Sale: Nomos 2, Lot: 154. Estimate CHF1000.  Closing Date: Monday, 17 May 2010.  Sold For CHF1750. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

Julius Caesar. Denarius (Silver, 3.90 g 2), Sicily, perhaps minted in Lilybaion under the proconsul A. Allienus, 47 BC. C.CAESAR IMP.COS.ITER Diademed and draped bust of Venus to right. Rev. A.ALLIENVS PR.COS Trinacrus standing left, with right foot on prow, holding triskeles in his right hand and cloak in his left. Babelon (Alliena) 1 and (Julia) 14. Crawford 457/1. CRI 54. Sydenham 1022. Rare. Good very fine.

In late 47 BC Caesar was on Sicily, preparing for his assault on the Pompeian forces in north Africa. During this period a small issue of denarii was produced in his name by Aulus Allienus, then the proconsul of Sicily. The reverse shows a figure of Trinacrus, supposedly a son of Neptune, who may have been invented to account for the name Trinacria, commonly used for Sicily. The coins of Allienus must have seen considerable circulation: almost all surviving specimens are considerably worn.