443, Lot: 463. Estimate $100. Sold for $190. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

L. Sulla and L. Manlius Torquatus. 82 BC. AR Denarius (17mm, 3.87 g, 1h). Military mint moving with Sulla. Helmeted head of Roma right / Sulla driving triumphal quadriga right, holding branch and reins; above, Victory flying left, crowning him with laurel wreath. Crawford 367/3; Sydenham 759; Manlia 7-8; Type as RBW –. VF, deeply toned, several scratches on the reverse.

From the Andrew McCabe Collection, purchased from Comptoir des Monnaies.

I have purchased several of the Sulla RRC 367 types, with the intent of closely studying them to see if I could identify the lightly engraved die numbers on the reverse that are mentioned in RRC pp. 386-387 and expanded on by Phillip Davis: “Control marks: Tiny letters, numbers or symbols on Roman Republican denarii offer collectors a brain-teasing challenge” in The Numismatist (Vol. 126, No. 8, August 2013), pp. 65-7. Unfortunately, I found no trace on this coin, but it has an unusually good flying Victory above. Look for these numbers above the horses or before or under the horses’ legs. They were so lightly engraved that they quickly wore off during die use, as indeed was likely the intention. [Andrew McCabe]