63, Lot: 47. Estimate $300. Sold for $180. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

Q. Antonius Balbus. 83-82 BC. AR Serrate Denarius (19mm, 3.78 gm). Laureate head of Jupiter right; S C behind, M • before / Victory in quadriga right, holding wreath and palm. Crawford 364/1d; Sydenham 742b; Antonia 1. Toned, choice EF.

Q. Antonius Balbus was a member of the Marian party. In 82 BC, he was appointed praetor of Sardinia. Before he left for Sardinia, the Senate, dominated by members of the Marian party, ordered him to mint this issue to pay the army preparing to resist Sulla's return. The reverse reflects Balbus' expectation of victory and consequent peace. But Sulla was victorius, and in 82, L. Philippus, a partisan of Sulla, removed Balbus from his position and had him slain.