Picked up this little beauty from Valentinian, always wanted the earliest Roman that was possible to get that wasn't too heavy (in price and weight). Thanks Warren, as it turns out the last two times I have visited your store I have found something I like. Apparently these type of small struck bronze coins in three denominations were struck for almost 50 years, their purpose was to facilitate commerce with the Greek cities of the south where the large cast Aes Grave of central Italy would not have been acceptable ROMAN REPUBLIC 273-270 BC, AE Litra, Head of Minerva, ROMANO horses head. RRC 17/1a, 18.5mm, 6.02gm Early struck coinage. LET'S SEE YOUR EARLY ROMAN REPUBLIC COINS.
Awesome coin! Congrats. I'm always looking for early cast Rupublicans. During the search I got this one although it's stuck. I recently posted it in another thread but here it is again: P. Cornelius P.f. Blasio Laureate head of Janus; above I P BLAS above, ROMA in exergue Prow of galley right; before I Rome, 169-158 BC 33mm, 29.27g Crawford 189/1; Sydenham 370; BMCRR 788 A duplicate from the RBW collection of Roman Republican Coins; Ex-Peus 330 (April 26, 1991) lot 644; Ex-DM collection; Ex-Calgary coin
These little Minerva/Horsehead bronzes are very interesting. They come in a handful of varieties with different legend variations and the heads on each side facing different directions. Mine is a scarcer right-right variety, whereas the more common varieties have the heads facing opposing directions. You see a handful of different attributions for these coins with various dates and mints cited. The one that I tend to agree with based on the find evidence and similarity to local Civic issues is the attribution to Cosa that Crawford lays out in Coinage and Money in the Roman Republic. Crawford argues that these coins are related to First Punic War fleet building activities, for which Cosa's harbor would have made it a prime location. Further evidence that these should be assigned to Cosa is that they are typologically and metrologically close to the "COZANO" Mars/Horsehead bronzes which are certainly from Cosa. These are so close in fact that the rare COZANO bronzes have been misattributed as these more common Minerva/Horsehead bronzes in at least two major RR bronze sales(Vecchi 3 & NAC 61). Roman Republic Æ litra(5.75g, 18mm), anonymous, after 264 B.C., Cosa mint. Helmeted head of minerva right; border of dots / Horse's head right, on base; behind, ROMA[NO] upwards. Crawford 17/1d; BMCRR Romano-Campanian 12; Sydenham 3a Ex Thersites Collection, Roma e-sale 32 lot 662(provenance incorrectly omitted from lot description), ex Andrew McCabe Collection, acquired in 2009.
Very nice pickup @Ancient Aussie ! These are tough to get with good detail. I have several of these little guys as a subset collection ... RR AE Double Litra 235 BCE 19.5mm 6.54g Rome mint Hercules r club - Pegasus r club ROMA Cr 27-3 HN Italy 316 S 591 RR Anon AE Double-Litra 275-270 BC Apollo Lion S 590 Cr 16-1a RR Anon AE Litra 234-231 BC Apollo Horse Rearing Cr 26-3 S 595 RR Anon AE Litra 260 BC Minerva star ROMANO Horse Hd BLACK Cr 17-1g S 593 RR Anon AE Litra 241-235 BC Mars Beardless Horse Head GREEN Cr 25-3 S 594 RR Anon AE Litra 230-226 BC Mars Club Galloping Horse Cr 27-2 S 596 RR Anon AE Half-Litra 234-231 BCE Roma Phrygian Dog S 598 Cr 26-4 RR Anon AE Litra 270-269 BCE S 592 Cr 17-1a
Amazing coin @Ancient Aussie!! One of those has been on my list pretty much since day one. And the condition is FANTASTIC! (also, love the mind blown status with the top of the emojis brain coming out! Wish I'd found it first) You've got me beat by a long shot (just over a century) for RR bronze. But here is one I just got yesterday in the mail from Herakles on V coins that I am very happy with (I haven't had a chance to up the new pictures yet. So here's the sellers). It's a certifiable TIFmademedoit coin. As her examples are through the roof scary. As always, in hand this thing is a scary beast itself. Date: Roman Republican Period, 167-165 B.C. Denomination: Æ Unit. Diameter: 22 mm. Weight: 9.43 grams. Obverse: Facing mask of Silenos with pointed ears, wearing ivy wreath. Reverse: MAKE / ΔΟΝΩΝ in two lines within oak wreath. Reference: SNG Copenhagen 1324-6; MacKay pl. III, 10; Touratsoglou, Macedonia 25. Grade: Very Fine. Dark earthen patina. Note: Transitional Bronze Issue. Very Rare. Comments: Very little is known about this attractive and interesting type. Originally attributed as an issue of the Roman D. Julius Silanus, more recent scholarship, particularly hoard analyses, have proved this untenable. The period to which it now belongs was marked by turmoil caused largely by various barbarian invasions, and coin production was sporadic at all of the Macedonian mints, and probably related to military activity. The Silenos type and oak wreaths were common local motifs used on coins in the Thraco-Macedonian region. Though I do have something Roman that's even older on the way...
Here's a pretty greenie, supposedly owned by Haeberlin but not part of his 1933 sale. Anonymous Æ Litra Circa 234-231 BC. (3.19g, 15.7mm, 5h). Rome mint. Laureate head of Apollo right / Bridled horse rearing left. Crawford 26/3; Sydenham 29 (half litra); Hannover 56; HN Italy 308.
Great collection you have all with good detail and patina. I am particularly interested in the second one down minted about the same time as mine, what weight difference between Litra and double Litra?
Wow, that is a beautiful coin! The sugar junkie in me can't help that think that coin looks tasty... like candy.
