Prow Left Aes Grave Sextans, Cr 36/5

Prow Left Cast Sextans

Cr 36/5, 225 – 217 BC

I bought a prow left Sextans in the NAC auction last weekend. It is the 3rd prow left coin I have bought in less than a year, and the most expensive. I live in the US. The coin is across the Atlantic Ocean. I am sure it will take a while to get here, so I am using NAC's pictures.
The largest issue of cast bronze coins by Republican Rome had the prow (business end) of a warship on the reverse. Most were prow right. I do not know why some prows were pointed left, but there were enough prow left coins that Haeberline put then into 3 groups. Crawford followed suite and had three groups also:

• First Prow Left cast coins, 225 - 217 BC, wt std As = 270 grams - Cr 36: 1 - As; 2 - Semis; 3 - Triens; 4 - Quadrans; 5 - Sextans
• Second Prow Left cast coins, 217 - 215 BC wt std As = 132 grams - Cr 38: 1 - As; 2 - Semis; 3 - Triens; 4 - Quadrans; there were struck Sextans, Uncia, Semuncia and Quartuncia coins in this group. 
• Third Prow Left cast coins, 215 - 212 BC wt std As = between 132 and 54 grams - Cr 41: 1 - Decussis; 2 - Quincussis; 3 - Tressis; 4 - Dupondius; 5 - As; 6 - Semis; 7 - Triens; 8 - Quadrans; there were struck Semis, Triens, Quadrans, Sextans, Uncia and Semuncia coins in this group. 

I find it interesting that Crawford put three series of coins in a short time window of 225 to 212 BC. The weight ranges for the coins overlap. All of the cast Sextans were in the first group.

Roman Republic Cast Sextans circa 225-217, Æ

Obv - Head of Mercury l.; below, two pellets.

Rev - Prow l.; below, two pellets.

46.23 grams = 277 gram equivalent Ass

24 mm – this looks wrong, most on line are 30+

12 h – most of the cast coins I have seen are medal turn, or the obverse and reverse have the same orientation. A few are orientated coin turn, 6h. Even less have 3h or other orientations.

Brown green patina and very fine

Very rare (seller's words) – I found 10 examples on line, including mine.

Crawford 36/5, wt std = 270 grams

Aes Grave 23

Sydenham 82

Vecchi 92

Thurlow-Vecchi 62, wt std = 256 grams

RBW –.

Historia Numorum Italy 341.

Haeberlin p 55 – 56, plate 22, 17 – 20; wt range 34 – 54 grams

A few Roman Scale weights, one has face

One Hoard and Two Coin Types – Owl of Athens & Triskeles from Pamphylia Aspendos

Recently I bought two interesting coins:

 Athens / Owl Tetradrachm from Athens – this is one of the best known ancient coins. 

 Hoplite / Triskeles Stater from Pamphylia Aspendos. These coins were rare until the last few years.  

Attica, Athens AR Tetradrachm. Circa 454-404 BC.

Head of Athena right, wearing earring, necklace, and crested Attic helmet decorated with three olive leaves over visor and a spiral palmette on the bowl

Owl standing right, head facing; olive sprig and berry in upper left field, AΘE to right; all within incuse square.

Struck on a flan that includes all of Athena’s helmet crest and full reverse borders.

17.17 grams

1 h

·        I thought the Crack-em-Out shirt by TIF was a good back ground for my slabbed owl. 

·        

Pamphylia, Aspendos, 465 - 430 BC, Silver Stater

Obverse: Hoplite warrior advancing right holding spear and round shield. The end of the spear behind the soldier has some extra lines, like a trident pointing the wrong way. I do not see them on other examples. The lines could be an insect with 6 legs or flow lines on the die.

Reverse: Triskeles, 3 legs running, below - lion crouching left in background, above - EΣT, all within incuse square.

10.73 grams

19.4 X 17.3 X 4.8 mm

Sear – 5381 - 5383 are similar, 5383 is the best but not exact match, 460 – 420 BC

HISTORIA NVMORVM, Barclay Head – Pg 699, Fig 317, 500 – 400 BC

BMC – 19.93, 1-2 or 19.94, 9

SNG von Aulock 4482-3

Notes:

·         Part of the recent hoard of Athenian tetradrachms which included these staters as well as a fewer from Cilicia.

·         The coin was sold as rare, but I found 750 similar coins on acsearch (PAMPHYLIA Shield Triskeles). Something like a hoard significantly changed availability. VCoins has 64 and MA Shops has 15 similar coins for sale.

·         Behind the Triskeles on the reverse are: nothing, lion crouching left, lion standing left, lion jumping right, ivy leaf / vine or eagle.

·         Reverse inscription on my coin is EΣT.

o   Some coins replace the T with a turtle.

o   Head reported these inscreptions: E, EΣ, EΣT, EΣTFE, EΣP, and others

o   The legend represents the Pamphylian form of the name of Aspendos – EΣTVEDIYS

·         A hoplite was the most common type of heavily armed foot-soldier in ancient Greece from the 7th to 4th centuries BC. The principal weapons of a Hoplite infantryman were a long ash wood spear, a short sword and a large circular shield. (ancient.eu/hoplite - Mark Cartwright)   

·         Aspendos or Aspendus (Pamphylian: ΕΣΤϜΕΔΥΣ; Attic: Ἄσπενδος) was an ancient Greco-Roman city in Antalya province of Turkey, located about 40 km east of the modern city of Antalya, Turkey. It was situated on the Eurymedon River about 16 km inland from the Mediterranean Sea.

·         Hoplite / Triskle coins have been featured on several Coin Talk posts in the last few years. More information here: http://augustuscoins.com/ed/interesting/triskeles.html

 For comparison the owl, stater and a Roman denarii are shown together.