Erato: Muse of Erotic Poetry – Possibly the Finest Known – Extremely Rare

Sale: Triton XIII, Lot: 281. Estimate $30000.  Closing Date: Monday, 4 January 2010.  Sold For $35000. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

Q. Pomponius Musa. 56 BC. AR Denarius (3.99 g, 5h). Rome mint. Laureate head of Apollo right, wearing hair rolled back and in loose locks over forehead; flower or rosette before ear; flower on stem behind / Erato, the Muse of Erotic Poetry, standing slightly right, head facing, wearing long flowing tunic and peplum, holding lyre in left hand and with right hand striking it with plectrum; Q • POMPONI to left, MVSA to right. Crawford 410/6; Sydenham 814 (same dies as plate coin); Kestner -; BMCRR Rome 3612 (same dies); CNR Pomponia 21; Pomponia 12 (same dies as plate coin). EF, lightly toned. Perfectly centered and well struck on both sides. Possibly the finest known example of this extremely rare issue.

Of all the Muses in Q. Pomponius Musa's series, Erato, the Muse of Erotic Poetry, is very many times rarer than any other of the Muses. Even the Kestner Museum Hannover does not have a single example in its extensive collection.