GAUL, Northeast. Treviri. Aulus Hirtius, Governor. Circa 51-50 BC. Æ (16.5mm, 2.64 g, 6h). Imitating a denarius of Julius Caesar.

Electronic Auction 472
Lot: 267. Estimated: $ 100

Selections from the Andrew McCabe Collection, Bronze

Sold For $ 180. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

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GAUL, Northeast. Treviri. Aulus Hirtius, Governor. Circa 51-50 BC. Æ (16.5mm, 2.64 g, 6h). Imitating a denarius of Julius Caesar. Elephant walking right, trampling on horned serpent; [A HIR]TIV]S in exergue / Simpulum, sprinkler, axe (surmounted by a wolf's head), and apex (priest's hat). RPC I 501; D&T 612; Depeyrot, NC VII, 102; De la Tour 9235. Dark green patina with earthen highlights/deposits, some light scratches beneath the patina. Fine. Rare, only two in CoinArchives.

From the Andrew McCabe Collection.

Aulus Hirtius was active in Gaul, 51-50 BC, and also later in 45-44 BC, by which later time he had been designated Imperator. That title appears on a different coin type: RPC I 503. This coin type omits the title IMP, yet evidently copies the Caesar RRC 443 elephant types, indicating that the latter mintage must have started by 50 BC in order for this Hirtius bronze type to have copied it, contra Crawford, who dates RRC 443 to 49-48 BC. When I acquired this little bronze, the question was whether it was really a type of Hirtius or might it have been issued by Carina, governor in 30-29 BC, who issued the same type with his name retrograde as RPC I 502. Neither the RPC plate coin for 501 or 502 match the obverse elephant on this coin. I consulted Bernhard Woytek, who has written a great deal on this period, and I am very grateful for his views. He considers this coin to be the Hirtius type, as it matches the obverse die in L. Reding’s publication “Les monnaies gauloises du Titelbierg” (Luxembourg, 1972), plate III, which reads ... IRTIV... and the visible IV in the exergue on this coin matches that illustrated by Reding. A very interesting and enigmatic issue. [Andrew McCabe]

Closing Date and Time: 15 July 2020 at 11:28:40 ET.

All winning bids are subject to an 18% buyer’s fee.