Crawford 24/4, ROMAN REPUBLIC, Roma/Wheel Series, Aes Grave Semis

Rome, The Republic.
Roma/Wheel Series, c. 230 BCE.
AE Aes Grave Semis (103g; 49mm).
Rome Mint.

Obverse: Bull leaping to left; S (mark of value) below.

Reverse: Wheel with six spokes; S (mark of value) between two spokes.

References: Crawford 24/4; ICC 67; Sydenham 60.

Provenance: Ex H.D. Rauch Auction 95 (30 Sep 2014), Lot 272; Tkalec 2006, Lot 93.

The Roma/Wheel Series of aes grave is an interesting series for its types. This Semis depicts a leaping bull, a device that would be used on later Republican struck bronzes with a snake below the bull (see Crawford 39/2 and 42/2). The wheel on the reverse of this series is previously unseen on Roman coinage. There were several series of Etrurian aes grave bearing spoked wheels produced in the 3rd century BCE (see HN Italy 56-67; ICC 145-190). It is unclear whether these Etrurian aes grave were inspired by or inspiration for the Roman wheel series.

This example is on the light side of reported weights in Haeberlin; however, as museums and collectors tend to favor heavier examples of Aes Grave, Haeberlin’s reported weight range (based on museum and major private collections) is likely “overweight” in heavier specimens.