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SEXTUS POMPEY - Pirate King & Younger Son of Pompey the Great - struck by Q.Nasidius, praefectus classis.
Silver Denarius (20mm, 3.39 gm., 9h.) Massilia mint: 42-38 B.C.
Reference: Crawford 483/2. Sydenham 1350. Sear, Imperators 235.
Bare head of Cn. Pompeius Magnus right; trident before; below dolphin right; NEPTVNI behind.
Galley with bank of rowers right, under full sail, helmsman steering rudder, hortator standing on prow; star to upper left, [Q] NASIDIVS below.

After the defeat of his father and brother by Julius Caesar, Sextus Pompey set up shop in Sicily and carried on as a pirate king, raiding Roman commerce and making a nuisance of himself to Octavian, Caesar's successor as ruler of
Italy. Repeated attempts by Octavian to corral Sextus failed ignominiously, once nearly costing Octavian his life. In 39 BC, Sextus entered into a power-sharing agreement with Octavian and his fellow Triumvirs, Mark Antony and Lepidus. But he continued to serve as a magnet for Senatorial resistance and disaffection, so Octavian renewed hostilities the following year. The brilliant admiral Agrippa finally defeated Sextus at Naulochos in 36 BC, but he escaped, fleeing to Antony, who kept him alive as a bargaining chip for awhile, then executed him.