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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Michael Stolt, post: 8353966, member: 100445&quot;]These are probably my last purchases this spring, as my auction funds are running a bit dry. But I am very happy to end a very successful spring with these two types.</p><p><br /></p><p>The auction format was interesting, with all lots ending at the exact same time (5pm local time), with an exception if a lot received a late bid, then the timer for that specific coin would reset at 10 minutes. This created the longest bid war I have had so far. Nearly 50 minutes of back and forth bidding with the timer resetting to 10 minutes for every bid made.</p><p><br /></p><p>Back to the coins - I am very excited over the fact I will soon be holding my first ever Roman Republican Didrachm, and my favorite type among them with Roma/Victory.</p><p><br /></p><p>I could have waited for a better centered specimen, but what made me go for the current one is the amount of crisp detail you don&#039;t usually get on these due to wear or worn dies. The obverse is particularly nice and sort of tipped the balance.</p><p><br /></p><p>The second coin is a very scarce, unsigned corn ear series denarius, the design of Roma&#039;s helmet with a single big spike (referred to as the &quot;Bastianelli spike&quot; is quite unique, and specimens as good as this one very seldom show up for sale.</p><p><br /></p><p>As a bonus [USER=74282]@red_spork[/USER] pointed me towards a nice provenance back to 1979 for the denarius, that Cayón did not mention.</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1482531[/ATTACH] </p><p><br /></p><p><b>Roman Republic</b>. Circa 250-240 BC. AR Didrachm (6.50 g). Rome (or Neapolis?) mint.</p><p><br /></p><p>Obverse: <i>Head of Roma (or Diana) right, wearing Phrygian helmet; sword in scabbard with belt to left.</i></p><p><br /></p><p>Reverse: <i>Victory standing right attaching wreath to long palm frond; ROMANO upward to left, II to lower right.</i></p><p><br /></p><p>Reference: Crawford 22/1.</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1482532[/ATTACH] </p><p><br /></p><p><b>Roman Republic</b>. 211-208 BC. AR Denarius (4.37 g). Unsigned Corn-ear (second) series sibling. Mint in Sicily.</p><p><br /></p><p>Obverse: <i>Helmeted head of Roma right; X (mark of value) to left.</i></p><p><br /></p><p>Reverse: <i>The Dioscuri, each holding spear, on horseback right; two stars above; ROMA in exergue.</i></p><p><br /></p><p>Reference: Crawford 68/1b.</p><p><br /></p><p>Provenance: Schweizerischer Bankverein. Auktion 5 (16 October 1979), lot 338.</p><p><br /></p><p><b><br /></b></p><p><b>Ending this post with a little group image of the beautiful early Roman Republican coins I have managed to gather over the few years I have been collecting! <img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie1" alt=":)" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" /> </b> </p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1482543[/ATTACH][/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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