The coin I'm sharing today is actually a denarius that I bought well over a year ago in April 2020 and for whatever reason it sat in my incoming and miscellaneous tray ever since without ever being photographed or catalogued until I recently re-discovered it. This coin has some really pleasing surfaces and details and I was really surprised how pretty it was in-hand compared to the seller's photos but I largely bought it because I found the obverse banker's mark really interesting. When I bought it, I couldn't recall ever seeing a quadripartite(4 part) banker's mark like this on any Roman Republic denarius - most are just simple letters, tick marks, shapes or squiggles. Since buying this a friend shared an example of a denarius with a similar, though smaller, quadripartite bankers mark, but try as I might I haven't been able to find too many others. I would be very interesting to see anything similar that other members here can share. As far as the type itself, Crawford says that this type was minted by L Aemilius Lepidus Paullus, brother of the Lepidus of Triumvirate fame. The obverse features Concordia, a likely reference to the concordia ordinum(literally "harmony of the orders"), central to Cicero's policy goals in 63 BC. The reverse alludes to the capture of King Perseus of Macedon by L. Aemilius Paullus during the Third Macedonian War. The allusion to the great feats of an ancestor is not unusual on Roman coinage of this period, but the moneyer is playing a trick here as he was not actually a descendent of Paullus. It's kind of a silly thing to do but given that the events were over a century in the past it may have fooled some. Roman Republic AR Denarius(3.98g), L Aemilius Lepidus Paullus, moneyer, 62 BC, Rome mint. Head of Concordia right, wearing veil and diadem; on left, PAVLLVS LEPIDVS upwards; on right, CONCORDIA downwards. Border of dots / Trophy; above, TER; on right, togate figure(L. Aemilius Paullus); on left, three captives (King Perseus of Macedon and his sons); in exergue, PAVLLVS. Border of dots. Crawford 415/1 If you're still reading this post, I've got one small request for you. This coin came with a cutout from a catalog that obviously refers to this coin, but try as I might I have not figured out what catalog this is from. It doesn't refer to Crawford, which most every seller today does, and the backside of the paper is referring to a coin of Caracalla, so it obviously isn't some huge sale, but if you recognize it or have any ideas what dealer this might be from, please let me know. It's a longshot but I'd really like to find a better provenance than "eBay, 2020" since this thing looks like it's been in someone's trays for a long time As always, feel free to share anything relevant
Not a banker's mark, but I always liked this countermark. Sort of makes the obverse look like they have ram horns
Very nice... the coin below is one of my favorites and the banker's marks certainly adds to its appeal (at least to me).. C. Annius T.f T.n and L. Fabius L.f Hispaniensis (moneyers) 82-81 BC mint in north Italy or Spain, 19mm, 3.89g OBV: Diademed, draped bust of Anna Perenna r, caduceus behind, scales before, plow below. C ANNI TF TN PRO COS EX REV: Victory with palm frond, driving galloping quadriga r. Q above, L FABI LF HISP in ex --- I now doubt this : The Phillips head screwdriver was created and patented by Henry Phillips in the 1930s and was originally used on the 1936 Cadillac. The great thing about it is that unlike the flat head screw (with a single ridge at its tip to slide into a screw with one slot), the Phillips screwdriver is self-centering. Its "X" design won't slip out of the X-slotted screw. Instead, it grips the screw firmly in the center, provided it's the suitable size for the screw.
I've seen you post that coin a few times recently - was it sold sometime last year? I actually thought I'd bought it , but obviously just saw it when it was sold (Naville?) @red_spork - I don't know anything about the sale, but have something from a similar date with a pattern of punchmarks too: Moneyer: L. Cassius Longinus Obv.: Draped bust of Vesta veiled left, kylix behind, S before Rev.: LONGIN III V - Male figure left, dropping tablet inscribed V into a cista Mint: Rome (63 BC) Wt./Size/Axis: 3.94g / 18mm / 6h References: RSC 10 (Cassia) Sydenham 935 Crawford 413/1 Acquisition: Tintinna Internet Asta Elettronica 6 #1041 30-Sep-2010 ATB, Aidan.
My first thought was the the omission of a Crawford number meant that the catalog predated Crawford's publication in 1974, and that the S-366 was a Sydenham number. But that's not the case: Sydenham 366 is something different, and the catalog number actually comes from Vol. I of Sear's Roman Coin Values, Millennium Edition, published in 2000. It's odd, then, that the Crawford number is omitted. What seller who deals in Roman Republican coins doesn't have access to Crawford?
Hi Aidan, no I purchased the coin from Rudnik Numismatics (fixed price) in or around Feb/March 2020. Looking back I negotiated a two coin order so what I paid for this single coin is hard to say ... I loved the coin and the price. Under $120 for sure... Yes I probably post the coin too much.
Hi Clavdivs - no, I like it - post away. I must have seen it on Rudnik. Probably the most impenetrable website left in the wild, but some things worth buying are hidden within. ATB, Aidan.
I like Rudnik and have purchased several rare Faustina coins from Radmilo for my specialty subcollection.
It certainly is the worst site in existence... but I have spent so many hours on it (and probably purchased 9 or 10 coins) ... its pretty much picked clean!(as far as my interests go)... But I will say that Radmilo is wonderful to deal with. Top class.
I won a lot of 3 coins in a Rudnik auction several years ago. "Group of three Imperial silver (Tiberius, Aurelius, Aurelian)". No photo' or further description as I recall, but ended up mine for $35. Tiberius fourrée Tribute Penny, a half decent Marcus Aurelius denarius and an Aurelian ant which is pretty nice too. A good deal. Must have a look again soon. ATB, Aidan.
That's a good catch. I assumed, obviously incorrectly, that it was a reference to Sydenham but didn't check. I don't know of any sellers off hand who produce printed catalogs but don't cite Crawford. A friend thought it was possibly Pegasi or Cederlind and I just realized I do have one scan of a few lots in a Cederlind catalog from the 90s for another coin I own and sure enough, RSC is cited but nothing else. Unless someone else finds evidence to the contrary I'll have to assume that's probably it and make sure I look through the Cederlind catalogs next time I get to the ANA library
My example was purchased for the Stannard scoop with ten stutters I would like to see other examples of the four part mark. Note how all the comet shaped tails point inward and spacing makes it most likely one stamp with four prongs but it is unusual.
Note that in citing RSC, both the Cederlind listings and your mystery catalog place a hyphen between the gens name and the type number, which isn't necessarily standard citation form.
I agree that it's likely a single stamp with multiple prongs. This is the other coin that comes to mind, from the 1949 Santamaria sale of the Magnaguti collection:. This coin also appears to have a 4 pronged stamp of some kind, but it is visibly different than mine
Much more likely to be Cederlind than Pegasi. Pegasi catalogs have so many coins you'd never have a Caracalla on the other side of the page from a Republican coin.
