Message:

<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Carausius, post: 2841578, member: 76440&quot;]Shortly after the major Roman losses at Trasimene and Trebia, Rome was in trouble.&nbsp; Massive military expenditure was needed and the inflow of raw materials, includimg silver and bronze, was thwarted by the marauding Carthaginians.&nbsp; This led to a reduction in the fineness of the AR quadrigatus, the primary silver coin of the time. It also led to the semilibral reduction in the bronze coinage - when the weight standard of AE coinage was reduced from an AE As of one Roman pound to an AE As of half a pound - in about 217 BCE. This weight standard reduction encouraged production of struck bronze coins for use in Rome and central Italy.&nbsp; Previously, struck bronzes were largely a southern Italian animal, with cast aes grave and aes signatum being the primary bronze currency in Rome and central Italy.&nbsp; The semilibral struck bronzes took two forms: the standard prow types of Crawford 38; and the so-called &quot;collateral&quot; series of semilibral bronzes of Crawford 39.</p><p><br /></p><p>The Crawford 39 series of semilibral struck bronzes consists of triens, quadrans, sextans, uncia and semiuncia.&nbsp; It&#039;s one of the most beautiful and interesting of the Roman struck bronze series, partly because the coins don&#039;t seem very &quot;Roman&quot; in style.&nbsp;&nbsp; Indeed, before Crawford, most scholars attributed these coins as Romano- Campanian.&nbsp; Crawford attributes them to Rome mint.</p><p><br /></p><p>I&#039;m fortunate to have four of the five Crawford 39 denominations in my collection. All are 217-215 BCE, during the depths of Rome&#039;s Second Punic War despair.</p><p><br /></p><p>AE Triens. Crawford 39/1.</p><p>O: Head of Juno with crested diadem and scepter on left shoulder; mark of value behind.</p><p>R: Hercules preparing to stike centaur with club: mark of value before centaur; ROMA below.</p><p>Ex Münzen und Medaillen Auction (1972):</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]672406[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>AE Sextans (26g). Crawford 39/3.</p><p>O: Wolf suckling twins, Romulus and Remus; mark of value in exergue.</p><p>R: Eagle holding leaf or flower; mark of value behind; ROMA before</p><p>Ex Sternberg 1989:</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]672408[/ATTACH]</p><p>[ATTACH=full]672414[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>AE Uncia (12g). Crawford 39/4.</p><p>O: Facing head of Helios; mark of value to left.</p><p>R: Crescent moon with two stars; mark of value between stars.</p><p>Ex RBW Collection; purchased by RBW from Ed Waddell in 1993:</p><p>[ATTACH=full]672417[/ATTACH]</p><p>[ATTACH=full]672418[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>AE Semiuncia. Crawford 39/5.</p><p>O: Turreted female (Roma?) head right.</p><p>R: Rider galloping r, extending whip; ROMA below.</p><p>Ex RBW Collection; purchased from I-forget-who in 1989:</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]672419[/ATTACH]</p><p>[ATTACH=full]672420[/ATTACH][/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

Your name or email address:

Do you already have an account?

• No, create an account now.
• Yes, my password is:
• Forgot your password?

Stay logged in