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Crawford 24/6, ROMAN REPUBLIC, AE Aes Grave Quadrans
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Rome, The Republic.
Roma/Wheel Series, c. 230 BCE.
AE Aes Grave Quadrans (65.83g; 40mm).
Rome Mint.
Obverse: Hound prancing to left; ••• (mark of value) in exergue.
Reverse: Wheel with six spokes; ••• (mark of value) between spokes.
References: Crawford 24/6a; ICC 69; Haeberlin pg 61, pl. 25, n 12-14.
Provenance: Ex Dr. Erwin Hartmann (†1979) Collection [Dorotheum Auction (27 May 2021) lot 758]; Karl Hollschek (†1941) Collection [Dorotheum 1108 (Oct 1960) Lot 1017].
The Roma/Wheel Series of aes grave is an interesting series for its types. This Quadrans depicts a prancing hound, a device also used on roughly contemporaneous Republican struck half-litrae (see Crawford 26/4 – two examples in my gallery). 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.
Haeberlin reported 88 specimens of the quadrans, with an average weight of 65.73 grams.
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