H AΣ Hatria Semuncia
ROMAN REPUBLIC
PICENUM, HATRIA, AE semuncia, vers 280 av. J.-C.
Obverse - H
Reverse - AΣ
H. pl. 76, 17-19;
Sydenham, Aes Grave, 193;
T.V. 187.
CGC Huntarian, Picenium, Hartia #3
18.03 grams; equivalent As = 20 X 18 = 360 grams, see note below
28.7 X 27.3 mm
3 H, see note below
Patine verte.
Beau à Très Beau
Fine - Very Fine
Purchased from Jean Elsen & ses Fils S.A.
http://www.elsen.eu/
The attached talk is one I gave to the ANA
Cast Bronze Money from the Roman Republic and Central Italy
Rome was founded in 753 BC and started producing coins in about 300 BC. Cast bronze in several forms was used for money in Republican Rome and Central Italy before coins were struck from gold, silver, or bronze. This talk will cover some reasons for the use of money. Cast bronze in several forms will be shown - irregularly formed as rude, cast bars and other shapes, and finally cast bronze coins. Some of the important books on the subject will be discussed and shown.
ANA eLearning Academy - Cast Bronze Money from the Roman Republic and Central Italy - YouTube
Apulia, Luceria Biunx
TV284, 220 BC
Apulia, Luceria
Biunx circa 217-212, Æ Aes Grave
Obv - Scallop-shell
Rev - Knucklebone;
above, two pellets and below, L
Very Fine, Nice
green patina, both obverse and reverse have excellent details, I have not seen
a shell this well formed. The two dots are weak. The L is often missing, but is
well formed on this coin. With grade inflation, I do not see why this coin
isn’t at least gVF.
·
According to M Crawford and I Vecchi, cast coins
were produced from 280 to 210 BC. The Shell / Knucklebone coins are
from two date ranges. The older series is dated 269 – 225 BC and weighs 47 – 80
grams. The newer series is dated 220 BC and weighs 15 – 24 grams. This coin is on the smaller side on the second series.
15.52 grams
25.6 mm
Haeberlin pl. 71.
Sydenham AG 141.
Thurlow-Vecchi
284.
ICC 348.
Historia Numorum
Italy 677d.
I have a few of this style coin. It is fairly common and inexpensive.
Obol Female Astralagoi Male head
Cilicia TARSOS 389 – 375 BC
Cilicia, TARSOS (389-375 a.C.) AR Obol
Obv - Female kneeling left, tossing astralagoi (Knucklebone)
Rev - Male head right.
0.63 gr
9.4 mm
Die axis 7
I am working on a talk about RR cast bronze money. I took a few pictures of my collection for the talk.
Roman bronze stamp - MCP
How often do you run across an item in an auction that "has your name on it"? A recent Timeline Auctions had an interesting lot - Roman Mason's Plumb Bob and Tool Collection A collection of five bronze implements comprising: three mason's plumb bobs or line weights (seller's words); a pair of dividers; a punch stamp with 'MCP'. 56 grams total, 2.1-11.4cm (the seller must have added the item lengths to get to 11.4 cm or 114 mm)!
The 3 letters in the stamp are the first ones in my last name - McPherson! The punch and plumb bobs are small, the total weight is 56 grams. The weights are more like charms for a neclace or braclet than plumb bobs. They could have been for coin scales which are small. Provenance - Ex North London gentleman; formerly in an important European private collection formed between 1980 and 2000. Timeline Auction, 9/2/2020; LOT 0849
5.4 grams; 2.5 mm dia X 15.5 mm long; has 5 mm hanging loop
3.3 grams; 2.5 mm dia X 14.5 mm long
5.0 grams; 3.4 mm dia X 8.2 mm long
The stamp is more interesting. My guess is the letters are a Roman name and could have been used to mark coins or other metal items. I have not seen coins with this letter combination. You can read a bit more about Roman names here: https://alison-morton.com/2014/08/18/whats-in-a-roman-name/
20.4 grams; 18.1 mm X 8.2 mm X 2.8 mm
The divider is:
20 grams and has 42.9 mm & 42.8 mm arms
