A Coin of Necessity??

While attempting to research this 'denarius' I ran across the above title quoting Doug as he clarified the 'Limes Denarius'. I am not sure what I actually have, but it does appear to replicate the known denarii struck of a left-facing portrait of Sabina---and it does appear to be bronze rather than silver. In any case the coin appealed to me at the modest price I paid and it interested me primarily due to it's scarcer portrait. If it's truly a 'Limes' variation, and I seem to be lacking any of them, I would find the coin a bit more interesting.

According to Forum, "They are thought to be coins issued officially or pseudo-officially on the fringes of the empire out of necessity. Perhaps they were used to pay soldiers on the extreme frontier of the Roman territories or maybe to bolster the economy of regions far from the normal means of monetary distribution....."

I'd greatly appreciate any and all comments or clarifications.



'Denarius' of Sabina (Rome mint?) 129 AD
SABINA AVGVSTA HADRIANI AVG PP
Diademed, draped bust left, hair plaited down neck.
CONCORDIA AVG
Concordia enthroned left, holding patera and leaning on statue of Spes undr throne with cornucopia
RIC 398, 3.38 grams

 

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We wish we knew the 'why' for every coin including every unofficial one. Certainly some were to deceive people in the market but when you do not have regular coins, you make tokens or revert to a barter economy. Which is the case here? Don't really know!

 

Looks like darkly toned/chipped silver from the pic.

My only one.

Sabina (128-136 A.D.)
AR Denarius
O: SABINA AVGVSTA, diademed and draped bust of Sabina right.
R: CONCOR-DIA AVG, Concordia seated left, holding patera and scepter.
Rome
18mm
3.33g
RIC 391; RSC 24
Ex A. Lynn Collection (Freeman & Sear E16), 89.

 

That is a nice coin MZ. I almost bid on that one myself.

 

Sweet!! => Mikey-Z, that's a very cool OP-Sabina ... sadly, I don't know enough about Limes Denarius to make a sound comment ... ummm, but I do happen to have a pretty cool Sabina score (is it allowed to hang-out with your Limes baby?)




... run along, Sabina (oh, but make sure that you wash your hands after playing with that Limey girl)

 

If the weight is accurate, I suppose it may 'just' be a highly toned/highly circulated denarius...but I'll have to have it in-hand to be able to say anything more about it.

LOL