While holidaying in Rome recently I visited a coin dealer I know. He pulled out a few drawers of ancients and there it was. A quinarius! I fell in love immediately and acquired it. I always wanted to have a quinarius but never got round to acquiring one. Lets see your quinarii. Avgvstvs. 27 BC-14 AD. AR Quinarius. CAESAR IMP VII, bare head right / Victory standing left on cista mystica holding wreath and palm flanked by two serpents (12.5-13.5mm).
Congrats capturing your first Quinarius @osdet ! They are a bit harder to get, and you have a very respectable one! I really like the banker's mark under his chin. And, you purchased it on a wonderful Holiday in Rome... what a great feeling. I enjoy Quinarii and have several. Here are a few: PRE-REFORM REPUBLIC: RR Anon AR Heavy Quinarius Quadrigatus Drachm 216-214 BCE Janus ROMA Jupiter Victory Quadriga LEFT Cr 29-4 Sear 35 Scarce REPUBLIC: RR Anon after 211 BCE AR Quinarius 2.12g Helmeted hd Roma - Dioscuri riding Cr 44-6 RSC 3 ex Clain-Stefanelli RR AR Quinarius 16mm 1.77g P Sabinus Rome 99 BCE Jupiter r E 3 pellets - P SABINE Q in ex Victory trophy E 3 pellets Cr 331-1 IMPERATORIAL: RImp Marc Antony & Octavian AR Quinarius 1.58g Military Mint Gaul 39BCE Concordia r Hands clasped caduceus Cr-529-4b Sear 1575 Syd-1195 RImp Marc Antony 43 BCE AR Quinarius 13mm 1.67g Lugdunum Winged bust Victory-probly Fulvia Lion DVNI LVGV Cr 489-5 Syd 1160
EMPIRE: RI GALBA AR Quinarius Lugdunum mint laureate r Victory globe stdng left 15mm 1.5g SCARCE RI Vespasian 69-79 CE AR Quinarius IMP CAESAR VESPASIAN AVG Victory seated wreath palm RIC 802 RARE OUTSIDE EMPIRE: Arabia Felix Himyarite AR Quinarius Head torque Head South Arabian script Ref Munro-Hay 3-25 Celtic Britain Iceni Boudicca 61 CE 1.03g Celt Hd r Celtic horse galloping Scarce IMITATIVE: Imitating Octavian-M. Porcius Cato AR quinarius 13.89 mm 1.29g imitating Octavian r blundered legend - Victory seated r patera Cr 343-462 RARE
Here is a Republican quinarius, the original of the one shown above as an imitiative: M. Cato. 89 BC. AR Quinarius. 10mm 1.51g Obv: M· CATO· PRO· PR; Head of Liber right, wearing ivy wreath Rev: VICTRIX; Victory seated right on throne, holding palm branch and patera. Crawford 343/2b; Sydenham 597; Porcia 7 The Roman Liber "the free one" was a god of viticulture and wine, fertility and freedom. He was a patron deity of the plebeians. His festival became associated with free speech and the rights attached to coming of age. @Alegandron tell me about your "Outside Empire" examples. How do we know they are quinarii?
Well mark me jealous! I would love to go to Rome...someday. Congrats on the lil beauty. Just a few lil guys for me... L. Calpurnius Piso Frugi. Quinarius 90, AR 15 MM 1.8 g. Laureate head of Apollo r.; below chin, N. Rev. L·P – ISO Victory standing r., holding wreath in r. hand and sword and spear in l.; in exergue, FRVGI. Babelon Calpurnia 13. Sydenham 672c. RBW –. Crawford 340/2f. Former LANZ coins Marc Antony & Octavian AR Quinarius. Military mint moving with Octavian, 39 BC. Head of Concordia right, wearing diadem and veil, III VIR R P C around / Two hands clasped around caduceus, M ANTON C CAESAR around. Crawford 529/4b M. Porcius Cato Quinarius (89 BCE). Rome. Obv: M CATO. Head of Liber right, wearing ivy-wreath; control (if any) below not visible. Rev: VICTRIX. Victory seated right, holding patera and palm branch. Crawford 343/2b (2a for type without control). Weight: 1.38 g. L. Rubrius Dossenus, Quinarius,Rome, 87 BCE, AR, (g 1,79, mm 14, h 9). Laureate head of Neptune r., with trident over shoulder; behind, DOSSEN, Rv. Victory standing r., holding palm branch and wreath; before, altar with coiled serpent; behind, L RVBRI. Crawford 348/4; Sydenham 708 The altar on the reverse of the coin is dedicated to Aesculapius, on Tiberina island. Former: LANZ Coins
..that's a nice one!..i knew @Alegandron would steal the show on these, he's a quinarius kind o guy..i've got the M Cato 89 BC type meself...complete with the bankers mark eyebrow
T CLOULIS ROMAN REPUBLIC; GENS CLOULIA AR Quinarius OBVERSE: Laureate head of Jupiter right REVERSE: T CLOVLI, Victory crowning trophy on top of Gaulish captive Struck at Rome 98 BC 2.1g, 13mm Cr332/1, Syd 586, Cloulia 2 C. EGNATULEIUS ROMAN REPUBLIC; GENS EGNATULEIUS AR QuinariusOBVERSE: Laureate head of Apollo; behind, C. EGATVLEI C. F. Q. REVERSE: Victory l., inscribing shield attached to trophy; beside trophy, carnyx; between Victory and trophy, Q; in ex Struck at Rome, 97 BC 1.6g, 18mm Crawford 333/1, Egnatueleia 1, Syd 588 M. PORCIUS CATO; GENS PORCIA AR Quinarius OBVERSE: M • CATO • PRO • PR, wreathed head of Liber right REVERSE: Victory seated right, holding palm branch over her left shoulder and patera in her right hand, VICTRIX in ex Utica, Africa 47-46 BC 1.4 g, 13 mm Cr462/2, Porcia 11
I am not the expert, just a casual collector. I understood from some reading that the Arabia Felix Quinarius was minted to facilitate trade for spices (frankincense,etc.) with the Romans for a relatively short period. Here are the attributes and comments: Arabia Felix, Himyarite Kings, Tha’ Ran Ya’ NB Ar Unit (Quinarius), 14mm, 1.5g, 5h; Raidan mint, 2nd Century AD. Obv.: Head right, within circular torque, monogram behind. Rev.: Head right, scepter before, kings name and mint in South Arabian Script around. Reference: Munro-Hay 3.25 Comments: Here is a small, ancient Yemeni silver coin, of the Himyarite Kingdom. The Himyarites occupied the area of Southern Arabia known to Romans as Arabia Felix. They produced the frankincense that their Arab cousins, the Nabataeans, exported to the northern world. By the time this coin was minted, however, the Romans had discovered a sea route from Alexandria to Arabia Felix, severely limiting the Nabataean overland trade. The Romans traded extensively with the ancient Yemeni, so I don’t believe it’s a coincidence that these coins are roughly the same weight and fineness of early Imperial quinarii. The script is Ancient South Arabian. Again from my readings, many of the Cletic coins were minted in the roughly Quinarius size (approx 2g) and were considered / called Quinarii if they were circulated near the Roman borders. Although my Iceni is around 1g, I consider it the Quinarius type. I have a "crazy man" version of your Cato Quinarius in which I am trying to find out if it is an imitative or an official issue by a funky cellator: RR Porcius Cato AR Quinarius 89 BC Bacchus Liber Victory seated S 248 Cr 343-2 Here is a more official looking version on the Cato Quinarius: RR AR Quinarius 89 BCE M Porcius Cato Crawford 343-2. Sear 248-OFFICIAL
One of my favorite, and with provenance to the ground. one early RR quinarius and an Octavian brockage The Q.TITI quinarius completed my set of silver coins for one moneyer. At 327 grams per As and 5 Asses per quinarius, this bronze cake is about the right size.
Here's mine! C. Egnatuleius C.f. 97 BC. AR Quinarius Rome mint. O:Laureate head of Apollo R: Victory standing left, inscribing shield attached to trophy; at base, carnyx to left; Q in field. Crawford 333/1; King 36 14x16 mm, 2.0g.
Here are to of my quinarii: AVGVSTVS Bare head r. “CAESAR IMP VII”, Rev.: “ASIA RECEPTA”, Victory standing l. holding weath, on cista mystica between two serpents erect. AR quinarius. Uncertain Italian mint, Brindisium, Rome.(?) 29-27 BC. Ref.: BMCRE 647, RSC 14. RCV 1568. RIC I, 276 Scarce. (13.5mm, 1.68 gr.). MARCVS ANTONIVS. Head of Concordia r. wearing diadem and veil, "III VIR R P C" around, Rev.:Two hands clasped around caduceus, "M ANTON C CAESAR" around. military mint moving with Octavian, AR.Quinarius 39 B.C. VF+(1,94 gr./15,00mm.)1568. RIC I, 276 Scarce. (13.5mm, 1.68 gr.). View attachment 776396 View attachment 776397 Avgvstvs. 27 BC-14 AD. AR Quinarius. CAESAR IMP VII, bare head right / Victory standing left on cista mystica holding wreath and palm flanked by two serpents (12.5-13.5mm).[/QUOTE]
