I won this in in the previous CNG auction of the final remnants of the RBW collection. It's not nearly as great an example as Steve's but I think it's a nice piece for my first example of this awesome denomination. For those who don't know, the Romans began minting victoriati during the Second Punic War around the same time they began minting the first denarii, but unlike the denarius which was minted of high-purity silver, the victoriatus was minted of debased silver of about 80% purity and at a weight standard of about 3/4 of a denarius. The victoriatus was not meant to be part of the Roman currency system, but as a replacement for the drachm of the Greek cities in Southern Italy(and later Gaul). Because it was minted with debased silver, many have the kind of surface issues you see on mine. 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. Ex. RBW collection, Ex. Spink & Son ltd., September 1986
As nice as Steve's or not, it's a great example and a coin I would like to add to my collection in the near future. Congratulations.
Neat coin, Red. Great write up, & super pedigree too! I still don't own a Victoriatus and RR is my speciality.
Surface issues? Other than minor crystallization, which is hardly a big deal, what other issues? That is a stunningly beautiful coin, and I love the light toning colors on it. I had to clean the pile of drool on my keyboard from staring at it for the last 5 minutes. Looks like you scored big.
I'm really surprised you don't have any but I guess it's understandable with competition like Phil Davis driving up prices on the nicer ones
WONDERFUL VICTORIATUS!!!! I absolutely agree with all the other comments! My example is a 'bit' lower grade than either yours or Steve's, but I still LOVE it---Well, probably more like extremely fond? LOL
