Faustus Cornelius Sulla, 56 BC. Denarius (Silver, 19 mm, 4.05 g, 4 h), Rome. FAVSTVS Draped bust of Diana to right, wearing stephane adorned with a crescent, cruciform earring and a necklace of pendants; behind, lituus. Rev. FELIX Sulla, togate, seated left on raised throne; to left, Bocchus, king of Mauretania, kneeling before him, offering olive branch; behind to right, Jugurtha, king of Numidia, kneeling left as a captive with his hands tied behind him. Babelon (Cornelia) 59. Crawford 426/1. RBW 1525. Sydenham 879. Lustrous and sharp, an exceptional piece and undoubtedly among the finest known. Struck from a slightly worn obverse die, otherwise, virtually as struck.


Faustus Cornelius Sulla was the son of the famous dictator Sulla. Known predominantly for his role in the Social War, the Roman Civil War, his campaigns against Mithradates VI Eupator and his dictatorship in 82-79 BC, the great general’s first success, namely his role in the ending of the Jugurthine War of 112-106 BC, is referenced on his son's denarius type from 56 BC. Overall military command in the campaign was in the hands of Marius, but it was the young Sulla who captured Jugurtha with the help of Bocchus, thus effectively ending the war. Sulla used this opportunity to stylize himself as the man of the hour on the Roman political stage, gaining him the bitter hatred of his superior and future rival, Marius.