STOP Cracking your KNUCKLES!

EVERY time I would go after this series of coinage, I would get beat out in the bidding. I know I might have paid too much, BUT I finally landed a Knuckle-Bone!


Roman Republic
269-240 BCE
Aes Grave Uncia astragalos (Knuckle-Bone)
22mm, 10.1g, Cast bronze
Obv: astragalos (knuckle-bone)
Rev: astragaols (knuckle-bone)
Olive-brown patina
(I feel it may be a later issue as it is "light" for a knuckle-bone)

Prior to the Silver Denarius Standard of Roman coinage which started in 211 BCE, the Roman Republic focused their coinage standards on cast bronze... This was common for Central Italy. Central Italy's and Rome's AE coinage was crude compared to the contemporary Greeks, Carthaginians, and others at the time. (However, Rome did grow up to kick EVERYone's As.)

They started with Aes Rude (lumps of bronze), Aes Signatum (large bronze plates, and pieces thereof), and Aes Grave (large, weighty cast coinage). The As was literally ONE Roman POUND, cast into a round coin! As with everything, monetary inflation set in and the bronze coin weights got lighter and lighter. Finally in the 3rd Century BCE, they began minting Silver didrachmae, drachmae, AE litrae, etc. as trade coins with Magna Graecia in South Italy and the Celts up North. You may have heard of the Quadrigatus (Roman didrachm), and the Victoriatus (Roman drachm).

This is an Aes Grave, 1 Uncia (1/12 of an As)

Please feel free to post your Knuckle-Bones, Aes Rude, Aes Grave, Aes Signatum, or any early Roman Republic AE Coinage!

 

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Much better then Rudes, I would even own a Knuckle coin. I don't see them often.

 

Two knuckle-bones for the price of one! Very attractive example, btw, congrats on scoring it.

 

Very interesting bit of history ya got there Z. Congrats.

 

When I look up astragalos at NumisWiki, I find, "An astragalos was a gaming piece made from the knuckle-bone of a sheep or goat, used in antiquity for divination and games in a manner similar to dice." It's very interesting that a gaming piece would be stylized into a coin.

 

They're on many coins. Some show figures playing with them:
https://www.vcoins.com/en/stores/se...er_trihemiobol_nymph_arne/593395/Default.aspx

 

Yes, thanks John, I should have added that. Bear in mind the Romans were VERY superstitious! They used the astragalos as a chance device (like dice). They felt the gods were whispering to them when they threw the dice of chance!

This was one of the reasons that I was chasing the Knuckle-Bone (astragalos) Uncia.

 

Thanks @zumbly . Most of the times that Uncia was struck with a Knuckle-bone on one side, with no design on the other.

You are right, with astragaloii on BOTH sides, I got TWO Knuckle-Bones to crack!

 

Y'all bunch of lazy "bones" why aren't ya' posting your knuckle popping coins?

Does a AE Quadrans count? (really like this lil' chunker)


Roman Republic 211-207 B.C.
AE Quadrans, 24mm (still no weight yet)
Obv: Head of Hercules right wearing lion skin, three pellets
Rev: Prow of ship

 

There was a writer (I want to say it was Heroditus, but I am unsure) who attributed the Etruscans and their ancestors (whom he says were the Lydians) as the inventors of many games, including knucklebones. I wonder if there is an historical meaning in addition to the superstition? (And I may have some of my facts wrong - I'm writing this from memory and can't look it up at the moment...)

 

@FitzNigel I vaguely recall the same history about the Etruscans inventing knucklebones also. They were an enigma as a people.

 

@Aidan_() that looks like a fat yummy cookie of a coin!

 

Very cool OP-bones, Alegandalf (congrats on that neat lil' coin)

I also love the old AE examples, whether they were the initial Greek cast babies, or whether they were the RR AE examples (they're all very cool)

Sadly, I don't have any actual examples with knuckle-bones, but I am gonna toss-in all of my cool cast AE examples and my RR AE examples ... hey, I love it when you guys post your examples, so I'm hoping that you're still appreciating my relentless coin-input?!

=> so here are my sweet ol' Greek cast AE examples ...





=> oh, and here are my RR AE examples ...






Yah, sorry Alegandalf, but you seemed to be asking for some posting examples, so who am I to say no, right? (I hope my often viewed examples are still considered pluses to these threads) ... I love posting my coins ("hi")



=> oh, and "knuckle-bones" are now on my coin-radar (yah, this is the 2nd post on those babies during the last month or so) ... target locked!!

 

Nice! Love the fly device on the second RR AE!

 

I've always liked your eclectic early bronzes and weights! Thanks for laying a bunch out in your post. Looks like you might have 50 or 60 pounds there in your pics!

 

now that is awesome...paschka has a mandible and you have an astragalus. i'd love to get some "bone" coins!

in my anatomy class when we talk about the talus (other name for the bone) i work in the ancient (and in some cases not so ancient) gaming story.

 

When I was in University, we had Braille Anatomy classes...

Thanks for the comments...I really enjoy the Aes Grave coinage and their unusual designs!

 

I think I know what you mean by that, but I'm not going to respond as this is a family-friendly forum.

 

I think you nailed it!

 

I also a have an Aes Grave Uncia astragalos (Knuckle-Bone), but mine is a slight variation, since it includes an object (club) with the knucklebones. While many sources give this coin a date of 269-225 BC, Italo Vecchi places this coin within the "club symbol series" and provides a date of ca. 235 BC.


Roman Republic
Rome ca. 235 BC
Aes grave uncia 22.74gm - 25 mm
Obv: Astralagos viewed from outside; club beside
Rev: Astralagos viewed from inside; club beside
Reference: ICC 63, T&V 28, RRC 27/10, Haeberlin pl. 29, SR562