I bought two coins this week and today received the first one: a victoriatus minted in Sicily circa 211-208 B.C. Those who know the history feel free to skip to below the image, but the gist of it is that initially, Rome(and much of Italy) had a bronze-only currency system based mostly on weight(a sort of bronze bullion type system). Trade with the Greek colonies necessitated the introduction of silver coins and Rome introduced the didrachm, also known as the quadrigatus as that was the most prevalent design on coins of this denomination. The financial stresses of the Second Punic War showed the flaws of the Italian bronze coinage system and forced Rome to adopt its own silver coinage system, so Rome introduced the integrated denarius system in which the silver was valued in the same units as the bronze and they could be used interchangeable. Contemporary with the introduction of the denarius was the introduction of the replacement for the quadrigatus: the victoriatus, featuring on its obverse a bust of Jupiter, and on its reverse victory crowning a trophy. Now that I've discussed the history a bit, you might be wondering, "what makes this different from an anonymous victoriatus from Rome or Apulia". That's actually a pretty good question, and the short answer is style, in particular the "double skirt" on the trophy, only found on this series of anonymous victoriati from Sicily. For the full answer, I direct readers to this guide by Kenneth Friedman and Richard Schaefer that discusses the various types of fully anonymous victoriati and how to identify them. And now, without further ado, the coin itself: Roman Republic AR Victoriatus(17 mm, 3.35g). Anonymous, circa 211-208 B.C., Sicilian mint. Laureate head of Jupiter right. Border of dots / Victory right crowning trophy; in exergue, ROMA. Line border. Crawford 70/1; BMCRR Italy 139
As a comparison, another victoriatus from the same period, this one minted in Apulia instead of Sicily. As you can see, a very different style all-around: Roman Republic AR Victoriatus(17 mm, 3.08 g, 12 h). Anonymous. ca. 211-210 B.C. Southeast Italian mint. Laureate head of Jupiter right. Border of dots / Victory standing right, crowning trophy; upright spearhead between. ROMA in exergue. Line border. Crawford 83/1a; Sydenham 223; RBW 336; RSC 24m.
Fantastic OP-Victoriatus, red_spork ... I'm lovin' the double-skirt All I have is this pretty lil' mini-skirt number ... Roman Republic, Anonymous AR Victoriatus (Rome mint) Date: After 211 BC Diameter: 17.9 mm Weight: 2.9 grams Obverse: Laureate head of Jupiter Reverse: Victory standing right, crowning trophy References: Crawford 53/1 Characteristics: Good style, perfect centering and high grade … From the Professor James R. Eaton Collection
I only have one and it was from a mixed lot but I love it. While the condition may not be remarkable, the portrait of Jupiter is more artistic than most. One of these days I may try to remove the black stuff from his eye. My track record with cleaning isn't very good though and I'd hate to ruin the coin.
Mine actually has some black gunk in spots as well. It's overcleaned already though so I don't think I'm going to touch it even though it is a little annoying.
I'm also an owner of just one and not one I can identify using what seems to be an extensive resource linked by red_spork. I am also unclear on how they determined which of the differences in style were significant to a mint location and which were random variations. This one was with me since the late 80's and came from a collector who provided many coins to my collection that turned out to be technically very special. I have never figured out what he saw in this one which may be why I had to pay $6 for it. Is the bent standard significant or is it just what you get for $6?
To me, the portrait style on the first coin is outstanding. Overall, a nice desirable coin. Congrats.
I believe yours is an example of Cr. 44/1 group C, with trophy style similar to figure 4. The bent standard is not significant as far as I know.
