a silver coin with a skull and a sword on it
MDC Monnaies de Collection

Estimate €400
Sale commission
Description
ROMAN REPUBLIC Cn. Domitius Calvinus. Denarius ND (39 BC), Osca (Huesca). Obverse: OSCA. Head facing right, with a flowered beard, wearing a pearl necklace. Reverse: DOM COS ITER IMP. Simpulum, aspersory, sacrificial axe and flamen’s cap. RRC.532/1 - Syd.1358; Silver – 3.87 g – 18 mm – 2 h From a CGF VII auction, 1999, lot 58. A very slight hallmark mark in front of the nose (a countermark by a dealer?). Showing even wear, with a light grey patina with golden highlights. Very Good to Superb. Cnæus Domitius Calvinus was appointed governor of Spain by Octavian following the surrender of the province by Sextus Pompey, son of Pompey the Great. The province was plunged into chaos following years of civil war and the reign of Sextus, who ruled like a brigand. The stern Calvinus, formerly Caesar’s equerry, pacified the province by quelling the revolts, having previously subjected a detachment of legionaries to the ancient punishment of decimation (the execution of one in ten men) for cowardice in the face of the enemy. The minting of these denarii, probably in Osca itself, marks the restoration of Roman order in Spain and the resumption of the flow of Spanish silver to the Roman treasury.
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About the sale Numismatics
Auction location
Auction time 10/13/2026 at 1:00 PM
Pictures credits: Contact the Auction House
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