This poor, worn and crystallized Regulus denarius has been in my collection for a while. I have a question regarding the two holes in the reverse: are these banker marks, or is there another explanation? Any thoughts appreciated! ROMAN REPUBLIC, Regulus Denomination: AR denarius, minted: Rome, Italy; 42 BC Obv: L•REGVLVS •P R• Bare head of L. Livineius Regulus to right Rev: REGVLVS•F, in exergue: PRAEF•VR Curule chair between two fasces. Weight: 3.29g; Ø:17mm Catalogue: Babelon (Livineia) 8. Crawford 494/31. RBW 1736. Sydenham 1113 Provenance: Ex private collection; acq.: 12-2018
I’ll take a stab at it, @Roerbakmix , as unlikely as my idea may be, someone may have converted the coin into a button and the holes could be anchor points for a metal loop which has disappeared. Whatever adhesive residue was left behind may have been cleaned away by the elements or removed by a previous owner.