Appointed consul in 198 BCE, T. Quinctius Flamininus obtained the command of the Roman armies engaged in the Second Macedonian War. He defeated King Philip V decisively at the Battle of Cynoscephales in 197.
The war had begun after a complaint to the Roman Senate by Pergamum and Rhodes against the Macedonian yoke over the Greek cities. Flamininus remains in Greece with the title of proconsul to finish his political work. In 196 in a speech given at the Isthmian games of Corinth, he proclaims the freedom of the Greek cities.
Upon his arrival in the region Flamininus had shown extreme harshness in announcing to the King of Macedonia his terms for a possible negotiation. The Greeks are surprised by his constructive benevolence. The clever general was not an idealistic sponsor. He intended to establish a lasting influence of the Roman Republic in Greece and to take advantage of the glory attached to this success.
A gold stater was issued in the genitive name (T. Quincti) and the effigy of Flamininus. Between Ptolemy I and the time of Caesar it is the only example of monetary portrait of a living person. Even Alexander had not dared.
The image is realistic in the style of Alexander's posthumous portrait which was still on the coins circulating in Greece at that time. The waving hair is undone and he wears no ornament revealing his position. The badly trimmed beard reveals that he is a general in the field.
The inscription is on the reverse beside a classic figure of Victory. Two variants exist, with the text turned up or down, which is enough to ensure that this currency is not a single-strike commemorative medal. The text is not in Greek letters but in Roman capital letters, with one typographical clumsiness that confirms the Greek origin of this stater. The triumph of Flamininus in Rome in 194 appears as a terminus ante quem.
Eleven examples of this coin are known. The best preserved, in superb condition and very well centered, was sold for CHF 500K before fees by Numismatica Genevensis on December 2, 2008. This coin is estimated CHF 700K for sale on October 20 in Geneva by Maison Palombo, lot 25 here linked on the Sixbid auction platform.
SOLD for CHF 600K before fees
The war had begun after a complaint to the Roman Senate by Pergamum and Rhodes against the Macedonian yoke over the Greek cities. Flamininus remains in Greece with the title of proconsul to finish his political work. In 196 in a speech given at the Isthmian games of Corinth, he proclaims the freedom of the Greek cities.
Upon his arrival in the region Flamininus had shown extreme harshness in announcing to the King of Macedonia his terms for a possible negotiation. The Greeks are surprised by his constructive benevolence. The clever general was not an idealistic sponsor. He intended to establish a lasting influence of the Roman Republic in Greece and to take advantage of the glory attached to this success.
A gold stater was issued in the genitive name (T. Quincti) and the effigy of Flamininus. Between Ptolemy I and the time of Caesar it is the only example of monetary portrait of a living person. Even Alexander had not dared.
The image is realistic in the style of Alexander's posthumous portrait which was still on the coins circulating in Greece at that time. The waving hair is undone and he wears no ornament revealing his position. The badly trimmed beard reveals that he is a general in the field.
The inscription is on the reverse beside a classic figure of Victory. Two variants exist, with the text turned up or down, which is enough to ensure that this currency is not a single-strike commemorative medal. The text is not in Greek letters but in Roman capital letters, with one typographical clumsiness that confirms the Greek origin of this stater. The triumph of Flamininus in Rome in 194 appears as a terminus ante quem.
Eleven examples of this coin are known. The best preserved, in superb condition and very well centered, was sold for CHF 500K before fees by Numismatica Genevensis on December 2, 2008. This coin is estimated CHF 700K for sale on October 20 in Geneva by Maison Palombo, lot 25 here linked on the Sixbid auction platform.
SOLD for CHF 600K before fees
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