Ancient Rome Faustus Cornelius Sulla Denarius 56BC

Wow, Peter! What a coin! The Cornelia family was very influential in the times of the ancient Roman republic, with many members of the family holding prominent positions in the senate throughout the time.

This silver denarius was minted in the name of senator Faustus Cornelius Sulla when he was moneyer in 56 B.C. to honor his father. The obverse features a bust of Diana, the goddess of hunting, the moon and birthing. The inscription to the right of the bust reads 'FAVSTVS'.

The reverse of this coin is exceptionally interesting! The seated person is Faustus' father, whose full name was Lucius Cornelius Sulla Felix. He was a Roman dictator, and Faustus was his only surviving son. The small person to the left is Bocchus, the king of Mauretania, who is kneeling and offering an olive branch; a sign of peace. To the right is Jugurtha, king of Numidia, also kneeling but with his hands tied behind him! The reverse inscription reads 'FELIX', the last name of Faustus' father.

These are rare and valuable coins. The coin in our image comes from Baldwin's in London where it sold for $1600 US dollars in a 2014 auction. Typical catalog values run like this:

worn: $300 US dollars approximate catalog value
average circulated: $800
well preserved: $1800

CoinQuest thanks Baldwin's for use of their coin photo. It is a beautiful piece!

The off-center minting of Peter's coin should not detract from the value since it does not detract from the coin's appearance. This is a good rule of thumb for ancient coins. If the off-center strike had put a large portion of the legend or the design off the coin, then the value might drop by 10% or so, but not much more. These are very desirable coins.

Be sure to read our Important Terminology page found at the top left in order to properly interpret the catalog values mentioned on this page.
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Coin: 16502, Genre: Ancient, Timeline: Ancient
Created (yyyymm): 201401, Last review: 201600
Appearance: Normal round coin Metallic gray Letters: Latin
Years: sort: -56, filter: -56 to -56
Image: ancient_rome_faustus_cornelius.jpg
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