The Battle of Naulochus

364, Lot: 191. Estimate $200. Sold for $850. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

The Triumvirs. Octavian. 36-35 BC. AR Quinarius (14mm, 1.87 g, 6h). Uncertain mint. Galley with rowers sailing right / Victory advancing left, holding wreath, palm frond, and rudder. RIC I (1st ed.) 9; CRI 315A; Sydenham 1339; BMCRR Africa 38; King 83; RSC 94. Near VF, toned, porosity. Very rare, only three in CoinArchives.

From the RBW Collection. Ex Sternberg 27 (7 November 1994), lot 360.

Although Crawford assigned this issue to the period after Actium, Octavian’s titles are consistent with the earlier 30s BC. The strong naval theme clearly alludes to a naval engagement. Sydenham believed it to have been struck to commemorate Agrippa’s victory at the Battle of Naulochus in September of 36 BC.