An Astounding Brockage

A brockage is 'any coin which is mis-struck, but particularly applied to coins on which the same design is found in relief on one face and incuse on the other as a result of the preceding coin having remained on the die and left its impression on the next coin struck' (Grierson 1975, p. 193). The vast majority of brockages are from obverse dies. David Sear explains 'Reverse brockages are much rarer and more difficult to explain as they would require a new blank to be placed on top of an existing piece which had remained in the obverse or lower die after striking.' Brockages from the Flavian era are rare enough, but imagine my shock when I came across this reverse brockage from the reign of Titus. I just had to have it!




Titus Reverse Brockage
AR Denarius, 2.55g
Rome mint, 79 AD
Obv: Incuse; Same type as reverse
Rev: TR P VIIII IMP XV COS VII P P; Quadriga l., with corn ears
RIC 43 (R). BMC 34. RSC 293. BNC 30.
Acquired from delcampe, February 2022.

Struck after 1 July 79 AD, this Titus brockage denarius was surprisingly produced during a time of excellent quality control at the mint of Rome. Unlike an obverse brockage, a reverse brockage allows for easier cataloguing since the specific reverse type is known. The minor wear indicates the piece freely circulated and was accepted as normal currency. J. P. Goddard estimates that up to 4% of Roman Republican denarii were brockages! That number is significantly diminished during the Flavian era.

The normal variant of this quadriga type is fairly rare on its own. Needless to say I was quite astonished to find one as a reverse brockage! An utterly fascinating unique coin.

Here is a wonderful page about ancient coin brockages. https://cccrh.files.wordpress.com/2018/06/ancient-brockage.pdf

NB: I was able to die match the reverse with this specimen (not my coin) from asearch.



Please feel free to share your brockages, error coins, or the like.

 

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A rare of an already rare coin, that's neat congratz!

 

Reverse Victorinus brockage. Still looking for an obverse example.

 

Very cool coin! I have a couple of obverse brockages, but no reverse ones. Both are not nearly as detailed as yours lol

Gallienus - Milan.


Victorinus. This one is coming from the recent Zeus auction, but it hasn't arrived yet.

 

Roman Republic:


L. Plautius Plancus. 47 B.C. AR denarius (18 mm, 3.62 g). Brockage strike. Rome.
Obv: L · PLAV[TIV]S below, head of Medusa facing
Rev: Incuse of obverse.
Ref: Crawford 453/1c; Sydenham 959b; Plautia 14.
VAuctions/Triskeles Auctions, Sale 17, September 2016, lot 451 = Classical Numismatic Group, e-auction 59, February 2003, lot 131.

"From the WJP Brockage Collection." This collection was 18 lots and five group lots sold by VAuctions as part of this sale.

 

Fantastic addition, David.

 

WOW! Congrats!

 

What a cool coin, @David Atherton! It's in a marvelous state of preservation, too!

I have only two brockages -- both obverse brockages -- and they are of Faustina II, of course!

This one is a provincial.


Faustina II, AD 147-175.
Roman provincial Æ 23.9 mm, 7.93 g, 12 h.
Uncertain Balkan mint, c. AD 161-165.
Obv: ΦΑVCΤΕΙΝΑ CΕΒΑCΤΗ, draped bust, right, wearing circlet of pearls.
Rev: Brockage of obverse.

And this one is an imperial issue.


Faustina II, AD 147-175.
Roman Æ dupondius, 13.10 g, 24.8 mm, 12 h.
Rome, c. AD 161-165.
Obv: FAVSTINA AVGVSTA, draped bust, right, wearing stephane.
Rev: Brockage of obverse.

 

Smuggled out by a Mint employee for profit, no doubt. At least that what I keep seeing in the Errors section.

Beautiful example!

 

Beautiful example, David. Thanks for sharing.

 

That is quite a special one! I don't have any rev. brockages (or Flavian) but always take not note when I see one in a catalog online.

I have a similar Titus quadriga type (but IMP XIIII not XV). The Auctiones GmbH (EA 34, 22 Feb 2015 lot 92) listing stated that "The reverse type has been copied from two moneyers' denarii of Augustus that apparently depict a procession in honor of Ceres." In recent years similar types have often been described as "Judaea Capta Commemoratives" (perhaps following Hendin), though if so, it'd be a decennial commemorative, 10 years after the original triumph.
One of ones where the obv. legend runs counterclockwise & the reverse clockwise!


I may only have this one RRC brockage, a Thorius Balbus (316/1) that picked up from Part II of the Alba Longa Col. at Aureo y Calico in 2019:


I also recently found two images of it in the Richard Schaefer Binders of the RRDP at ANS (ANE-Calico sale 1981, Aureo sale 1998):

 

By the way, just noticed your coin is also ex Elsen Auction 86 (10 Dec 2005), 256.

 

The OP coin is outstanding for a Roman coin with an equally outstanding reverse! Not something you find everyday. Congrats. I don't have many brockages, but I do have this one:

Bulgaria: Alexios and John Asen (ca. 1356-1366) Æ Trachy (CNG E-288, lot 599; Numismatik Naumann Auction 75, Lot 872)

Obv: Two crowned figures standing facing, holding scepters; clouds above, three stars between
Rev: Brockage
Dim: 18mm, 2.01 g

 

I currently have one in my collection Manuel I Comnenus SBCV-1978

The fill makes it nicer and easier to see. Love the OP coin.

 

Wow, that is an amazing brockage, congrats!! I like that the legend is actually complete... if you consider both sides.

My only reverse brockage (Constantine I):

 

Yes indeed. Funny how Elsen got the attribution for the reverse wrong! Also the reverse and obverse are flipped in their photo.

 

Which is flat out an incorrect description of the type! This is not a Capta reverse and it pains me when I see dealers try to pawn it off as such.

 

Seljuqs of Rum. Æ Brockage Fals. 21 mm. 2.5 gm. 12th-13th century AD. Obverse: Man on horse right. Reverse: Incuse of the obverse.

 

The OP is fascinating and an excellent example of a desirable type at the same time.
I have never managed to get a reverse brockage within my collecting fields and only have one obverse brockage.
Brockages seem to slip through relatively infrequently compared to the volume of coinage produced. I have pondered this and have a few questions that I can't resolve.

Were brockages a frequent occurrence but were filtered out at the mint and what we see are "the few that got away"?

What in the manufacturing process makes a reverse brockage less likely than an obverse brockage? OR did they occur with equal frequency and the mint staff were more sensitive to spotting them and removing them before they got out?

Whilst brockages occur across the ages they seem (very anecdotal) to be a lot frequent for Roman Republican issues. What was it about the manufacture process that made them so frequent? Did they learn something and change the process to reduce the frequency of brockages? Were they just more vigilant with removing them?

Obverse brockages are easy to attribute to an emperor. Sometimes a reverse brockage doesn't allow you to identify when it was made as the reverse may be generic enough to span multiple issuers. Would this influence your purchase decision with regards to a reverse brockage? Does it reduce it's value?

An example of what I am talking about is given above:-
@Ocatarinetabellatchitchix states a reverse brockage produced under Victorinus. The same type is produced under Tetricus. What allocates this one to Victorinus rather than Tetricus?

David was not only able to identify the Emperor but also find a die match. This sort of evidence/research adds to the interest significantly in my eyes. I must admit that I would then try and make it a background task to obtain a die match example to have them side by side. I know that I am still looking for a die match example for my obverse brockage.

Thank you @David Atherton for stimulating my brain a little on this subject.

 

Wow !