Faustus Cornelius Sulla, silver denarius (Type I), 3.98 g.
Title
Faustus Cornelius Sulla, silver denarius (Type I), 3.98 g.
Creator
Faustus Cornelius Sulla
Date
c. 57 - 56 BCE
Description
Obverse: Draped and diademed bust of Diana right; to left, lituus; to right, FAVSTVS downwards. Border of dots.
Reverse: Sulla seated left; before him, Bocchus kneeling right and offering olive branch in right hand; behind, Jugurtha, kneeling left, with hands bound behind him; to right, FELIX downwards. Border of dots.
Style/Period: Roman Republic
Faustus Cornelius Sulla (89-46 BCE) was the son of the dictator Sulla. With this coin he commemorates the achievements of his father. The obverse depicts Diana, the deity the dictator personally venerated. The lituus, the augur's curved staff, may refer to his service as an augur. The reverse depicts a famous scene of Sulla's victory which was displayed on a tablet on the Capitoline Hill as well as on Sulla's signet ring. It shows Sulla, seated above, accepting the surrender of Jugurtha, the king of Numidia, from Bocchus, king of Mauretanis, his brother and betrayer.
-- Bradford W. Wendel, LU '96
Bibliography: E. Babelon, Description historique et chronologique des monnaies de la republique romaine (Paris and London 1885-1886) Cornelia, 59; H. A. Grueber, Coins of the Roman Republic in the British Museum (London 1910), I, 471-472, no. 3824; T. R. S. Broughton, The Magistrates of the Roman Republic, II (New York 1952) 437; E. A. Sydenham, The Coinage of the Roman Republic (London 1952) 145, no. 879; M. H. Crawford, Roman Republican Coinage (London 1974) 449-450, no. 426/1; C. H. V. Sutherland, Roman Coins (New York 1974) 85, no. 133; J. P. C. Kent, Roman Coins (New York 1978) pl. 18, no. 69; R. A. G. Carson, Principal Coins of the Romans, I (London 1978) 54, no. 186; C. Foss, Roman Historical Coins (London 1990) 10, no. 37; Plutarch, Marius, 10.32; Sulla, 3.6; Pliny, Natural History, xxxvii.8.
-- Bradford W. Wendel, LU '96
Bibliography: E. Babelon, Description historique et chronologique des monnaies de la republique romaine (Paris and London 1885-1886) Cornelia, 59; H. A. Grueber, Coins of the Roman Republic in the British Museum (London 1910), I, 471-472, no. 3824; T. R. S. Broughton, The Magistrates of the Roman Republic, II (New York 1952) 437; E. A. Sydenham, The Coinage of the Roman Republic (London 1952) 145, no. 879; M. H. Crawford, Roman Republican Coinage (London 1974) 449-450, no. 426/1; C. H. V. Sutherland, Roman Coins (New York 1974) 85, no. 133; J. P. C. Kent, Roman Coins (New York 1978) pl. 18, no. 69; R. A. G. Carson, Principal Coins of the Romans, I (London 1978) 54, no. 186; C. Foss, Roman Historical Coins (London 1990) 10, no. 37; Plutarch, Marius, 10.32; Sulla, 3.6; Pliny, Natural History, xxxvii.8.
Source
Classics Department Collection
Identifier
C037
Rights
Wriston Art Center Galleries, Lawrence University, Appleton, WI,wriston-gallery@lawrence.edu,920-832-6890
Files
Citation
Faustus Cornelius Sulla, “Faustus Cornelius Sulla, silver denarius (Type I), 3.98 g.,” Lawrence University Classics Department & Ottilia Buerger Coin Collections, accessed November 5, 2026, https://thor.lawrence.edu/omeka/buerger/items/show/399.