What is the story with this ‘quadrans’ of Severus?

Discussion in 'Ancient Coins' started by Aleph, May 11, 2021.

  1. Aleph

    Aleph Well-Known Member

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  3. Roman Collector

    Roman Collector Well-Known Member

    It's denarius-sized. Calling it a "quadrans" seems to be perpetuating Mionnet's error.
     
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  4. dougsmit

    dougsmit Member

    SC on the reverse suggests it is a quadrans. I don't know if it is ancient or not. It does not strike me as obvious either way but my tendency is to suspect it is modern. To me, it makes no difference. The coin is for people with money to spare. I would be interested in hearing the opinion on the item from Barry Murphy and Curtis Clay if either of them have had it in hand.
     
  5. medoraman

    medoraman Supporter! Supporter

    My quadrans are not far off of denarius size. This coin appears to be bronze or orichalcum, which quadrans would be the correct term. Denarius should only be reserved for silver coinage.
     
  6. Victor_Clark

    Victor_Clark all my best friends are dead Romans Dealer

    not a comment on the Severus coin, but here are a few Ӕ denarii--

    gKP827PyeZ5Wc4Cp9Go3x6QrSkx3n2.jpg

    Gallienus



    eC6Z9mWb22dLES3rj5CYHi4RbHs7t8.jpg

    Severina



    7sKBbND8J5cywJQ3qY4z6cRPt62Ci9.jpg

    Aurelian




    plus, you shouldn't link to active auctions, as it tends to drive up the prices.
     
    Last edited: May 11, 2021
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  7. Ardatirion

    Ardatirion Où est mon poisson

    Another was sold by DNW in March 2009 for 230 GBP.
     
  8. ancient coin hunter

    ancient coin hunter 3rd Century Usurper

    Interesting coin to be sure. Don't think SC would appear on a denarius.
     
  9. gsimonel

    gsimonel Well-Known Member

    Unless CS stood for something else on this particular coin, like, if it had been minted in Antioch.
     
  10. Finn235

    Finn235 Well-Known Member

    My understanding was that quadrans were made of bronze and usually did not have the emperor's bust, while semisses were orichalchum and had the emperor's bust - is this true, or only for certain emperors or time periods?

    Hadrian AE Semis eagle thunderbolt.jpg Hadrian AE semis three standards COS III.jpg
     
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  11. Valentinian

    Valentinian Well-Known Member

    The quadrans denomination is thought to have been discontinued about the time of Marcus Aurelius, well before Septimius Severus. Here is a site on the quadrans denomination:

    http://augustuscoins.com/ed/quadrans/

    Any quadrans issued this late would be very unusual and remarkable. If it were a regular issue, I can see how it might command a $650 price tag. I have studied quadrantes a lot and I would not expect to see such a late piece.

    I agree. I don't immediately see anything wrong with the coin itself, but quadrantes are already very rare under Marcus (and even those do not name him, they are attributed to him because the bust looks like him) biases me to think it isn't genuine. Unexpected coins do show up, but rarely. Is this one of those rare cases? Maybe, but I doubt it.

    quadransAnonJupiter04205.jpeg

    Anonymous.
    15 mm. 1.86 grams.
    Head of Jupiter, right
    Eagle standing right on thunderbolt, head left, S C either side.

    Look at the bust of Jupiter. Does it remind you of any emperor?
    This one has the chin line of Marcus Aurelius. Is that enough to say the denomination continued into the time of Marcus? Otherwise, the literature would suggest the denomination ends early in the reign of Antoninus Pius. Having the quadrans issued as late as the time of Septimius Severus seems unlikely.
     
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  12. Aleph

    Aleph Well-Known Member

    I agree that it feels modern- the wreath looks to clean to me. But this is little more than a gut response. The quadrans/semis denominations were long discontinued by this time so that doesn’t make sense unless it was made for a very specific occasion. A medalette also seems a possibility but I wouldn’t expect sc in that case. It would be very cool if authentic (and well worth the estimate) but my instinct is to hesitate.
     
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