Here's a recent impulse buy. I wonder if the portraits were intentionally or accidentally struck so perfectly aligned? Any other artistic overstrikes out there? Anonymous Æ Triens, 211-208 B.C. 5.38g, 24mm. O: Helmeted head of Minerva right; four pellets above R: Prow right Overstruck on Akarnanian Federal Coinage (Akarnanian Confederacy) of Oiniadai. O: Zeus R: Head of river-god Acheloüs, trident above. - Crawford 95a From the RBW Collection
That is just too cool! Nice impulse buy I have an example of the understrike type: AKARNANIA, Federal Coinage (Akarnanian Confederacy) 3rd century BCE Æ (20mm, 6.38 g, 10h) Obv: laureate head of Zeus right; API below Rev: head of river-god Achelӧos left; trident head above, monogram to left. Ref: BCD Akarnania 32; HGC 4, 736 ex Alexandre Carathéodory Pasha (1833-1906)
Excellent pickup. I've been looking for one of these trientes for quite some time but have yet to find the right one. I will help add a bit to the story of yours adapted from a previous thread where I shared a sextans of this series: This triens comes from the CA series thought to have been struck in Canusium, modern-day Canosa, Italy. You can't see the CA on yours but the style is entirely consistent with the CA series and the CA trientes, as far as I have seen, always come overstruck on bronzes of Acarnania and Oeniadae. So, why would a series struck in Southeast Italy have so many known overstrikes on undertypes from far away across the Adriatic? The answer is that Marcus Valerius Laevinus had earlier driven the Macedonians from this region and this issue from Canusium represents booty captured during this fighting and brought back with the fleet when M. Valerius landed in Southern Italy circa 210-209 B.C.. The trientes are all overstruck likely because many of the captured coins were close enough to the necessary weight and the rest of the denominations were probably largely struck on flans whose bronze came from melting down and recasting of the captured booty, with a small number being overstruck on earlier coins that were the correct size. Since this issue contains no precious metal coinage, I think it likely that if any precious metal was captured it was either sent back to Rome or used by one of the other Roman field mints operating in Apulia. My only example from the "CA" series, the extremely rare sextans denomination, whose value would have been half of your triens:
Beautiful example Tif and thanks Randy. red_spork, that is a fantastic explanation! Would you mind if I copied that into my Forvm gallery?
Nemo, that is an incredibly cool piece! It is when you turn the coin to the opposite face, that the face jumps out and you really do not notice the OTHER face. Just makes it super fun to have. And @red_spork , what a great write up! Thanks, now it all makes sense. Thanks!
Nice pick-up @Nemo ! I like overstrikes and re-purposed coins. I have one on the way and will post it when it arrives. It was sold as the over type and had no mention of the under type! I have one RR Triens struck over an earlier RR Uncia - Herc facing right Roma facing left Triens reverse prow right
I have posted this overstrike before and @ancientcoinguru and @red_spork were instrumental in discovering it's history. We have discussed it and Sporky's in past threads: It LOOKS like and was sold to me as a Janus / Janiform... I knew that was not correct and its investment was well worth the history we dug up. RR Anon AE Sextans-Hieron II Error Overstrike 214-212 BCE S1211 Cr69-6
wow, that's pretty awesome. they couldn't have matched them up any better if they were trying could they?