Sale: CNG 67, Lot: 1214. Estimate $1500.  Closing Date: Wednesday, 22 September 2004.  Sold For $1430. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

SEXTUS POMPEY, son of Pompey the Great. 44-43 BC. AR Denarius (3.46 gm). Massilia (Marseilles) mint. Q. Nasidius, commander of the fleet. Bare head of Pompey the Great right; dolphin right below; trident before / Ornate galley advancing right with bank of rowers and under full sail; six-rayed star in upper left field. Crawford 483/2; CRI 235; Sydenham 1350; RSC 20 (Pompey the Great). Good VF, minor porosity, small flan irregularity. Rare. ($1500)

Quintus Nasidius was commander of Sextus' naval fleet while Sextus was in Massalia watching political events unfold further east. Coins of this issue do not bear the title praefectus classis et orae maritimae (prefect of the fleet and of the sea coasts) awarded to Sextus by the Senate in April 43 BC, indicating a prior striking date. They also do not bear Sextus' name, although the trident, dolphin, and legend NEPTVNI may refer to Sextus' naval superiority in the western Mediterranean.