Two Very Important Ramo Secco bars - with Dolphin

[Andrew McCabe]

I’ve added two important Ramo Secco bars to my collection in the last 24 hours – one I’d owned for a long time but whose type I hadn’t recognised, and one acquired yesterday. Pictures below. First, yesterday’s bar:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/ahala_rome/26556061270/lightbox/

Type: Ramo Secco / Ramo Secco, Haeberlin plates 4-5, Vecchi ICC 3, 886 grams

Provenance:
-   Found in Chiusi, Etruria before 1930
-   Sold by Spink in 1930 for £12
-   Sold by Spink on 23rd December 1955 for £75
-   Collection of Colin Renfrew, Baron Renfrew of Kaimsthorn, FBA, FSA, Hon FSA Scot, British archaeologist, paleolinguist and peer noted for his work on radiocarbon dating, the prehistory of languages, archaeogenetics, and the prevention of looting at archaeological sites.
-   Baldwin’s 99 (4 May 2016) lot 591

And my older bar:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/ahala_rome/26735584022/lightbox

Type: Dolphin / Ramo Secco, Haeberlin plate 8, Vecchi ICC 4, 1550 grams

Provenance:
-   Vecchi 13 (4 Sept, 1998) lot 565

I’d always known there was a visible type on this bar, but couldn’t make out the design; yesterday I met a renowned aes grave expert at the Baldwin’s auction. He took one look it and immediately said “dolphin”, and it was from then unmistakeble -  head, fins, curved body, snout, tail fins all in the right place, and with a Ramo Secco pattern on the other side. This is a whole quincussis bar, weighing 1550 grams, and the dolphin is larger and more complete than other two known specimens with a single dolphin (ICC 4 and 6). As such, highly important.

Andrew

[okidoki]

very nice Andrew,

to me last bar other side from dolphin

like a trout or a carper.

head right

[Andrew McCabe]

very nice Andrew,

to me last bast other side from dolphin

like a trout or a carper.

head right

I see what you mean from the photo. Some of the dolphin bars have more than one dolphin, combined with club or Ramo Secco designs. However, in hand, the obverse dolphin is very clear and raised up, and the reverse Ramo Secco design too; where you think you see the reverse design is a worn patch and not raised. So, optical illusion. But the obverse dolphin is nice and clear.

[okidoki]

a i see very rare i guess

[Andrew McCabe]

a i see very rare i guess

Exceedingly rare. There are five known bars with a dolphin, all different and none exactly matching this. All are in museums, so this becomes the only dolphin bar in private hands. It's also the largest bar. The other five are provenanced to Pesaro 1757, Ariccia 1848, Teramo 1840, Tiber 1883, and one unprovenanced in the British Museum. These pre-date the Roman aes signatum bars of the 3rd century BC, and date to the 5th-4th century. So, it's the first aes signatum bar with a non-geometric design. I've a 1997 auction provenance; it would be good to trace back further if I could.

[Jay GT4]

You always have a treat for us Andrew.  Thanks for sharing.

[Carausius]

Andrew,
Congratulations on identifying this important dolphin bar and on acquiring the new old-provenance piece. I had considered bidding on the new bar, but passed because I have too many other targets this month. When I researched the Chiusi find spot, I found reference in Vecchi ICC to a late 19th century hoard in Chiusi. It would be amazing to somehow connect this bar to that hoard.

Also, interesting provenance to Lord Renfew. I find it gratifying that he had a personal collection, and that he chose to dispose of it in the trade.

[Molinari]

That's really exciting Andrew! 

[Andrew McCabe]

I'm glad the post was appreciated. Often with interesting coins, the deal is to make the best use of the coins you have and the coins you can afford; both these pieces were low-priced, as if they were rather big aes rude (three figure prices), and not as if they were rather worn aes signatum (five figure prices). It's the story telling that makes a big common aes rude, into a worn aes signatum rarity, and that only needs book study and experience, both free of cost (but not free of time).

NB the Renfrew provenance is unconfirmed, hearsay around the auction room. So whilst you may believe a coin is from his collection, it may not be citable in a future published sale.

[Molinari]

So would these date just after the Apollo/MFB types, last quarter of the 4th century?  Or could they have come before?

[Andrew McCabe]

So would these date just after the Apollo/MFB types, last quarter of the 4th century?  Or could they have come before?

Probably earlier, on the assumption that the Etruscans invented cast bronze bars and coins, and the Romans copied. The Roman aes signatum bars are very delicately designed, large and slim. It would make sens that the ramo secco bars are just an evolution of crudely cast unmarked bars and thus earlier. The earliest unmarked bars in an archaeological context date from about 650 BC. There would have been a gradual evolution into bars with counterstamps, dried leaf pattern (ramo secco) and eventually designs such as the dolphins. Maybe my Chiusi found bar is 5th century and my dolphin 4th century. We don't really know but earlier than Roman coins anyway.

[Molinari]

Oh I see, so these aren't Roman.