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Roman Republican denarius No. 32: graffiti or just scratches?
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<p>[QUOTE="DonnaML, post: 4891719, member: 110350"]I bought this coin (which arrived today), even though its surfaces, especially in the fields, are quite rough and have many small scratches. I usually view surfaces like this as a disqualifier, but in this case I bought the coin because it has one of my favorite reverse designs of any Republican coin -- the fact that it's anepigraphic helps, I think -- and because it retains a lot of detail despite the rough surfaces. Plus, I think the design on both sides is more finely rendered than on some other dies of this type I've seen. I had been looking for one I liked enough to buy for some time, and decided on this one. I thought its positive appeal far outweighed its flaws, and now that I have it I'm very pleased. Especially since one can barely see the scratches in hand, without a magnifying glass.</p><p><br /></p><p>The fact that the she-wolf's head (which should be turned back to her body) is indistinguishable doesn't bother me, because that's true of almost every one of the examples I've seen.</p><p><br /></p><p>Roman Republic, Anonymous* AR Denarius, 115-114 BCE. Obv. Head of Roma right wearing winged Corinthian helmet; below, ROMA; behind, X [<i>despite earlier change from 10 to 16 asses in value</i>] / Rev. Roma, wearing Corinthian helmet, seated right on pile of shields, holding spear in left hand; helmet on ground between pile of shields and her right foot; before her, she-wolf right, suckling twins Romulus and Remus; on either side, birds flying. Crawford 287/1, RSC I 176 (ill.), Sear RCV I 164 (ill.). 20 mm., 3.07 g. <i>Ex. Silbury Coins, UK, Jan. 3, 2019.</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>[ATTACH=full]1180611[/ATTACH] </i></p><p><br /></p><p>* <i>See Sear RCV I at p. 104: "An issue lacking the moneyer's name is surprising and noteworthy at such a late date. The omission must have been his own decision and not the result of a change in government policy. Remarkably, this distinctive reverse type was revived almost 200 years later on an aureus of Titus (see no. 2417).</i> [Italics in original.]</p><p><br /></p><p>Obviously, I'm not the only one who's ever liked this design!</p><p><br /></p><p>Speaking of magnification, some of the scratches in the lower right field on the obverse, when one zooms in on the photo above, look to me like they could possibly be letters rather than random scratches.</p><p><br /></p><p>There's even what looks like it might be a tiny "Ch" or something similar, directly below the far right of Roma's neck.</p><p><br /></p><p>So, am I imagining things? Is this a case of pareidolia, like seeing faces in clouds or pieces of toast? Or could some of the scratches be intentional?</p><p><br /></p><p>Please feel free to post your own examples of this coin, or any other anonymous Republican coin from this late in time, or anything else you think is appropriate.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>
[QUOTE="DonnaML, post: 4891719, member: 110350"]I bought this coin (which arrived today), even though its surfaces, especially in the fields, are quite rough and have many small scratches. I usually view surfaces like this as a disqualifier, but in this case I bought the coin because it has one of my favorite reverse designs of any Republican coin -- the fact that it's anepigraphic helps, I think -- and because it retains a lot of detail despite the rough surfaces. Plus, I think the design on both sides is more finely rendered than on some other dies of this type I've seen. I had been looking for one I liked enough to buy for some time, and decided on this one. I thought its positive appeal far outweighed its flaws, and now that I have it I'm very pleased. Especially since one can barely see the scratches in hand, without a magnifying glass. The fact that the she-wolf's head (which should be turned back to her body) is indistinguishable doesn't bother me, because that's true of almost every one of the examples I've seen. Roman Republic, Anonymous* AR Denarius, 115-114 BCE. Obv. Head of Roma right wearing winged Corinthian helmet; below, ROMA; behind, X [[I]despite earlier change from 10 to 16 asses in value[/I]] / Rev. Roma, wearing Corinthian helmet, seated right on pile of shields, holding spear in left hand; helmet on ground between pile of shields and her right foot; before her, she-wolf right, suckling twins Romulus and Remus; on either side, birds flying. Crawford 287/1, RSC I 176 (ill.), Sear RCV I 164 (ill.). 20 mm., 3.07 g. [I]Ex. Silbury Coins, UK, Jan. 3, 2019. [ATTACH=full]1180611[/ATTACH] [/I] * [I]See Sear RCV I at p. 104: "An issue lacking the moneyer's name is surprising and noteworthy at such a late date. The omission must have been his own decision and not the result of a change in government policy. Remarkably, this distinctive reverse type was revived almost 200 years later on an aureus of Titus (see no. 2417).[/I] [Italics in original.] Obviously, I'm not the only one who's ever liked this design! Speaking of magnification, some of the scratches in the lower right field on the obverse, when one zooms in on the photo above, look to me like they could possibly be letters rather than random scratches. There's even what looks like it might be a tiny "Ch" or something similar, directly below the far right of Roma's neck. So, am I imagining things? Is this a case of pareidolia, like seeing faces in clouds or pieces of toast? Or could some of the scratches be intentional? Please feel free to post your own examples of this coin, or any other anonymous Republican coin from this late in time, or anything else you think is appropriate.[/QUOTE]
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Roman Republican denarius No. 32: graffiti or just scratches?
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