Extremely Rare Hybrid

CNG 99, Lot: 562. Estimate $5000. Sold for $9500. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

The Caesarians. Julius Caesar. Late spring-early summer 48 BC. AR Denarius (17mm, 3.94 g, 12h). Military mint traveling with Caesar, probably commencing after the battle of Pharsalus, 9 August 48 BC. Diademed female head (Clementia?) right, wearing oak wreath, cruciform earring, necklace, hair collected into a knot behind, and falling in locks down her neck; LII (= 52 Caesar's age) to left / Trophy of Gallic arms, wearing horned helmet, holding oval shield ornamented with thunderbolt in right hand and carnyx in left; securis to right, CAE SAR across lower field. Crawford 452/4-5/452/2 (for obv./rev. type); CRI 12-13/11 (for obv./rev. type); Sydenham 1010-1/1009 (for obv./rev. type); cf. Kestner 3558-9 (for rev. type); BMCRR Rome 3959-60/3955 (for obv./rev. type); cf. RBW 1581-2 (for obv. type). Near EF, toned. Knot of hair is not jeweled. An extremely rare hybrid denarius, the finest of just four known examples. The rarest of the Julius Caesar denarii.

Ex C.G. Collection of Roman Coins (Numismatica Ars Classica 80, 20 October 2014), lot 48; Sincona 17 (21 May 2014), lot 107.

This coin is an extremely interesting hybrid of Crawford 452/4-5 obverse and 452/2 reverse. As noted in Numismatica Ars Classica 80, 20 October 2014), lot 48, “not only is the style of Crawford 452/4-5 more delicate and refined than the 452/2 (obverse), but more importantly the design of the hair in the chignons [is] completely different. In Crawford 452/4-5 the hair appears to be designed as curls simply tied in a bun, whilst in 452/2 the hair seems to be held covered by a veil; these particular characteristics are only found on obverses of Crawford 452/4 and 5 and never on the ones of 452/2.”