Red_Spork's NYINC Show Report

I was also at the show. I had dinner with @red_spork. I struck out on the Greek fractions I was looking for but obtained interesting Roman Republican bronzes.

The first is an overstrike similar to one discussed before here. Both reverses are strong; depending on the light the coin looks completely like a ship or a woman.

Roman Republic, 209 BC, sextans, 18mm, 3.99g
Obv: Head of Mercury right. above, two pellets
Rev: Prow right; above, ROMA; before AVR monogram; two pellets below.
Ref: Crawford 65/6

I am not quite certain what the undertype is. I see a ground line and some legs but I am not sure if the legs are human or the back end of a horse. Perhaps the undertype is similar to http://goccf.com/t/186683#1722395

This series is signed "AVR", which along with find spot and hoard evidence seems to suggest that it was minted in Sardinia near the end of the Second Punic War, likely under Caius Aurunculeius Cotta, Praetor of Sardinia in 209 BC.

The other Republican bronze is a Hercules type but I am not sure which variety.

Roman Republic, quadrans, 19mm, 3.73g
Obv: Hercules head
Rev: Prow
Ref: Crawford 56/5? 196/4? 118/4?

The reverse uses very thin lines instead of the bold lines I am used to seeing on Republican bronzes...

 

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Luceria or Canusium I believe. See if you find anything similar in McCabe's paper here. It's also possible that it's an issue with mintmark and the mintmark is off-flan on the reverse. Hard to be sure in this case because of the strike.

 

I haven't had a chance to take a good photo of my other purchases yet but thought I'd go ahead and share a cell phone picture of the first one. I went to NYINC really hoping to find some RR bronzes. I only found a handful on my first trip around the bourse and most were ones I'd either already seen(and passed on) online in dealers inventories or auctions but on my return trip, @Ed Snible mentioned that a dealer had several RR bronzes in a big binder that was essentially a junk box. I found two that I liked enough to take home. The first is a sextans of the Sardinian Praetor of 211 BC, L. Cornelius Lentulus. This is one of the few instances where an early Roman Republic coin can be tied to a specific year because the Sardinian Praetors of 211-209 BC are recorded as Cornelius, Manlius and Aurunculeius and conveniently a series of 3 issues, each of similar style and fabric and primarily found on Sardinia, are mint marked with C, MA and AVR.


Roman Republic Æ Sextans(2.4g). L Cornelius Lentulus, Praetor of Sardinia, 211 BC. Sardinian mint. Head of Mercury right; above, two pellets / Prow right; above, ROMA; before, C; two pellets below. Crawford 63/6
Purchased from Sam Sloat Coins, 1/13/2018 at NYINC 2018

$10 well spent I think!

 

Nice acquisitions, Spork! Great meeting you and I enjoyed seeing your avatar in hand!

Edit: photo of the bourse floor. Loved the new venue.

 

It was great meeting you as well and seeing that interesting Caesar denarius and that beautiful quadrigatus.

 

My final NYINC pickup: a massive anonymous quadrans. This one was also in the Sam Sloat bargain binder. This comes from the early post-semilibral series, Crawford 41 and Group A1 in McCabe's arrangement of anonymous bronzes. This series comes from the period where Rome was transitioning from cast bronzes(aes grave) to struck bronzes and there are related cast pieces struck at a similar weight standard, so this is one of the earliest quadrantes struck in Rome.


Roman republic Æ quadrans(18.5g, 28.5mm), anonymous "post-semilibral" series. 215-212 BC. Head of Hercules right; to left, ••• / Prow right; above, ROMA; below, •••. McCabe Group A1; Crawford 41/8b

Purchased from Sam Sloat 1/13/2018 at NYINC 2018

 

That's a great coin @red_spork , and one that I'd have snatched-up, if I'd seen that binder before you!

Is Hercules in boar skin on your 41? I think I see tusks and snout in your photo, but not 100% sure. I need to consider why the quadrans iconography went from Herc in lion skin (Cr. 35) to Herc in boar skin (Cr 39 - 42) and then back to Herc in lion skin (Cr 56). Certainly different mints were at play, but that doesn't fully explain it.

 

I think it's a trick of the photo. I don't see anything of that sort with the coin in-hand and I can see a hint of the lion's mane on the back of Hercules neck.

 

Thanks, that explains why the face seemed otherwise feline! The lion vs. boar skin imagery is very odd to me. I know Hercules captured the Eurymantian boar, but he captured it - he didnt skin it. Last.month, Liv Yarrow's website had images of Faustulus (shepherd finder of the twins, Romulus and Remus) wearing a boar skin. Though she didn't say so, the implication was that the boar-skin-wearing bust might not be Hercules at all.

 

That's an interesting thought. I've never paid much attention to the details of the skin on the obverse bust on quadrantes. I think I need to revisit the subject.

 

It's certainly a boar skin on 39s and 42s - tusks and snout are clearly visible and hair is limited to the back of the skin (see my 39 and 42 below). Presumptively lion skin on 35-38 aes grave, though casting eliminates some of the finer detail. Later quadrantes appear to be lion skins. Why the back-and-forth in the imagery? Interesting to ponder. Perhaps some cultural or religious significance relating to the Punic War.

Crawford 42 (overstrike):



Crawford 39:

 

I have the lighter weight, Sicily mint series of boar skin head:


RR AE 28mm 19-2g Quadrans - Sicily mint 214-212 BCE Hercules-boar headress - Bull - OBV-REV ex RBW Craw 72-7

 

i was at the show and i got some roman republic coins, the oldest being an uncial from around 210 BC