Sextus Pompey AR Denarius. Uncertain mint in Sicily (Catania?), 42-40 BC. Bare head of Pompey Magnus to right; capis behind, lituus before; [MAG•]PIVS•IMP•ITER around / Neptune standing to left, holding aplustre and with foot on prow, between the Catanaean brothers, each carrying a parent on their shoulders; PRÆ[F] above, CLAS•ET•ORÆ•[MA]RIT•EX•S[•C] in two lines in exergue. Crawford 511/3a; BMCRR Sicily 7; CRI 334; RSC 17 (Pompey the Great). 3.74g, 19mm, 2h.

Near Extremely Fine; beautiful old cabinet and featuring a handsome portrait of Pompey.

Ex Collection of a Hanseatic Romanophile, Fritz Rudolf Künker GmbH & Co. KG, Auction 341, 1 October 2020, lot 5682;
Ex Nicholas v. Jamgochian Collection, Dr. Busso Peus Nachfolger, Auction 340, 2 November 1994, lot 740.

Several Sicilian denarii were struck for Sextus Pompey to commemorate his naval command of the coasts of Sicily in 42-39 BC. The reverse alludes to the well-known legend of Amphinomus and Anapias, two brothers who risked their own lives to save their elderly parents when Mount Etna erupted and engulfed the Sicilian city of Catania in flames.