The most recent CNG e-sale featured a nice selection of Roman Republic silver and bronze from the Andrew McCabe collection which allowed me to cross a type off the list that I've been looking out for for quite some time. When this coin was minted, circa 115-114 B.C., most moneyers were placing their names quite prominently on their coins and more and more of them were eschewing the common types in lieu of more personal types advertising the achievements of their families. In this context this fully-anonymous type portraying the founding myth of Rome represents a significant departure from the norm. The moneyer's name has been lost to history but his design was apparently a favorite in ancient times as it was revived by both Titus and Trajan and is still a favorite today among collectors of the Roman Republic. In addition to the wonderful condition and toning this coin also has a very interesting provenance. To quote Andrew McCabe's note on the CNG listing: "The illustrious pedigree of this coin includes the Herbert Sukenik (Mayflower) collection, the George N. Polis M.D. Collection, and the Aurelia collection. The Zeckendorf brothers, real estate moguls, bought the Mayflower hotel on Central Park West in the early 2000s – which is where Sukenik lived in a rent-controlled apartment. They wanted to knock down the hotel to build their $1 billion development, 15 Central Park West. Sukenik dragged out negotiations for two years and was paid $17 million to leave. The coin collection put together by Sukenik was named in honor of the Mayflower hotel. The Aurelia collection of high quality Roman Republican silver coins was dispersed in 1980 by Thomas McKenna and John Barton, under Barton's Owl Ltd. brand." Roman Republic AR denarius(19mm, 3.87 g, 9h), anonymous, circa 115 or 114 B.C., Rome mint. Helmeted head of Roma right with curl on left shoulder; below, ROMA; behind, X. Border of dots. / Roma, wearing Corinthian helmet, seated right on pile of shields, holding spear in left hand; at feet, beside pile of shields, helmet; before, she-wolf right, suckling twins; on either side, bird flying. Border of dots. Crawford 287/1 Ex Andrew McCabe Collection, AM#13206-39, CNG e-Auction 443, 1 May 2019, lot 455, ex Roma V, 23 March 2013, lot 519, ex Mayflower (Herb Sukenik) Collection, Heritage 3019, 25 April 2012, lot 25924, ex George N. Polis M.D. Collection, Bowers & Merena, 10 June 1991, lot 74, ex Aurelia Collection, Owl Ltd. & Thomas McKenna, November 1980, lot 72. As always, feel free to share anything relevant!
Also, here's a relevant imitation from my own collection, likely struck by the Geto-Dacians in the area that is now Romania: Imitations of Roman Republic coinage, Geto-Dacians, AR denarius(3.72g, 21mm), after 114 B.C.. Imitating anonymous issue of circa 115-114 B.C.. Head of Roma right; behind, X and "OMA"(sic) / Roma seated right on pile of shields, holding spear; birds in flight to upper left and right; to lower right, she-wolf standing right, head left, suckling the twins Romulus and Remus. Cf. Crawford 287/1 for prototype; Davis, website class A, group Ib, Geto-Dacian Monetary Copies, C45(these dies) & Davis "A New Hoard of Denarii Imitations" 20(these dies)
Congrats! Excellent example with a wonderful pedigree. The type has been on my want list as well and I was very tempted to bid on that one. Actually, I think I was an early bidder, but didn't chase it to the end.
This one caught my eye while looking through the auction originally but I expected it to go a bit higher than it did. I threw a bid on it in the last minute or so, then thought I'd lost it when suddenly Clio was the high bidder but somehow managed to dislodge him with my final bid which was still a good bit under what I expected it to hammer for. Auctions are strange sometimes. I almost wonder if it didn't stay low because other bidders saw Clio bid on it and didn't even try?
The Aurelia Collection was quite nice; unfortunately little known and underappreciated. Here's my example, from NAC 78. Ex The Numismatic Auction 1, New York 1982. TNA was a short-lived series of first-rate New York auctions, also too little remembered today, run by the Belgian firm Tradart. I missed this example in 1982 (by a mile!), but I always knew this was the only coin for me. I never even considered another. Sure enough, in the fullness of time I got another chance. There was no way I would miss it again. Phil Davis
I bought one of these several years ago and don't even remember bidding on it! I must've bid but I don't remember-- it's appearance on my invoice was a surprise but after thinking about it, I vaguely recall seeing it as the auction was closing and thinking it was lovely. #NotSorry It needs a reshoot. Roman Republic, Anonymous Rome, 115-114 BCE AR denarius, 20 mm, 3.91 g, 10 h Obv: Helmeted head of Roma right, X behind, ROMA below Rev: Roma, helmeted, seated on two shields, holding spear before her, she-wolf standing right at her feet, head turned back, sucking Romulus and Remus. In left and right fields, two birds flying towards her. Ref: Crawford 287/1
That's an amazing example, definitely the best one I've ever seen on the market. Congrats! The Aurelia Collection does seem to be a very underappreciated sale. It's a thin little catalog but seemingly had a lot of important types represented and the photography is great. The little line drawings added throughout the text are great too. This is my coin from the plates of that sale:
While this is the best of these I have seen, it still lacks what I would consider a possible improvement. None of these show any detail on the reverted head of the wolf. The coin illustrated as Roman Silver Coins 176 has a tiny bit of separation but falls short of the Volodya coin in other respects and is certainly not 'full wolf head' (like nickel collectors use 'full horn' or 'full steps'). I would love a coin with 'full wolf head' but it would have to be a holed fourree to drop into my price bracket. Overall the ones shown here are above average but they show that the issue could have benefited from a slightly more muscular hammerman. This is life in this hobby. Perfect strikes, perfect surfaces, perfect style and a few other things I am sure I have overlooked do not always come to roost on the same flan. We do the best we can.
Nice score @red_spork ! I have always just really liked this denarius. Very serene, gorgeous reverse. Reminds me of a nice Spring day... RR Anon AR Denarius 115-114BCE Rome mint 19.52mm 3.82g ROMA X Seated r on shields spear birds she-wolf Romulus Remus Cr 287-1 S 164 Other'ns from circa that year: RR Cipius 115-114 BCE Roma X Biga rudder S 166 AUTH Cr 289-1 - JA RR Cipius 115-114 BCE Roma X Biga rudder S 166 AUTH Cr 289-1 RR Curtius Silanus 116-115 BCE AR Den (2) Roma Jupiter Quad Lituus S 162 Cr 285-2 RR Sergius Silas Quaestor 116-115 BCE Roma Severed Gaul Head S 163 Cr 298-1
I love the type in this thread and am always scouring for a better one than I have because of the compromises we all have to make with the type. Now that I see Volodya owns my upgrade (again!), I guess I can quit looking until he's ready to sell it to me. Mine doesn't tick Doug's full head box either, but it's pretty good overall. BTW, I did own a coin from the Aurelia Collection but sold it to a friend of mine not too long ago.
@Alegandron , do you know the story of M. Cipius? He was famous for pretending to fall deeply asleep while his wife slept with whatever person Cipius needed a political or financial favor from. So one day he was "asleep" when one of his slaves spilled some expensive wine. As the slave tried to discreetly leave the room, Cipius said "I don't feign sleep for every man."
I love the type too. Like @Volodya , I find it difficult to find an example that checks all the boxes for me. I'll have to eliminate a box or two. OP coin is excellent. I have one or two coins from Aurelia Collection. Will share 'em when I remember which ones...
In 1995 a woman from New Jersey saw some ancient coins of mine on consignment at a local coin dealer in Montana and asked him if he bought ancient coins. He said no, but he knew someone who did (me). She gave him her number back in NJ and I got in contact. She told me what she had—a modest collection of coins from a relative. I asked for and eventually got images-- dark photocopies of them, 90 coins, mostly Republican, in groups of 20 photocopied through plastic sheets that held 2x2 holders within (i.e. poor images). But, I could see the group was worth having. I recommended she visit ancient-coin dealers to get offers, gave her some names of dealers not too far away, and said I would probably do better than whatever she could get elsewhere. Time passed. Then I got a communication saying she was coming back to Montana on vacation again and would I pay the X she had been offered? If so, she would deliver them. I agreed. I got X in cash and met her at the airport. She got cash; I got coins. This was one of the better coins: Considering the size of the die, this type is usually remarkably well centered. Most examples manage to get both flying birds on the flan and you can see there are not 2 mm left over.
