DR-556 | Crawford: 421/1
Marcus Nonius Sufenas
Marcus Nonius Sufenas

Gens: Nonia
Moneyer: Marcus Nonius Sufenas
Date and mint: 59 BC - Rome


Obverse: Head of Saturn right; behind, harp and oval object. Dotted border.
Legend: S C SVFENAS

Reverse: Roma seated left with pile of armor, holding scepter in right and sword in left; behind, Victoria holding palm branch on left and crowning Roma with right. Dotted border.
Legend: PR L V P F SEX NONI

Comment: The Nonia gens was a plebeian family. Although it was not one of the most prominent in the republican period, one of its most prominent members was Lucius Nonius Asprenas, who was suffect consul in the year 36 BC. under the Second Triumvirate, during the regime of Octavian (the future emperor Augustus). The gens appears to have reached its highest level of influence in the later years of the Republic and the early days of the Empire, when commoners began to gain greater access to the highest magistracies.

M. Nonius Sufenas, the moneyer man responsible for this issue, is not well known outside of his role in minting coins. However, his position as a moneyer man at such a crucial time in Romen politics suggests that he may have been a figure of some relevance in the administration of the city of Rome.

The year 59 B.C. It was another crucial moment for Roma, as during this period Julius Caesar held the consulship supported by the First Triumvirate. This was a key moment for the consolidation of Caesar's power, who through alliances with Pompey and Crassus began to modify the political balance of the Republic.

On the obverse, the head of Saturn, god of agriculture and abundance, could symbolize the importance of ancient Roman traditions and Roma's connection to its mythological past but, at the time, Saturn would also represent the stability and sustenance of the Republic.
On the reverse, Roma sitting on a pile of weapons, crowned by Victoria, is a clear exaltation of Roma's military power. The legend "Sextus Nonius praetor ludos Victoriae primus fecit" recalls that an ancestor of M.Nonius Sufenas was responsible for inaugurating the ludi Victoriae Sullanae, established to commemorate the Battle of the Hill Gate (82 BC), in which Sulla achieved a decisive victory that ended the resistance of his enemies.

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The translation of the legend on the reverse is Sextus Nonius praetor ludos Victoriae primus fecit. This reminds us that an ancestor of Sufenas was in charge of inaugurating the ludi Victoriae Sullanae with which the Roman people celebrated one of Sulla's victories in style.

Provenance: Numismatica Ars Classica (2018)
Price: 8,401 €