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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;kevin McGonigal, post: 4426708, member: 72790&quot;]Most of us who collect in the area of ancients wind up with coins that are usually of the most common denominations. If we collect Greek we have a large number of drachmas. If we collect Roman we have a&nbsp; number of denarii and if Byzantine, many folles. But as we all know, over the course of time Greek city-states and monarchies, the Roman Republic and Empire and the Eastern or Byzantine Empire produced a smaller number of coins in what for them were often irregular or unusual or uncommon denominations, often for a specific reason which when no longer required coins of that value suspended further issue, perhaps for good or maybe until another unusual occurrence. I have here a few such issues of denominations that were for one reason or other a bit uncommon for their eras. I am sure many of you have a few other denominations which were uncommon at the time they were issued for whatever reason. Share some of yours with us and, if you know why theses coins were unusual, why that might have been so.</p><p><br /></p><p>The first coin I have here is a coin which in value was quite unusual for the Greek city-states, except for Corinth and her colonies. It is, of course a stater, but what makes it unusual is that the staters of Corinth and her colonies were of three drachmas, not two or four which were the norm for other Greeks. That makes this coin a TRIdrachma, an uncommon denomination. This one is just under 9 grams and is similar to Sear 2626 and is early to mid Fourth century BC.</p><p><br /></p><p>The second small silver is a quinarius of the Roman Republic. It features the head of Apollo on the obverse and on the reverse a trophy set up to honor the twin victories of Marius over the Cimbri and the Teutones. The moneyer was Gaius Egnattuleius and was minted ca. 97 BC. It weighs just under 1.7 grams and is, of course a half denarius. Judging from finds, the silver quinarius and the even rarer silver sestertius, were swamped by the numbers of denarii in circulation at the time. Notice the Q on the reverse indicating its five asses value. This coin is Sear 213</p><p><br /></p><p>The third, a large bronze, is a Double Sestertius of Postumus from ca. 261 AD. Certainly the brass sestertius of the Roman empire was a very common coin, but by the time of the Gallic usurper the double denarius had plummeted in value, and made the bronze sestertius actually worth more in value. By 270 or so they were so valuable as metal that the mints stopped producing them. Postumus simply doubled the value of the older sestertii by putting his radiate head on the coin and announced that they were now double sestertii. Many of these double sestertius coins (not mine, I don&#039;t think) were actually worn sestertii of second century emperors restruck for Postumus at the new value. He did issue the one sestertius coin at a greatly reduced weight. This one, probably newly minted at the new denomination,&nbsp; weighs a little over 16 grams, about the weight of the old dupondius of a hundred years earlier. The reverse shows Mercury with a legend pointing out that it honors the shrine of Mercury set up at DEVSONIENSI on the Rhine, modern Deutz.</p><p><br /></p><p>The last coin is of the Byzantine Empire issued by Theofilus ca. 835 AD. It is unusual for being from the mint of Syracuse at a time when the Byzantines were hanging onto it by their finger tips. The denomination is neither a solidus nor the more common tremissis but the unusual semissis or half solidus. It weighs 17.4 grams but also, unusually, it is not 24 carat gold but a somewhat debased 18 carats, indicating that the fortunes of the Byzantines were in temporary eclipse. It is Sear 1672 or one of the immediately following ones.</p><p><br /></p><p>So if you have some uncommonly issued denominations of ancient coinage why not post them here and tell us about them.</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1109196[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=full]1109197[/ATTACH][/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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