T. Quinctius Flamininus, Consul in 198 B.C., 
Gold Stater (8.44 g 12 h), Chalkis (?) mint, c. 196 B.C.

Obverse: Bare head of Titus Quinctius Flamininus right
Reverse: T.QVINCTI (upwards) Nike standing left, holding wreath over name 
 with her right hand and palm branch with her left.

Rarity: Extremely rare.

References. Babelon (Quinctia) 2. Bahrfeldt 9.2 (Athens, with legend upwards, 
same dies = M. Galani-Krikou et al., Coins & Numismatics, Athens, Numismatic 
Museum, 1996, p. 174). Biaggi 9. Calicó 29. Crawford 548/1b. Kent / Hirmer 29 
(London, with legend downwards). Kraay / Hirmer 579 (Berlin, with legend 
downwards). WAW 109 (with legend upwards).

Condition: A superb example well struck on a broad flan. Virtually as struck.

Provenance: Ex Leu 81, 16 May 2001, 187. 

This is one of the most historically exciting and important Roman gold coins 
in existence. It bears the first real portrait of a living Roman to appear on 
a coin and is the only numismatic portrait to portray a Roman in the style of 
a Hellenistic Greek ruler.Titus Quinctius Flamininus was born c. 229 and 
became a military tribune in 209 as the Second Punic War was winding down. 
Elected consul in 198 he was sent to Greece to take over the war against Philip 
V whom he defeated the following year. Forcing a Macedonian withdrawal from 
Greece as part of the peace terms, Flamininus announced the unrestricted 
freedom of the Greeks in Europe at the Isthmian Games in 196. 

According to ancient sources the ovation he received from the crowd was so 
great that birds fell from the sky in shock, and his speech gained him immense 
popularity in Greece, including divine honors. He was one of the first of 
those philhellenic Roman patricians who were to shape Rome.s relationship with 
the Greeks over the centuries to come, and was the first to seek to turn the 
Greeks into clients. In fact, he spent much of the rest of his life until his 
death in 174 seeking to build on the relationships he had established in the 
190s. 

The decision of Flamininus to strike gold staters with his name and portrait 
was absolutely unprecedented and shows how astonishing this issue was (for a 
study on the exceptional importance of these coins, see C. Botrč, Roma ed il 
regno di Macedonia. I loro conflitti nello studio di alcune documentazione 
numismatiche, SNR 76, 1997, pp. 65-73). 

The portrait they bear is an amazingly sensitive combination of realism and 
idealism in the style of the best issues of his enemy Philip V, yet the bare 
head, unadorned by either a wreath or a diadem, would have startled 
contemporary users accustomed to royal portraits. This must have symbolized 
Flamininus. declaration of freedom for the Greeks, since it marked him out as 
an individual and not a ruler. At the same time, it seems likely that these 
coins were primarily produced to reward the successful Roman army and its 
allies: the Latin legend argues in this direction, as does the fact that 
several of the known examples were found in either Sicily or Magna Graecia: 
they would have been brought back by veterans as part of their savings, and 
would not have been placed in normal circulation. 

There are approximately ten known examples (for the total not including this 
piece see C. Botrč, Lo statere d.oro di Tito Quinzio Flaminino: una coniazione 
straordinaria, RIN XCVI, 1994/1995, p. 49): four are in museums (Athens, 
Berlin, London and Paris) and six in private hands, including this example, 
the famous Hunt coin (WAW, 109 = Hunt I, 111) and the piece once in the Ley 
collection which recently sold (Triton III; 30 November 1999, 815). 

The importance of this coin simply can not be overestimated: in 1955 
(BMQ XX, 1, p. 11) R.A.G. Carson described the then recently acquired example 
in London as being ....one of the most notable acquisitions by the Department 
and...certainly the most important single piece ever to be added to the Roman 
series.. The present piece is perhaps the finest of all known examples, and is 
a striking memento of one of the pivotal events in the history of Rome's 
relationship with the Greek world. 


From the Leu Numismatics Auction 93, May 10, 2005.

High bid of 225,000 Swiss Francs on estimate of 220,000.

By permission of Leu Numismatics.