★ A Bold and Innovative Reverse ★

A. Manlius Q. f. Sergianus AR Denarius. Rome, 118-107 BC. Helmeted head of Roma to right; SER behind, ROMA before / Sol in facing quadriga rising from the waves of the sea; X and crescent across upper fields, stars flanking, A•MANLI•Q•F (partially ligate) below. Crawford 309/1; BMCRR Italy 509; RSC Manlia 1. 3.79g, 22mm, 3h.

Very Fine; a well-centred strike from unworn dies, unusual for this issue which is typically struck from badly broken dies. Rare.

From the Andrew McCabe Collection, collector's tickets included;
Ex Dix Noonan Webb, Auction 177, 3 June 2020, lot 447.

This bold and innovative reverse design uses the device of Helios in quadriga as an allusion to the East to recall the memory of the moneyer's ancestor Cn. Manlius Vulso who led a victorious campaign against the Galatians in Asia Minor, concluded a treaty with Antiochos III of the Seleucid Empire, and returned to Rome laden with treasure. Manlius' campaign was apparently widely regarded in the Senate as a wanton expedition for the gaining of plunder, and Florus reports that his request for a triumph was rejected, though Livy, who is greatly critical of Manlius' actions, nonetheless describes a triumphal procession in elaborate detail, including its captives, wagon loads of booty and even the celebratory songs of the soldiery.