Marcus Licinius Crassus

Sale: CNG 76, Lot: 1050. Estimate $500.  Closing Date: Wednesday, 12 September 2007.  Sold For $770. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

CRETE, Cnossus. Crassus. Circa 37 BC. Æ 27mm (11.31 g, 12h). Crocodile standing right / Rostrum right; CRAS above. RPC I 914/41; Svoronos, Numismatique 1903. VF, green patina, flan flaw on obverse. Very rare.

From the J.S. Wagner Collection.

The Crassus who issued this coin is almost certainly Marcus Licinius Crassus, the eldest son of Crassus the Triumvir and Caecilia Metella. Early on, he sided with Sextus Pompey, but in 36 BC transferred his loyalty to Antony, who put him in control of Crete and Cyrene. Shortly before Actium, Crassus again switched sides, now jumping into the camp of Octavian, who rewarded him with a consulship in 30 BC.