I just bought this coin. Or won it on Aphrodite Art Coins auction.). Æ Quadrans (16mm, 3.20g). Rome. Pulcher, Taurus, and Regulus, moneyers, 8 BC. Clasped hands holding caduceus. R Legend around large S C. RIC I 423. Near VF
I've always preferred portraiture on my Roman Imperials (and in general), so these smaller bronze denominations have never really happened for me, but they're neat. The handshake motif is nice. I had a Nerva as with the clasped hands, once.
I've come close to buying these small quadrans at times, but as with @lordmarcovan my primary interest in Roman Imperial coins are the portraits. Still, a nice crisp little quadrans such as this one holds a lot of appeal!
I wonder if the ancients shared this sort of preference too. Probably, given the scarcity of coins without portraits.
Nerva. 96-98 AD. AR Denarius (17mm, 3.23 gm, 6h). Struck 97 AD. Obv:. IMP NERVA CAES AVG P M TR P II COS III P P, Laur. head of Nerva to right. Rev: CONCORDIA EXERCITVVM Clasped hands. RIC 26,RSC 22. Ex. Akropolis Coins
