I bought a bag of these half coins from Wayne Sayles, a while back. He had them labeled as Circa. 1st Century. I'm just getting started, looking into them. Let's see how good you guys are. 1. The back of the head is a bit square. Hadrian? Antoninus Pius? Coin#2 Looks like Hadrians nose. Coin #3 ?? Coin#4 Another Hadrian nose? Or maybe John F. Kennedy's nose?? Though Kennedy usually faces left.
1: probably https://www.acsearch.info/search.html?id=4887465 Augustus 27-14 BC, As, 23 BC, head right, CAESAR AVGVSTVS TRIBVNIS POTEST / SC, L NAEVIVS SVRDINVS III VIR AAA FF, RIC 74 3: might be Domitian https://www.acsearch.info/search.html?id=1738625 Domitian Æ21 Antioch ad Orontem, Syria. AD 73-74. DOMITIANVS CAESAR, laureate head left / SC within laurel wreath. RPC 2016 4: wild guess, Augustus moneyer Gallius (because of the readable AAF C) https://www.acsearch.info/search.html?id=3294043 Augustus. 27 BC-AD 14. Æ As (26mm, 10.88 g, 6h). Rome mint; C. Gallius Lupercus, moneyer. Struck 16 BC. Bare head right / Legend around large S C. RIC I 379.
EDIT: behind the C it looks like a N which makes this more likely for No. 4. https://www.acsearch.info/search.html?id=3919686 ROMAN EMPIRE. Augustus (27 BC-AD 14). Copper as (10.95 gm). Rome, 15 BC. By Gn. Piso, Gn.f. CAESAR A[VGVSTVS] TRIBVNIC· POTEST, bare head of Augustus right / CN· PISO· CN· F· III· VIR· A· A· A· F· F around large S· C. RCV 1681
Most halved coins are from Augustus'and Tiberius' time and originate from Gaul, where the local Celtic economy was based on small copper and 'potin' coins. The large Roman asses were unsuitable in daily commerce and were halved or even quartered. Two locally produced copper coins even made it to RIC: the INDVTILI coins without any mentioning of ruler and the eagle Augustus lightweight, both of which are now called 'quadrans' Attached a quartered as of Nero, a very late example. Frans
Wouldn't chopping/halving coins, be common practice in any rural/pioneer area that had a change coin shortage? For instance, I have Spanish 8 Real that was chopped in the late 1790's.
As usual, I am impressed by the quick and detailed answers here on cointalk. 3 out of 4 ID's on these chopped coins is impressive. If some one is up to an additional challenge, here are four more, really tough ones. Coin # 6 Coin #7 Coin #8 Coin #8
In respect to Shanxi's excellent effort to identify these half coins, here are his picks next to the half coins I think he is spot on. Anyone else??
