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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;eparch, post: 4098544, member: 89211&quot;]A recent acquisition </p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1065920[/ATTACH][ATTACH=full]1065921[/ATTACH]</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>Tiberius (14-37). AE Sestertius, 36-37.</p><p><br /></p><p>&nbsp;D/ Augustus in quadriga of elephants left; holding branch and scepter.</p><p><br /></p><p>&nbsp;R/ Large SC surrounded by legend. On reverse, counter-mark NCAPR </p><p><br /></p><p>&nbsp;RIC 68</p><p><br /></p><p>Although this is a common countermark, there seem to be 3 alternative</p><p>explanations for its meaning :</p><p><br /></p><p>Most references attribute it to Nero - per Richard Baker <a href="https://www.accla.org/actaaccla/Baker1984.pdf" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.accla.org/actaaccla/Baker1984.pdf" rel="nofollow">https://www.accla.org/actaaccla/Baker1984.pdf</a></p><p><br /></p><p>&quot;Here we have the commonest of all the early Imperial countermarks.&nbsp;&nbsp; However, not all the authorities agree on what the letters mean. It was struck upon the base metal coinage during the first eight to ten years of Nero&#039;s reign when only gold and silver was minted in his name from the mint of Rome. Speculation as to why it was used and what its translation is varies according to which theory one adheres to.</p><p><br /></p><p>These are the two most common translations :</p><p><br /></p><p>&nbsp;1. Nero Claudius Augustus Probavit. Roughly, &quot;with the approval of Nero Claudius, the Augustus.&quot;</p><p><br /></p><p>&nbsp;2. Nero Claudius Augustus Populo Romano. Roughly, &quot;from Nero Claudius, the Augustus, to the people of Rome.&quot;</p><p><br /></p><p>&nbsp;In the first case it is the revalidation of the coins of Nero&#039;s three immediate predecessors (Tiberi us. Caligula and Claudius).</p><p><br /></p><p>But in the second instance it is a &quot;congiarium.&quot; or public dole given by Nero sometime after his succession to the throne. Originally in the form of wine or grain it later developed into the custom of monetary donations given by the emperors to the populace of Rome.</p><p><br /></p><p>Since the greater majority of those specimens found to date are from either the mint of Rome or Lugdunum. and also show very little wear to necessitate countermarking, I hold with the second of the two translations.&quot;</p><p><br /></p><p>My coin is very worn however. The Museum of Countermarks on Roman Coins <a href="http://www.romancoins.info/Countermarks.html" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://www.romancoins.info/Countermarks.html" rel="nofollow">http://www.romancoins.info/Countermarks.html</a></p><p>has an alternative explanation :</p><p><br /></p><p>&quot;Another possibility would be to read NCAPR as &quot;Nerva Caesar Augustus Probavit&quot;. This hypothesis is supported by a Vespasian dupondius with the &quot;NCAPR&quot; countermark, making an attribution to Nero very unlikely.&quot;</p><p><br /></p><p>Please post any examples and information you may have[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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