Crawford 309/1

Moneyer:  A. Manlius Q.f. Sergianus, 118-107 BC. 

Denomination: Denarius

Obverse:  ROMA SER Head of Roma to right, wearing helmet with plumes and pendant earring. 

Reverse:  A•(MANL)I•Q•F Sol standing in a facing quadriga over waves, head to right; to upper left, X above star; to upper right, crescent above star. 

Reference: Crawford 309/1

Mint: Rome

Weight: 

Notes:  Very Rare and among the finest 3 specimens to have appeared on the market in the last 25 years, well struck on a broad flan with complete designs.

This bold and innovative reverse design uses the device of Helios /Sol in quadriga as an allusion to the East to recall the memory of the moneyer's ancestor Cn. Manlius Vulso who led a victorious campaign against the Galatians in Asia Minor, concluded a treaty with Antiochos III of the Seleucid Empire, and returned to Rome laden with treasure. Manlius' campaign was apparently widely regarded in the Senate as a wanton expedition for the gaining of plunder, and Florus reports that his request for a triumph was rejected, though Livy, who is greatly critical of Manlius' actions, nonetheless describes a triumphal procession in elaborate detail, including its captives, wagonloads of booty and even the celebratory songs of the soldiery.

This is the first depiction of Sol/Helios in a central quadriga above clouds in the Roman coinage! Save for a few limited provinsional emissions this design will not reapper in the Roman coinage for another almost 400 years until Probus who used this design abundandtly in his coinage.     

Collection : 16 Roman Republic