Apparently Clio likes Republican Bronzes too...

I usually don't have a ton of bidding competition on Republican bronzes, especially lower grade ones, but in today's Roma auction I was the direct underbidder to the one and only Clio on this extremely rare ROMA monogram uncia. Clio actually bought a small run of RR bronzes, all in the last few seconds of each one's bidding, but luckily his or her siege let up long enough for me to pick up the following "staff and club" series sextans(the staff is the line between the prow and ROMA above) from Etruria, ex Andrew McCabe collection, ex JD collection

The staff and club bronzes struck in Etruria during the Second Punic War form one of the most complex bronze issues of the entire Republican series. These coins may have a staff on the reverse, a club on the obverse, or both, and there are some variations that have the staff in other locations. On top of that, there is a fully-anonymous series that has a very similar bug-eyed staring or gazing style and similar style of prow reverse that is almost certainly related but was not included in Crawford. I'm currently gathering images and data in the hopes that I can find some die links that might shed light on the overall organization of these bronzes, but I haven't found anything substantial just yet.


Roman Republic Æ Sextans(21mm, 4.99g, 3h), Anonymous("Staff and club" series), 209-208 BC, Etrurian mint. Head of Mercury right; above, •• / Prow right; above, ROMA and staff; below, ••. Crawford 106/8a; Sydenham -; Russo RBW 487.
Ex Andrew McCabe collection, ex JD Collection, NAC 78(5/26/2014) lot 1637

Thumbnails below are two related "staff and club" trientes in my collection, the first with a staff on the reverse, the second being a very rare triens with a "club"(the sort of dotted line) behind Minerva's head on the obverse and the usual staff on the reverse:

 

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Sigh. That darn Clio

Maybe you'll get the next one

 

Love the one that didn't get away. Besides, you can't have them all, right?

 

Niiiiiiiiiice Sporky! Well done. Love that Sextans!

 

I can't have them all, but finding another ROMA monogram uncia will take a while. The type is so rare that it was only first published in 1998 and very few examples are known. Based on the auction results of the other examples that have come up in the past few years with the dispersal of the JD and RBW collections, I have a feeling I'll pay dearly next time it comes up if I want to win it.

 

That's actually a RR I like, congrats on the addition.

 

Nothing is safe from Clio! I have to wonder if he realises how much widespread existential grief he's caused us all .

Anyway, very nice Etrurian mint pickup. I know next to nothing about RR bronzes, but did buy this one that appealed to me a couple years ago.


ROMAN REPUBLIC
Anonymous Staff and Club series
Æ Semis
24.5g, 33mm. Etruria, 208 BC. Crawford 106/5. O: Laureate head of Saturn right, S behind. R: Prow right, S and staff above, ROMA below.
Ex Andrew McCabe Collection
McCabe notes: "a heavy staff Semis, weighing 24.5 grams on a large flan, the size of an As; this is probably associated with the post-semilibral coinage, struck in the earliest campaigns in Etruria."

 

That's a nice one, and a great example of the variations I discussed. In this case the "staff" goes through the deckhouse instead of above it like on my coins. Thanks for sharing!

 

Nice coin Red. I must admit, I chuckled when I looked at the Roma results and saw Clio's name all over the RR bronzes. I never knew he/she had a penchant for them. I could chuckle about it because I had no pending bids. For a related coin, see my new Staff and Club As pictured among a group of six RR bronze acquisitions in the VSPVS thread.

 

Yours is a good example of one of the facets of RR coinage I find most interesting. It is indeed a staff series as, but from the other staff series Crawford 112, and in Roman mint style. The technical descriptions of "Janus/prow with staff above" are the same but style is totally different from the Etrurian series as evidenced by the Etrurian as here.

 

thats awesome...

 

Quite right, my As is Rome mint, Staff Series, Crawford 112/3. Below is a more relevant coin from my collection. It's a likely Etrurian mint semis, but without any symbols. Stylistically, it is very similar to Staff and Club Series. McCabe Group E1. Weight 16.67 grams; 28 mm.

 

The day the Clio collection makes it to market, it will depress Roman coin prices for some time to come as there will be a glut in the market that will take years to absorb. I don't know how many coins Clio must have, but based on the legend, and how many people have been Clio'd, I'd imagine it would have to be several thousands at least.

 

Maybe not. To depress prices, the collection needs to be large and focused. The sales of the large, RR-focused Goodman, RBW, JD and Student/Mentor collections in close succession have likely depressed RR prices to some extent over the past decade. Clio's interests are so broad and his/her collection may not have sufficient numbers in any particular focus to affect prices.

 

I noticed the Clio siting, not good news for RR collectors.
This was an unusual ROMA sale. Nothing jumped off the screen and said you need me. I did bid a couple of times and was second once. I slept past the RR live bid times. Thus the saying, you snooze, you loose fit me yesterday!

 

Yeah, come to think of it, I don't recall seeing him go after Republicans before.

! Maybe he's turning his attention away from "my" provincials! (one can dream)

 

He seems to still be hitting the provincials pretty strong. Here's to hoping this was just a small detour.

 

I agree, stay away from my interests please!

 

Nowhere is safe because he collects everything. I think of him as the 21st Century Virgil Brand.

http://www.nytimes.com/1982/01/17/arts/coin-auction-may-bring-10-million.html

 

Seems like an apt comparison.