The coins of commerce that kept the republic functioning: Well worn Roman Republic coins

As I've been really trying to refine the quality of coin that joins my collection, I find myself still lost in rubbed down surfaces, old cabinet toning and thoughts of the Republic before it went to shhh... one man drool... rule.


And above all, trying to comprehend the journey this metallic object has been on. The hands its been in, the things\people its bought and all the time and places in between.

There is something uniquely thrilling about beautiful, yet, well worn coins and doubly so for well used RR coins.
Here are some of my favorite Roman Republic coins that passed through more hands than I have fingers and toes:





Love em or leave em these coins helped keep wine in stomachs and bread on the tables.


Eh, I can save the "pretty coins" for my Greek collection... though, obviously not MSCs as all are pretty.
So, let's see some of your favorite coins that were used, well, in everyday commerce

 

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Well said. Your sentiments echo my reasons for transitioning from modern to ancient coins many, many years ago.

 

Hides in a corner; it's so ugly , it must surely be the worst Caesar portrait denarius out there.
JULIUS CAESAR AR silver portrait denarius. Lifetime issue, struck Jan-Feb 44 BC. CAESAR DICT PERPETVO, Laureate head of Caesar right. Reverse - SEPVLLIVS MACER, Venus standing right holding Victory and scepter. RSC 41, RCV 1414. Scarce! 17mm, 3.1g. Very worn, several small surface scratches.

I have a few very worn RR denarii, but most aren't pictured. An early coin was a Marc Antony legionary denarius, so worn that it's almost a slick, purchased at the local coin shop.



Title: Octavian, as Sole Imperator (31-27 BC). AR Denarius / Actian Arch
Attribution: RIC I 267 Uncertain Italian mint
Date: 30-29 BC
Obverse: Anipigraphic, bare head of Octavian right
Reverse: Quadriga, facing, set atop triumphal arch (the Actian Arch) with architrave inscribed with IMP CAESAR
Size: 18.09mm
Weight: 2.63 grams



L LIVINEIUS REGULUS AR silver denarius. Praetor, 42 BC. Small bare head of the praetor L Livineius Regulus right. Reverse - L REGVLVS in exergue, combatants with wild animals: one combatant attacks a lion with a spear; another, with shield and sword, defends himself against a tiger; a wounded boar sits on the left, facing right. RCV 489. Very Scarce. 18mm, 3.5g.



L Mussidius Longus AR silver denarius. Struck circa 42 BC. Facing bust of Sol, radiate and draped. Reverse - Platform inscribed CLOACIN, two statues of Venus Cloacina atop. Cr494/43a, Syd 1094.

Very appropriate that it's the goddess of the sewer. The coin looks like it's been in one.


L. Rubrius Dossenus Denarius RCV 258

* I don't remember this coin at all.

 

One of my latest RR purchases fits the subject. It saw many things and probably bought lots of wine.



Mn. Fonteius C.f. 85 BC. AR Denarius 3.72g. Rome

MN·FONTEI – C·F Laureate head of Apollo Veiovis r.; below, thunderbolt and below chin, RA ligate. Rev. Cupid on goat r.; above, pileii. In exergue, thyrsus. The whole within laurel wreath. FFC 717. B. Fonteia 9. Syd. 724. Cr. 353/1a.

 

This one was spent until people forgot what it was. Then it was countermarked as fit for use again until nobody was sure anymore what some of the countermarks once were supposed to mean. It is a coin with Alzheimer's:

 

i'm wid ya on wear adds character to a coin.. i just purchased a tri-riga republican coin..i'll post it when it gets here...in the meantime, i have a pic of this 'Friggy". who shows some wear from use

 

Whatever a collector thinks of these well worn denarii, rest assured the Ancient agrarian recipient of a few of these coins was very happy with them. For him they often meant the difference between survival and misery.

 

"Well-worn" pretty much describes my whole collection. Roman Republican denarii in the affordable range even worn ones have become scarce. I did land this one earlier this year:


Roman Republic Denarius
P. Servilius M.f. Rullus
(100 B.C.)
Rome Mint
Helmeted bust of Minerva left wearing aegis, RVLLI upwards behind / Victory holding palm and reins, driving biga right, P below, [P·]SERVILI·M[·F] in exergue.
(3.67 grams / 20 x 18 mm)
eBay March 2022 $32.77
Attribution and Notes:
Crawford 328/1; Servilia 14;
Sydenham 601; SRCV I 207.
"The Victory reverse refers to Marius' victories over the Teutones and Ambrones at Aquae Sextiae in 102 B.C. and the Cimbri at Vercellae in 101 B.C. The P indicates coin was struck from silver from the public treasury (EX ARGENTO PVBLICO)." (FORVM)

Here're a few other hard-working denarii from my collection:

 

Despite the wear, that is a stunning example of the highly desirable type thanks for sharing her @octavius ... though, it does bring back memories of a much more humble example that was lost in fedex I'd won last year:


The lifetime JCs were clearly VERY popular currency. And I'd bet that 2 millenia ago people collected them and realized their intrinsic value, something like us recognizing a Babe Ruth rookie card, a Hendrix signed six string or a coin from the Ryro collection!
@Barry Murphy shared some of the most beautiful aureus three then four (vroom, vroom, four aureus!) and even those beauties show signs of use in commerce.
Short story long, @nerosmyfavorite68 yours isn't near the most pitiful of these ancient celebrations of a true genius.
I recently upgraded this:

To this:


And my Cloacina Maxima is truly from the crapper as it is a fourée:


True, @ambr0zie , as beautiful as yours is, I love the style, @DonnaML has us both beat with hers... though, it doesn't appear to have been in too many hands before hers.
Here's mine:


Nice call out @Ignoramus Maximus nothing says we'll used as a countermark, not from a different conquer but rather, from so much use they had to stamp it to show it still had value.
SaWeet hippy Apollo @ominus1 he got more than a couple of our ancestors inebriated.
@kevin McGonigal excellent point! Fresh out of the mint or well worn didn't matter the coins had the same buying power
LMBO @Marsyas Mike
"Well-worn" pretty much describes my whole collection."
I'm right along with you. Get what I can and get while the getting is good.
But those are some great types... and many that I still need
This Musa fourée has plenty of wear and saw some good times... until it didn't and the buyer got busted (if he even knew if it was himself):


Or this baby faced Augustus from Spain. Great toning but somewhere between ancient Spain and my house it was cracked and then some modern put it back together:

Speaking of money...

 

This is my most well-worn Republican denarius. Nonetheless, it's one of my favorites!


L. Mussidius Longus, Moneyer 42 BC.
Roman Republican AR denarius, 3.48 gm, 16.4 mm, 4 h.
Rome, 42 BC.
Obv: Draped bust of Marc Antony's 3rd wife, Fulvia, as Victory, right.
Rev: L·MVSSIDIVS LONGVS, Victory in biga right, holding reins in both hands.
Refs: RRC 494/40; BMCRR 4229; RCV 1517; Sydenham 1095; RSC Mussidia 4; Banti Mussidia 613.

 

Yep .. collecting coins of the Republic can be an expensive endeavor...
Not an attainable collecting focus for me.. but I like picking up the rejects when I can..










Once in awhile I splurge when I can't resist something a little nicer - but not near to the quality of most seen here:

 

My most well-worn Roman Republican coin is probably the first one I ever bought, back in the 1980s: my Ti. Veturius denarius with the reverse showing two soldiers flanking a kneeling youth holding a pig. As such, I'm quite fond of it.

 

The very worn bronze can also be beautiful...
Roman Republic. Anonymous. After 211 BC. Æ Triens (27mm, 11.95g, 5h). Corn Ear Series. Mint in Sicily. Obv: Helmeted head of Minerva right; •••• (mark of value) to left. Rev: ROMA; Prow of galley right; grain ear above, •••• (mark of value) below. Ref: Crawford 72/6; Sydenham 195b; RBW 309. About Fine, nice green patina with highlights, honest wear. Scarce.

 

Roman Republic
100 BCE
AR Denarius | 3.29g | 19mm wide
Issued under L. Calpurnius Piso Caesoninus and Q Servilius Caepio
Ref: Crawford 330.1a​

 

I like 'em when they have been around!


RR AE uncia 22mm 5.7g ca 214 BCE Sicily mint Roma r pellet behind - ROMA Prow of galley right grain ear above pellet below Cr 42-4 Syd 108



RR Anon AE Semis Rome after 211 BCE Laureate hd Saturn r S - Prow r S ROMA 19.3g 26mm Craw 56-3



RR Cipius 115-114 BCE Roma X Biga rudder S 166 AUTH Cr 289-1 - JAZ

 

If you squint you can almost see Janus and the Prow on this anonymous as.

 

Here's a few that have seen some action.

 

FAUSTUS CORNELIUS SULLA AR silver denarius. Struck 56 BC. Laureate and diademed bust of Venus right; scepter on shoulder, SC behind. Reverse - 3 military trophies between capis & lituus; FAVSTVS, monogrammed, in exergue. RCV 384, Scarce, valued at $480 in VF. 19mm, 3.2g.

Just as Pompey was Sulla's protege in the early 1st century, Faustus, Sulla's son, served under Pompey. This coin, struck by Faustus in 56 BC, honors Pompey's victories an all three continents (Asia against King Mithradates, Africa against the Marians, and Spain, Europe, against Quintus Sertorius). Pompey had a signet ring with the same three trophies on it, with which he sealed his correspondence.


ROMAN REPUBLIC AE as. Anonymous type, later issue. Laureate head of Janus. Reverse - Prow of ship facing right, I before, ROMA below. 29mm, 16.4g



M VOLTEIUS AR silver denarius. 78 BC. Bust of Jupiter, Temple of Jupiter Capitolinus with thunderbolt in pediment.

MARCUS VOLTEIUS M F (Marcus Filius) AR silver denarius. 78 BC. Laureatehead of Jupiter right. Reverse - Temple of Jupiter Capitolinus withclosed doors; thunderbolt on pediment. Crawford 385/1; Sydenham 774;Volteia 1. 17mm, 3.5g.


Silver denarius, Crawford 519/2, Sydenham 1177, RSC I Domitia 21, F, well centered, Uncertain Adriatic or Ionian mint, weight 3.546g, maximum diameter 18.4mm, die axis 270o, 41 - 40 B.C.; obverse AHENOBAR, bare head of Ahenobarbus right; reverse CN DOMITIVS IMP, trophy on prow right;

 

3.16g, 17mm Diademed head of Venus right Aeneas advancing left, holding plladium and carrying Anchises on his shoulder. "CAESAR" RSC 12

Ex Aegean Numismatics