Log in or Sign up
Coin Talk
Home
Forums
>
Coin Forums
>
Ancient Coins
>
A Luceria semuncia without a mintmark
>
Reply to Thread
Message:
<p>[QUOTE="red_spork, post: 3538314, member: 74282"]The city of Luceria in Apulia was one of Rome's oldest and most important colonies. Livy reports that the city became a Roman colony in 314 B.C. Because of its location near Samnium, the city would be of great strategic importance during the Second and Third Samnite Wars. When the war with Hannibal began, the city was again the location of an important Roman garrison and its extremely prolific mint was responsible for a considerable body of coinage in silver and bronze, <i>almost</i> all of which is mintmarked with an archaic style "L".</p><p><br /></p><p>While browsing the most recent Naville sale I spotted this interesting anonymous semuncia which they identified as a Rome mint Cr. 56/8. The style immediately struck me as similar to the <a href="https://www.acsearch.info/search.html?id=904933" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.acsearch.info/search.html?id=904933" rel="nofollow">Cr. 43/6 "L" series semunciae</a> minted at Luceria, though it is missing that characteristic "L" mintmark that would normally be directly under the prow as in the example linked above. When I checked my references I could find nothing like it in Crawford or the RBW Collection but as usual, <a href="https://www.academia.edu/15757344/Andrew_McCabe_The_Anonymous_Struck_Bronze_Coinage_of_the_Roman_Republic_in_Essays_in_Honour_of_Roberto_Russo_Witschonke_van_Alfen_eds_2013" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.academia.edu/15757344/Andrew_McCabe_The_Anonymous_Struck_Bronze_Coinage_of_the_Roman_Republic_in_Essays_in_Honour_of_Roberto_Russo_Witschonke_van_Alfen_eds_2013" rel="nofollow">Andrew McCabe's paper on anonymous bronzes</a> provided an answer. In it, he lists a group "F3" which includes a handful of examples of otherwise normal "L" and "CA" series coins lacking a mintmark including a semuncia from the British Museum Collection that appears to be a reverse die match to my present coin. Andrew suggests that these are likely just engravers' errors and does not treat them as a full anonymous series in their own right. While I tend to agree with Andrew that this is likely simply an engraver's error I am a sucker for varieties like this so of course I had to have it. I was really hoping it would go unnoticed and hammer somewhere at or near the opening bid but I suspect someone else noticed what it was as there was a surprising amount of competition during the live session but thankfully the other bidder bowed out just one increment or so away from my maximum.</p><p>[ATTACH=full]940372[/ATTACH] </p><p>Roman Republic Æ Semuncia(17 mm, 3.39g). Anonymous, style of first "L" series, Luceria mint, 214-212 B.C.. Head of Mercury right, wearing winged petasos; border of dots / Prow of galley right; above, ROMA. Line border. Crawford 43/6 var(no "L" mintmark); BMCRR 168(plate IX.10) = Ghey, Leins & Crawford 2010 43.6.3</p><p>Ex Naville Numismatics live auction 49, 5 May 2019, lot 321, ex AK Collection, Triton XII, 6 January 2009, lot 463(part, ID #B053)</p><p><br /></p><p>As always, feel free to post anything relevant.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>
[QUOTE="red_spork, post: 3538314, member: 74282"]The city of Luceria in Apulia was one of Rome's oldest and most important colonies. Livy reports that the city became a Roman colony in 314 B.C. Because of its location near Samnium, the city would be of great strategic importance during the Second and Third Samnite Wars. When the war with Hannibal began, the city was again the location of an important Roman garrison and its extremely prolific mint was responsible for a considerable body of coinage in silver and bronze, [I]almost[/I] all of which is mintmarked with an archaic style "L". While browsing the most recent Naville sale I spotted this interesting anonymous semuncia which they identified as a Rome mint Cr. 56/8. The style immediately struck me as similar to the [URL='https://www.acsearch.info/search.html?id=904933']Cr. 43/6 "L" series semunciae[/URL] minted at Luceria, though it is missing that characteristic "L" mintmark that would normally be directly under the prow as in the example linked above. When I checked my references I could find nothing like it in Crawford or the RBW Collection but as usual, [URL='https://www.academia.edu/15757344/Andrew_McCabe_The_Anonymous_Struck_Bronze_Coinage_of_the_Roman_Republic_in_Essays_in_Honour_of_Roberto_Russo_Witschonke_van_Alfen_eds_2013']Andrew McCabe's paper on anonymous bronzes[/URL] provided an answer. In it, he lists a group "F3" which includes a handful of examples of otherwise normal "L" and "CA" series coins lacking a mintmark including a semuncia from the British Museum Collection that appears to be a reverse die match to my present coin. Andrew suggests that these are likely just engravers' errors and does not treat them as a full anonymous series in their own right. While I tend to agree with Andrew that this is likely simply an engraver's error I am a sucker for varieties like this so of course I had to have it. I was really hoping it would go unnoticed and hammer somewhere at or near the opening bid but I suspect someone else noticed what it was as there was a surprising amount of competition during the live session but thankfully the other bidder bowed out just one increment or so away from my maximum. [ATTACH=full]940372[/ATTACH] Roman Republic Æ Semuncia(17 mm, 3.39g). Anonymous, style of first "L" series, Luceria mint, 214-212 B.C.. Head of Mercury right, wearing winged petasos; border of dots / Prow of galley right; above, ROMA. Line border. Crawford 43/6 var(no "L" mintmark); BMCRR 168(plate IX.10) = Ghey, Leins & Crawford 2010 43.6.3 Ex Naville Numismatics live auction 49, 5 May 2019, lot 321, ex AK Collection, Triton XII, 6 January 2009, lot 463(part, ID #B053) As always, feel free to post anything relevant.[/QUOTE]
Your name or email address:
Do you already have an account?
No, create an account now.
Yes, my password is:
Forgot your password?
Stay logged in
Coin Talk
Home
Forums
>
Coin Forums
>
Ancient Coins
>
A Luceria semuncia without a mintmark
>
Home
Home
Quick Links
Search Forums
Recent Activity
Recent Posts
Forums
Forums
Quick Links
Search Forums
Recent Posts
Competitions
Competitions
Quick Links
Competition Index
Rules, Terms & Conditions
Gallery
Gallery
Quick Links
Search Media
New Media
Showcase
Showcase
Quick Links
Search Items
Most Active Members
New Items
Directory
Directory
Quick Links
Directory Home
New Listings
Members
Members
Quick Links
Notable Members
Current Visitors
Recent Activity
New Profile Posts
Sponsors
Menu
Search
Search titles only
Posted by Member:
Separate names with a comma.
Newer Than:
Search this thread only
Search this forum only
Display results as threads
Useful Searches
Recent Posts
More...