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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;rrdenarius, post: 2265053, member: 75525&quot;]A recent thread discusses the last item in a collecting group, or a show stopper. I wonder about the other end, or the first item in a collection =&gt; the alpha. The end of the Republican era has so many coins (and at such high prices) that I expect to own only a small part of them. The starting point could be said to be Cr1/1, but that one looks more like a colonial Greek issue. I am inclined to call cast bronze as the start of Roman Republican money. I have accumulated several over the past few years.</p><p>I would like to have a cast bar similar to the one posted by Andrew McCabe recently:</p><p><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/ahala_rome/21812031900/in/photostream/" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/ahala_rome/21812031900/in/photostream/" rel="nofollow">https://www.flickr.com/photos/ahala_rome/21812031900/in/photostream/</a></p><p>[ATTACH=full]450319[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>I have bid on a few fragments of bars, but fell short. One of these days......</p><p>Until then I will settle for some small pieces that might have come from a bar. I picked up this one in a recent auction. </p><p>[ATTACH=full]450320[/ATTACH]</p><p>Aes Signatum(?), &#039;Ramo secco&#039;(?) fragment</p><p>early 3rd cent. BC.</p><p>AE. 31.65 grams, 26 x 29 mm, RR</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]450321[/ATTACH]</p><p>some Aes pieces, including a part of a cast bar</p><p><br /></p><p>A side note is that Alpha in Rome changed with time as can be seen on the following A&#039;s from didrachms:</p><p>[ATTACH=full]450322[/ATTACH]</p><p>[ATTACH=full]450323[/ATTACH]</p><p>[ATTACH=full]450324[/ATTACH]</p><p>[ATTACH=full]450325[/ATTACH]</p><p>[ATTACH=full]450326[/ATTACH]</p><p>Grueber notes that five forms of A were used in the earliest period, 268 - 217 BC, and that by the third period, 196 - 173 BC, the letter A switched to the form we use today = A. So just like the Latin alphabet, the alpha of what we collect can have different starting points.</p><p><br /></p><p>Post your collection alpha.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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