The Bastianelli Spike, or why this corn-ear denarius is really special

I've had extremely good luck this month building my collection of Roma/Dioscuri denarii. Earlier this week I shared my latest fully-anonymous denarius. That same day, I found another very rare denarius, a type I honestly thought I'd probably never own with a corn-ear(what us Americans call a grain-ear) symbol. It's a little porous, has some wear and a few scratches, and the corn-ear symbol itself not terribly rare, with a handful of examples on ACSeach, so you might wonder what makes this one so special?

The short answer is the "spike" on the back of the helmet. This feature, known colloquially as the "Bastianelli Spike" due to its presence on the Bastianelli specimen of the fully-anonymous variety of this type, appears on all known denarii, quinarii and sestertii from the mint Crawford refers to as Sicily(1), the Crawford 68 series. Sicily(1) mainly minted fully-anonymous silver and only a tiny portion with the corn-ear mintmark, whereas the other Sicilian mint, referred to unsurprisingly as Sicily(2) minted the great majority of coins with the corn-ear mintmark in a completely different and much finer style. So while the corn-ear symbol alone is not terribly rare, it is extremely rare on the denarii and quinarii of this mint and of this style, and at time of writing there is only a single example of this denarius on ACSearch(the RBW example sold in 2011). Thankfully, this detail was missed by the seller and I suspect that's the only reason I was able to afford this very rare type.


Roman Republic AR Denarius(4.35g, 11h), Corn-ear series, 211-195 B.C., Sicilian mint. Helmeted head of Roma right with "spike" on rear of helmet; behind, X / The Dioscuri galloping right; below, corn-ear(wheat ear); ROMA in linear frame. Crawford 68/1a

Lucernae, 10 Feb 2020, ex Bolaffi Auction 35, 28 November 2019, lot 58(part), reportedly ex old Italian collection

As always, feel free to share anything related

 

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kool!..i'm a big Discouri fan meself, after scoring a Greek bronze with just their hats and doing some research on them... i received this one on Christmas eve..(of course the doggo made it a gotta get too^^) C Antestius denarius, 146 BC

 

Here are a couple related issues I neglected to post last night in my tired state:

This Denarius is the fully-anonymous(i.e. no mintmark) sibling of the one above, also from Sicily(1)

Roman Republic AR Denarius(3.36g, 5h), anonymous(uninscribed corn-ear series), 211-195 B.C., Sicilian mint. Helmeted head of Roma right with "spike" on rear of helmet; behind, X / The Dioscuri galloping right; below, ROMA in linear frame. Crawford 68/1b; Sydenham 191


This quinarius is the mintmarked variety from Sicily(2). Note a very different obverse helmet and bust style. In particular the gryphon Tufts are just small triangles rather than one large spike

Roman Republic AR quinarius(15mm, 2.05g, 11h). Anonymous, wheat-ear/corn-ear series, ca. 211-210 B.C., Sicilian mint. Helmeted head of Roma right, V behind / The Dioscuri riding right, each holds a spear; wheat-ear/corn-ear below; in linear frame, ROMA. Crawford 72/4; Sydenham 194
Ex RBW Collection, Agora 73, 3/27/2018, lot 206, privately purchased from Dmitry Markov, 9/9/1994

And finally a corn-ear uncia I recently purchased. This issue is a little earlier than these silver issues, and possibly from a different mint than either one, and is probably related to the operations around the Siege of Syracuse.

Roman Republic Æ Uncia(20.43 mm, 6.35 g, 7 h). Corn-ear(grain-ear) series. 214-212 B.C. Sicilian mint. Helmeted head of Mars right; behind, • / Prow of galley right; ROMA and grain ear above; below, •. Crawford 42/4; Sydenham -
Ex Old Pueblo Coin, Tucson AZ, eBay, Feb 2020, ex Agora 68, 15 Aug 2017, lot 149, ex RBW Collection, ex Lanz 40, 25 May 1987

 

Interesting and informative post. I have a corn-ear, a scruffy unica I got by accident in a lot, about 17 grades lower than the pretty one above:



Roman Republic Æ Uncia
Anonymous Corn Ear Series
(214-212 B.C.)
Sicily Mint
Helmeted head of Roma right, pellet behind. / ROMA, prow right, corn ear above, pellet below.
Crawford 42/4a.
(6.36 grams / 20 mm)

 

Worn or not, the example is still very recognizable including the corn-ear. Given its placement above ROMA, many examples either lose it or it's just barely there, so still a great example in that respect.

 

@red_spork you are amazing. Both the denarius and the quinarius with corn ear are quite rare. Congratulations on two great finds in a few days. Here is my (very common anonymous) RRC 68/1b

Ex NAC 61, Ex The Goodman Collection

 

Great pick-up RS! Your coin looks better than the RBW coin.
My corn ear coins are bronze, and often over-struck. This one has a neat provenance. I had the catalog before the coin!

Corn-ear and KA series Sextans circa Sicily circa 207-206 - Ex I. Vecchi sale 3, 1996, 180.

 

I think this is a fruitful collecting area for this kind of thing! Nice cherrypick.

Coming from @Fugio1, that is quite a feather in your cap. (Or is that “a tuft in your helmet”? )

 

I've built my collection from cherry picking and paying very close attention to coins on the market. Some areas are very hard to do this in, such as the later Republican and Imperatorial issues, but within early Roman Coinage there are a lot of coins where style is the main way to differentiate them and for one willing to put in the time studying and learning about style, this sort of style of collecting can be really rewarding. Sometimes it's not even style but just spotting the fact that a symbol is in a different area, or is rendered a little differently or any number of other things. Of course, sometimes even I have to pay full price for a coin I really need, but being able to tell myself I got a deal on the last few helps me convince myself.

Thanks for the kind words Steve, and this is a really amazing coin too, much better than my 68/1b, and that provenance really can't be beat.

 

@red_spork , Well said.

 

Another great pickup; another testimonial to the good things that happen when knowledge and perseverance intersect. Here are a couple of coins in the series; my anonymous denarius and the very scarce unmarked sestertius, 68/3:




Phil Davis

 

Phil, "very scarce" is modestly conservative. There's the Kestner specimen, the NAC 61 RBW coin lot 297, and this - your coin. As far as I know that's all. Two examples available to collectors is justifiably "RARE".

 

Yeah.

There's an ironic little story about this type. The NAC RBW catalogue rather smugly points out that Rick's coin is ex Gemini V, where it was "miscatalogued." Mea culpa; clearly I wasn't paying attention in 2009 when I lazily called it 44/7. NAC 61 went on to boast that their coin was "Of the highest rarity, only the second specimen known." But ahem; my example came out of NAC 21 in 2001, ten years earlier than RBW I, where it was--wait for it--miscatalogued as 44/7. That one I did spot and grab for under the estimate.

There's a moral in there somewhere, but I've no real idea what it is.

 

Cool, cool, cool @red_spork ! I really enjoy your collection!

SPIKEY

These were attributed due to your kind help, thank you.

RR AR Denarius 214-208 BCE Roma R X behind - Dioscuri R ROMA linear frame stars Sicily R Cr 68-1b



RR Anon AR denarius Roma 211-206 BCE ROMA incus Dioscuri single horn-helmet Sear-- Craw 68-1b SICILY ISSUE R



RR Quinarius 212-195 BCE 1.8g Luceria mint Anon Roma Craw 98B-1


CARTHAGE during the ROMAN DENARIUS REFORM
Half Shekels were about the same as Denarii

Bruttium Carthage occup 2nd Punic War AR Half-Shekel 216-211 Tanit Horse SOLAR-O HN Italy 2016 SNG Cop 361-3



Sicily Akragas Punic / Carthage occupation 213-210 BC AR Half Shekel 19 mm 2.9g Male head r Triptolemos wreath grain -Horse leaping r Punic Ḥ SNG COP 378

 

I can't really fault anyone for misattributing things. I missed a few interesting things for similar reasons when I sold my Greek collection. I thought I knew what they were, but mistakes happen. I've also learned several times after a sale that some other collector spotted a rarity I missed, even when I felt I'd carefully studied the catalog. It's all just part of being a collector or dealer, and more often than not it seems like the parties involved are all still happy with the transaction.

 

There is a fourth example that sold in a European auction last year. Unfortunately, I've lost the name of the auction house. It was bought by a collector who just wanted a nice anonymous sestertius and had no idea what it was until he posted it on another forum and I told him what it was. I am still kicking myself for missing this one. I tried to make an offer for it but the owner wisely wants to keep it

 

I really enjoy this time in Roman / Italian / Carthaginian History. Such a crucible that forged Rome, and propelled them into a World Empire.

Interesting time in Italia with the Roman Denarii Reform, Hannibal slogging around the countryside, nasty 2nd Punic War, and farms not producing as well. This probably led to grain being stolen from the fields, less farmers in the fields because they were fighting, etc. Hence, Grain / Corn Ears being on coins as a reminder of the crops...

Here is a Grain / Corn Ear from Capua...on the OTHER SIDE, against the Romans:

CAPUA / 2nd PUNIC WAR:

During the 2nd Punic War, Hannibal occupied Capua. Capua was the 2nd Largest city behind Rome of Italia. They had always had a prominent place in Italian history. Hannibal promised the aristocracy of Capua that, once Rome was destroyed, he would make Capua the Capital of Italia. We all know Rome won this horrible war. Knowing that, anything left over from the war that would enhance Hannibal's legacy needed to be destroyed. Rome recalled, confiscated, and destroyed any coinage from Capua that would represent anything to do with Hannibal. This drove all coinage from Capua during the Hannibal war into a very scarce to rare availability.

Here is one with a grain ear...

Campania CAPUA
AE 14.5mm 216-211
Obv: draped head of Hera
Rev: Oscan lettering, Grain ear
Comment: Hannibal's capital of Italia
Ref: SNG Fr 517 SNG ANS 219 HN Italy 500
EX: EE Clain Stefanelli
Rare

 

Remarkable thread in how interesting it is and how accessible to a novice it is. I thoroughly enjoyed all of the lights of the forum chiming in to teach me a thing or two.

I think that it is interesting and great to find under-attributed or misattributed coins. If everything was perfect and there was no hope of ever finding a bargain (even just a few dollars) I don’t know how fun looking through the inventory of a dealer or an auction would be.

I try to look and attribute to several references partially because I’m nuts and also partially because I want to hopefully link all of the major references to each of my collection entries. While I bemoan the lack of a centralized reference for each emperor, that lack also affords fun finds.

 

Dioscuri
Mn. Cordius Rufus
46 B.C.

 

I have a nice addendum to this thread. I recently added a sestertius with the spiked helmet to my collection. Just like my Denarius(and Phil's sestertius above) this coin was not correctly identified by the dealer so the price was more than fair and the dealer got a nice rise on the price he paid at the Stack's sale where it similarly went unnoticed so everyone's happy. It does have a little crack so it will be handled very carefully by me but I am thrilled any time I can find a nice sestertius for my collection, let alone one from this series that only has about 10 examples known. It came in an NGC "airview" slab but of course has been removed:


Roman Republic AR Sestertius(12.7mm, 1.12g, 11h), Anonymous(Uninscribed sibling of Corn-ear series), 211-208 B.C., Sicilian mint. Helmeted head of Roma right with "spike" on rear of helmet; behind, IIS / The Dioscuri galloping right; below, ROMA in linear frame. Crawford 68/3; Russo RBW 284; Sydenham -

Ex Greco Roman Ancient Coins, Vcoins, 25 May 2023, ex Stack's May 2023 World Collectors Choice Online Auction, lot 71065

Formerly slabbed by NGC Ancients, 6626721-001, Choice XF