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Crawford 145/1, ROMAN REPUBLIC, Victory & Spearhead Series, AE As
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Rome. The Republic.
Victory and Spearhead
Series, 189-180 BCE.
AE As (31.14g; 33mm; 5h).
Rome Mint.
Obverse: Laureate head of Janus; I (mark-of-value) above.
Reverse: Prow facing right; Victory crowning spearhead above; I (mark-of-value) to right; ROMA below.
References: Crawford 145/1; Sydenham 293; BMCRR 497
Provenance: Ex Barone Dr. Pompeo Bonazzi di Sannicandro (1876-1956) Collection [R. Ratto (23 January 1924), Lot 264].
Grueber surmises that the symbols on this type may allude to a military victory by an ancestor of the anonymous moneyer. He mentions the use of Victory as a symbol on later denarii by C. Terrentius Lucanus (Crawford 217/1 – see my example in this gallery), suggesting this coin may have been produced by a member of the Terrentia gens; but this is pure conjecture.
This coin is a strong example of a type that generally comes either poorly struck or poorly preserved. The coin was part of the important Bonazzi Collection, which was sold anonymously in two parts by Rodolfo Ratto in the mid-1920s. Bonazzi began collecting about 1910 and quickly assembled a broad collection of Roman Republican coins in a very short time. Unlike many of his contemporaries, he favored bronze coins that were un-tooled, and this coin boasts excellent, natural surfaces.
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![Crawford 145/1, ROMAN REPUBLIC, Victory & Spearhead Series, AE As
Rome. The Republic.
Victory and Spearhead
Series, 189-180 BCE.
AE As (31.14g; 33mm; 5h).
Rome Mint.
Obverse: Laureate head of Janus; I (mark-of-value) above.
Reverse: Prow facing right; Victory crowning spearhead above; I (mark-of-value) to right; ROMA below.
References: Crawford 145/1; Sydenham 293; BMCRR 497
Provenance: Ex Barone Dr. Pompeo Bonazzi di Sannicandro (1876-1956) Collection [R. Ratto (23 January 1924), Lot 264].
Grueber surmises that the symbols on this type may allude to a military victory by an ancestor of the anonymous moneyer. He mentions the use of Victory as a symbol on later denarii by C. Terrentius Lucanus (Crawford 217/1 – see my example in this gallery), suggesting this coin may have been produced by a member of the Terrentia gens; but this is pure conjecture.
This coin is a strong example of a type that generally comes either poorly struck or poorly preserved. The coin was part of the important Bonazzi Collection, which was sold anonymously in two parts by Rodolfo Ratto in the mid-1920s. Bonazzi began collecting about 1910 and quickly assembled a broad collection of Roman Republican coins in a very short time. Unlike many of his contemporaries, he favored bronze coins that were un-tooled, and this coin boasts excellent, natural surfaces.](albums/userpics/34967/normal_VictorySpearheadAs.jpg "Click to view full size image
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Crawford 145/1, ROMAN REPUBLIC, Victory & Spearhead Series, AE As
Rome. The Republic.
Victory and Spearhead
Series, 189-180 BCE.
AE As (31.14g; 33mm; 5h).
Rome Mint.
Obverse: Laureate head of Janus; I (mark-of-value) above.
Reverse: Prow facing right; Victory crowning spearhead above; I (mark-of-value) to right; ROMA below.
References: Crawford 145/1; Sydenham 293; BMCRR 497
Provenance: Ex Barone Dr. Pompeo Bonazzi di Sannicandro (1876-1956) Collection [R. Ratto (23 January 1924), Lot 264].
Grueber surmises that the symbols on this type may allude to a military victory by an ancestor of the anonymous moneyer. He mentions the use of Victory as a symbol on later denarii by C. Terrentius Lucanus (Crawford 217/1 – see my example in this gallery), suggesting this coin may have been produced by a member of the Terrentia gens; but this is pure conjecture.
This coin is a strong example of a type that generally comes either poorly struck or poorly preserved. The coin was part of the important Bonazzi Collection, which was sold anonymously in two parts by Rodolfo Ratto in the mid-1920s. Bonazzi began collecting about 1910 and quickly assembled a broad collection of Roman Republican coins in a very short time. Unlike many of his contemporaries, he favored bronze coins that were un-tooled, and this coin boasts excellent, natural surfaces.")
