Sale: CNG 75, Lot: 949. Estimate $300.  Closing Date: Wednesday, 23 May 2007.  Sold For $400. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

Octavian. 41 BC. AR Denarius (3.97 g, 6h). Military mint traveling with Octavian in Italy. L. Cornelius Balbus, Legate. Bare head right / Club left. Crawford 518/1; Sear CRI 298; Sydenham 1325a; RSC 417. Good Fine, light gray toning, faint hairlines on upper reverse. Rare.

Lucius Cornelius Balbus was from Gades, modern Cadiz, in Spain. Following the assassination of Julius Caesar, he supported Octavian and as a result was rewarded with the consulship in 40 BC, the first foreign-born citizen to hold this position. The club of Hercules on the reverse makes reference to Gades, his birthplace.