CNG 112, Lot: 487. Estimate $750. Sold for $1600. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

L. Atilius Nomentanus. 141 BC. AR Denarius (18mm, 3.78 g, 12h). Rome mint. Helmeted head of Roma right; XVI behind / Victory, holding reins and whip, driving biga right; L • (AT)ILI below horses, NOM in exergue. Crawford 225/1 (same dies as Crawford pl. XXXV, no. 6, the Paris A4945 example); Sydenham 444; Atilia 16; cf. RBW 950 (for type). Light iridescent toning, flan flaw on reverse. VF. Very rare.

From the Andrew McCabe Collection. Ex RBW Collection Duplicate; Schweizerischer Bankverein 25 (19 September 1990), lot 294 (CHF 320).

A classic rarity, NOM in the exergue reflecting the moneyer's cognomen, Lucius Atilius Nomentanus. Crawford RRC p. 261 writes that “the astonishing substitution of NOM for ROMA remains unexplained”. A reasonable explanation would lie in the Roman tradition of punning names often seen on the coinage, this being a rhyming rather than punning quip intended to briefly draw attention to the coin and thus make the moneyer’s name stay in a voter's mind. Crawford notes that Nomentanus followed a later political career on the staff of Quintus Mucius Scaevola. [Andrew McCabe]