Crawford 043 (unlisted) and 97/5b, ROMAN REPUBLIC, L Series, AE Quadrans - EXTREMELY RARE!

Rome, The Republic.
L Series, 214-212 BCE.
AE Quadrans (22.56g; 29mm).
Luceria Mint.

Obverse: Hercules facing r wearing lion skin; ●●● (mark-of-value=3 unciae), behind and below.

Reverse: Prow right; ROMA above; L●●● (mark-of-value=3 unciae), below.

References: Crawford 43 (unlisted) and 97/5b; Syd --; BMCRR --; RBW 400 (see discussion at 399); see Russo, “Unpublished Roman Republican Bronze Coins” (Essays Hersh, 1998), #37 discussion.

Provenance: Ex Kölner Münzkabinett Auction 109 (16 Nov 2018); ex Prof. Hildebrecht Hommel Collection; purchased from Cahn (Basel), 13 Mar 1973.

This type is extremely rare, with no examples appearing in the Paris collection as of 1974, none in Berger’s Kestner-Museum Hannover catalogue, and only 4 examples in addition to my coin on ACSEARCH as of 31 December 2018. Crawford cites an example in the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, collection. Both Roberto Russo and Andrew McCabe have persuasively argued that Crawford 97/5b should be reassigned to the Crawford 43 L series, which otherwise lacks a quadrans. Both the weight and style of this coin are consistent with the earlier Crawford 43 series, which is based on an As of about 83 grams. McCabe notes that the Oxford example, on which Crawford based 97/5b, was badly corroded and probably lightweight. Subsequent examples of the type in trade have weighed 22+ grams, consistent with an As of about 85-90 grams.