Last week's CNG e-Auction had a fantastic selection of Roman Republic coins from the Andrew McCabe collection. I had several primary targets, all bronzes, but my budget was largely exhausted from purchases earlier in the month and I was outbid on all of them, by surprising margins in some cases. This coin wasn't on my original bid list but I had noted when going through the original auction that Andrew's photos made it look much better than CNG's desaturated photos so I threw a last minute bid in on it and happily it hammered at a dollar or so under my bid. This moneyer struck in 91 B.C. in the wake of the passing of the Lex Papiria which I discussed here. This moneyer's bronze issue is similarly prolific to the L.P.D.A.P. issue discussed in that thread, however whereas the L.P.D.A.P. bronze issue included multiple denominations this moneyer only struck bronze asses. As far as the moneyer himself, I've found multiple sources online suggesting he was the stepfather of Brutus, and while I admittedly haven't spent a ton of time researching the issue yet, I don't see any evidence for that. This moneyer's coins are signed D SILANVS L F, the "L F" generally taken to mean Lucii filius or "son of Lucius" whereas the Decimus Junius Silanus connected to Brutus is generally believed to have been the son of Marcius Junius Silanus and so would have suffixed his name "M F". So the link to Brutus seems to be more wishful thinking(or if I'm being more cynical, outright misrepresentation) by coin sellers hoping to capitalize on the fame of Brutus. The truth seems to be that this moneyer was simply a lesser known member of this large and prominent Patrician family. Roman Republic Æ As(27mm, 11.12g, 4h), 91 BC, Rome mint. Laureate head of bearded Janus; I above/Prow of galley right; D•SILANVS•L•[F]. Below, ROMA. Crawford 337/5 Ex Andrew McCabe Collection, CNG E-Auction 436, 1/23/2019, lot 459, ex Artemide Capodanno, 1/1/2010 As always, please share anything relevant
Here are a few relevant additional coins from my own collection: An "L.P.D.A.P." semis. Note the similarity of the prow style: Roman Republic Æ semis(8.20g, 22.3mm), L.P.D.A.P. series, circa 91 B.C.. Rome mint. Laureate head of Saturn right; behind, S / Prow right; above, L.P.D.A.P.. Crawford 338/2; Sydenham 649 Ex RBW Collection, privately purchased from Veres/Devine, 8 December 1991 series, also ex-McCabe An anonymous as from a fully-anonymous series related to the L.P.D.A.P. Roman Republic Æ as(12.02g, 27mm, 2h), anonymous, semuncial, circa 91-86 B.C.. Rome mint. Laureate head of bearded Janus; I above / Prow right; above, ROMA and before, I. Crawford 339/1c; McCabe group M1 Ex Ashwill0324, eBay, 6/21/2018, ex Andrew McCabe Collection, Roma e-Sale 4, 28 December 2013, lot 507, An as of L. Calpurnius Piso Frugi, moneyer of the following year in 90 B.C., and a variety not published in Crawford Roman Republic Æ as(29mm, 11.87 g, 4h). L. Calpurnius Piso Frugi, moneyer, 90 B.C. Rome mint. Laureate head of bearded Janus; I above / Prow of galley right, on which stands Victory; above, L PISO; below, FRVGF. Crawford 340/4 var(FRVGF reverse legend); Sydenham 677 var; BMCRR Rome 2179-2185 var Ex RBW collection, CNG e-auction 375, 1 June 2016, lot 648, purchased from V. C. Vecchi 30 November 1985
Great coin Red. Congrats. I bid on a few but didn't win any McCabe coins from the last CNG auction. I do have some from previous sales like this one: Bruttium Vibo Valentia Semis Bronze semis head of Juno (Hera) right, wearing stephane, S (mark of value) behind VALENTIA Double cornucopia overflowing with grain and grapes, carnyx (control symbol) and S (mark of value) on right Vibo Valentia mint, 193 - 150 B.C. 3.57g, 18.1 mm 270o Mensitieri Valentia 211; HN Italy 2263; SNG ANS 483, SNG Cop 1849; BMC Italy p. 361, 16 (control described as staff ending in boar's head) Ex-Forum from the Andrew McCabe Collection
I also have to say the new McCabe tray tags are a cool addition. As someone who records keeps all old tags and provenance info I've got a ton of old tray tags and envelopes and t his is definitely the coolest looking one. If I used trays I'd be tempted to try and find something similar for own collection.
