to properly compare the coin with the fakes.
It's a bummer when a coin turns out to be fake. But its better to know it now than not know it at all!

 

@Limes, please don't feel too bad. I wouldn't have personally caught it without @Lolli pointing it and I'd like to think I'm pretty experienced with Imperatorial fakes (including ones I've discovered in my collection!). Most of us have had to deal with a fake from time to time. It happens, but we're better together as we learn.

Always learning!

 

Great thread as usual @Ryro! I own none yet unfortunately, but when the right juicy bronze as shows up I'll be all over it.

Another absolutely necessary item is a pretty piece of patinated Pompeian plumbum!



An inscribed sling bullet used by the forces of Gnaeus Jr against Julius Caesar in Hispania. They are relatively common in the realm of inscribed sling bullets but the demand is understandably high due to their indisputably clear connection with a pivotal moment in history, so I've yet to locate one for a sane price. A definite "must-have" artifact.

Ya know, that coin is actually rather better than it appears. It would benefit greatly from a careful manual cleaning under magnification, especially the reverse which is deeply gunked up with dirt and some crusty copper salts. It clearly has a lot more detail hiding underneath the dirt, which if removed would allow the prow to really "pop" visually. I wouldn't quite call it a diamond in the rough, but it's at least a topaz in the rough!