Commemorating the Defeat of the Allobroges

225, Lot: 312. Estimate $200. Sold for $400. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

M. Furius L.f. Philus. 120 BC. AR Denarius (18mm, 3.89 g, 10h). Rome mint. Laureate head of Janus / Roma standing left, holding spear and crowning trophy of Gallic arms and carnyx; star above. Crawford 281/1; Sydenham 529; Furia 18. EF, small flan flaw on far right of reverse.

One of the few denarii in the Republican series to refer to a contemporary event, this reverse alludes to the defeat of the Allobroges by Q. Fabius Maximus in 120 BC, leading to their subjugation and the annexation of Gallia Narbonensis as a new Roman province.