One of my wish list items for this year was a RR coin with a plumb bob. I bought one that arrived this week. I have 3 snake biga coins with different control marks: pileus, thunder-bolt and plumb bob. The plumb bob coin is well struck, centered, is on a large flan and has good style. Unfortunately the fields do not look good. I am tempted to call the dies rusted or worn, but I am not sure. I do not think it is horn silver because the high points look good. Roman Republican Denarius, M. Volteius M.F Mint – Rome, 78 BC, Obv. Head of Liber right, wearing ivy-wreath. Border of dots. Rev. Ceres (Demeter) in biga of snakes right, holding torch in each hand; behind, control mark (plumb-bob, pileus or thunder-bolt); in exergue, M·VOLTEI·M·F; Border of dots. Cr. 385/3. Grueber 3160 RSC/Bab – Volteia 3 Syd - 776
Your newest addition is fantastic and I love the plumb bob! Wow, three of these Volteius snake biga coins! I'm still hunting for one. Wanna sell of of yours?
Great coin! Cool plumb bob! When I was a kid my grandfather showed me how to build a shed with only a plumb bob, square, and a ruler to measure. Useful tool for sure.
I never imagined I would post that I LOVE plumb Bob's LOL, but I do !! I've been after snake driven chariot types for quite a while now---even without a 'plumb bob'
I didn't even know what a plumb bob was until I looked it up. Very cool. I don't even have one of those so you're doing 3 x better than me!
I don't have the OP coin; I've been looking for the "right one for a long time. Here's a rare coin from the same issue which I've posted before. Best thing about it really is the provenance: ex Sydenham Collection, ex Niggler, ex Finarte 972, ex Benz, ex Rudman (New York Sale III.) Also pictured in Banti.
Great coin and provenance! I considered the CNG Voltea that was recently sold by them but in the end dumped my budget into the NAC sale (which was the right move).
We each have to decide whether the minor type will guide our coin selection. I bought the snake biga that came available without thinking about it but I do admit that a rudder might be a handy accessory to keep those snakes from wandering out of line.
The type is perpetually on my wish list. The centering is often poor on the reverse. I'd prefer something well-centered and relatively well struck (some wear is okay), and for this particular coin the control mark is pretty far down the line of importance. That said, the plumb bob is very cool and I'd love to have one with that mark!
Curious, are you a surveyor? (is that why you are all giddy about the plumb-bob?) Coincidentally, I went underground this morning and helped the surveyors with today's chores (I was kickin' it old-school!!) ... all the YN's are taking their vacations this time of year
I am a chemical engineer and took surveying in college. I found it interesting, but have not done any since. My dad had one or two in his home shop. I bought a Roman p-b a couple of years ago. When it arrived, I could not find any information that corroborated that it was that old. When I started looking around, I found a couple of interesting web sites including: http://plumbbobcollectors.info/media//DIR_42117/DIR_42128/1ee8c70ab77920a2ffff8fa9ac144226.pdf I became even more interested when I noticed one on a RR coin. I now have half a dozen or so p-b's. They are bronze and do not quite fall into pre-money items, but i think they are neat.
I used to have a plumb bob, no idea what happened to it. When we needed one to hang wallpaper, we just made our own. Now if I need to hang wallpaper, I would just get a man in.
This is one I bought, but has not arrived. New ones are pointy at the bottom. Almost all used ones have blunted ends. I will have to look at this one and see if it was made with a blunt end, or that is a sign of use. Roman bronze masons bob 1st - 2nd century AD height cm 4,6 (2’’) Green patina. PROVENANCE: From a private Collection, formed in Munich 1980 to 1995.
The signifigance of the plumb bob on the coin please. Back when I was carpentering, residential and commercial, I always kept two good 'bobs'.
John, Control symbols were used by the mint to track dies. For this issue, Crawford says no symbol is used on more than one die. Similar symbols are used on other issues. A plum bob is on four issues: Cr 384/1, Cr 385/3, Cr 385/4 and Cr 409/2. When the moneyer had symbols on both the obverse and reverse, the symbols were paired and not used with other symbols (ie the symbols were monogamous). There are a few examples of a symbol straying to be paired with another symbol. Lolteius issued five designs. He used symbols from every day life. Other moneyers used themes (like the letters of the moneyer's name) or building and trades tools. This symbol caught my eye when I bought a Roman Plumb bob. Another example of a M.VOLTEI.M.F coin. This one has symbols on the front and back.
