SEXTUS POMPEIUS MAGNUS PIUS. Denarius (37/6 BC). Uncertain Sicilian mint.

Obv: MAG PIVS IMP ITER.
The lighthouse of Messina with statue of Neptune, holding trident and rudder, foot set on prow; in foreground, galley advancing left, with aquila on prow, sceptre and trident on stern.
Rev: PRAEF CLAS ET ORAE MARIT (EX) S C.
Skylla left, preparing to strike with rudder; her lower body consists of two fish tails and three foreparts of dog.

Crawford 511/4a-c.

This denarius was issued by Sextus Pompeius, son of Pompey the Great. In 44 BC in Spain he was appointed 'praefectus classis et orae maritimae' (=commander of the fleet and sea coast), but after a few months his title was revoked and he was proscribed. Sextus Pompey therefore sailed from Marseilles to Sicily, where he blocked supplies to Italy and took in more proscribed men. Octavian sent against him a naval fleet commanded by Q. Salvidienus Rufus, but it was defeated. With this victory, Sextus Pompey claimed the title 'imperator iterum' (=twice victorious commander) that appears on the coin's obverse legend. The lighthouse of Messina appearing on the obverse, a monument still standing today, recalls the victory achieved over Salvidienus in Sicilian waters. Scylla, a sea monster depicted with a human torso while wielding a rudder, metaphorically alludes to Sextus Pompey destroying Octavian's ships.

Condition: Very fine.

Weight: 3.81 g.
Diameter: 19 mm.