Interesting dies from the Augustan
Julio Claudian Period! The last die
photo #5 was sent to me so long ago and is suppose to be from the 1863 Paray-le-Monial find of seven
Roman Imperial dies, and is now at the
Musee des Antiquites Nationales (at Saint-Germain-en-Laye).
PHOTO 1Augustus. 27 BC-AD 14. Iron dies for Æ
Dupondius or As.
Augustus. 27 BC-AD 14. Iron dies for Æ
Dupondius or As. Dimensions of
obverse die: die
face 31 mm in
diameter and die shank 37 mm.
Weight: 148.40 grams. Bronze
face of
cast impression of
reverse of
dupondius (
RIC I 381) or as (
RIC I 382) for the moneyer Cn.
Piso Cn. f. mounted to iron shank. Dimensions of
reverse die: die
face 30 mm in
diameter; die shank 39 mm at the
face, tapering to 30 mm in
diameter at mid point and widening to 42 mm at the base.
Weight: 320.20 grams. Bronze
face of
cast impression of
reverse of
dupondius (
RIC I 381) or as (
RIC I 382) for the moneyer Cn.
Piso Cn. f. mounted to iron shank.
Cf. N. Lupu, “Aspekte
des Münzumlaufs im vorrömischen Dakien,”
JNG XVII (1967), pl. 7;
cf. C.C.
Vermeule, “Some notes on ancient dies and coining methods,”
NumCirc LXII.2 (February 1954), pp. 53-4;
cf. W. Malkmus, “Addenda to
Vermeule’s
catalog of ancient coin dies:
Part 1,”
SAN XVII.4 (September 1989) -.
Based on the dies themselves, it is impossible to tell whether they were used to strike
dupondii or
asses, since both issues of this moneyer were of the same
type. This remarkable set of dies was undoubtedly employed to strike local coinage in one of the Balkan provinces along the Danube frontier.
PHOTO 2Augustan Coin Die with
Gaius and Lucius Caesar ReverseSee J.B. Giard 82
PHOTOS 3-4Tiberius (AD 14-37).
Denarius reverse die from the
Lugdunum mint. Case-hardened bronze, with a silver
denarius of
Tiberius ("
Tribute Penny"
type) stuck in place,
obverse showing. Overall dimensions:
diameter: 31.5 mm, height 37 mm,
weight 161.16 grams. In custom
wood and
glass presentation case.
From the Rubicon
Collection. Ex Stack's Saint Ludovico
Collection sale, 22 April 2009, originally from a European
collection in Poule-les-Echarmaux,
France.
While a number of forger's dies have survived from
Roman times, only a handful of "official" coin dies are currently known to exist.
French numismatists Jean-Baptist Giard and J.
Lafaurie have surveyed surviving examples and determined that 12 coin dies can be confirmed as official
mint products; interestingly, 11 of these are from the important imperial
mint of
Lugdunum (modern
Lyon) in
France. Six dies were unearthed in Auxerre in 1799, four of which are now in the Bibliotech Nationale coin cabinet; the other two reside at the
Musee de la Monnaie in
Paris. Four more were found in 1863 at Paray-le-Monial and also now reside in museums. One was found at Vertault; our specimen
comes from an old
collection in Poule-les-Echarmaux, in the same
area. The die is of identical
fabric and metal composition to the other known examples, confirming that it is an official die. The presence of a silver
denarius in the
obverse indicates that during the course of striking, a
denarius became lodged in the
reverse die and caused the striking of an indeterminate number of
brockages (a
mint error in which the
obverse or
reverse of a coin is repeated, in relief and
incuse, on both sides of the coin). The flattening around the edges of the
denarius indicates that a
fair number of
brockages were struck in this fashion, driving the coin ever deeper into the
reverse die. When attempts to dislodge the coin failed (indicated by gouges before the
portrait), the die was discarded and possibly secretly removed by a
mint worker as a souvenir. Thus we have an exceedingly
rare opportunity to acquire an official
Roman coin die, while at the same time demonstrating how
brockages were produced in ancient times! Estimate: $10,000 - $15,000. Sold for 23,000 Educational Use Only-From web member
Occasionally numismatic items appear that few have ever seen, and actual production dies are one of these, however a die used to strike
ancient coins is an even rarer item.
Below is some background on unique example of an ancient coin die used to strike a
Tribute Penny –
Denarius of the
mint of
Lugdunum, and perhaps the first known evidence of early coin
brockage.
We
hope you find this as interesting as we have.
The Stacks Catelog states the following:
“A Unique Die for a
Tribute Penny –
Denarius of the
mint of
Lugdunum. An official die with the
obverse of a
denarius stuck on the top. Laureate
head r.;
TI CAESAR DIVI AVG F AVGVSTVS. 161.16 grams. Height: 36.8mm, circumference: 31.4mm at its widest.
In
Catalogue des Monnaies de l’Empire Romain, Tiberius-
Nero (
Paris, 1988), Jean-Baptiste Giard listed 12 known dies, 11 of which having been found in the
Lugdunum (
Lyon)
area (an
area of 200km).
Four were found in 1863 at Paray-le-Monial (Saone-et-Loire) and are now in museums. Six were unearthed in Auxerre (Yonne) in 1799, four of which are now at he Cabinet
des Médailles de la
BnF; the other two reside at the
Musee monétaire de la Monnaie de
Paris. And one was found at Vertault (Côte d’or).
This die come from an old
collection in Poule-les-Echarmaux (Rhône), which is in the same
area.
An analysis done on the back of the die here shows an identical composition to the other 12, hence showing that it is an official die. The likeliest hypothesis as to why there is a
Tribute Penny Obverse showing on the top is that in the course of striking with the die, a completed
Denarius was stuck inside the die and
brockages were erroneously turned out for a short period.
When the
mint worker caught on and attempted to pull the
Denarius out so that the die could be used correctly, he couldn’t. The few scratches before the
face of
Tiberius stands as proof of this deducement. Failing in
his attempt, the
mint worker placed the die on the
side to be destroyed.
A historic and unique remnant of the ancient
Roman minting process, and perhaps the first known evidence of early coin
brockage.
wwwTEXT.
PHOTO 5I found this last photo which looks so pristine for a die of the Tiberian period? Others I
had look at it, seem to think its authentic?
This next testimony was sent back to my question of authenticity, but no longer have his/her name, these were their comments on the photo 5 die.
The rather startling photograph of a coin die of
Tiberius caught my
attention immediately. This appears to be a specimen from the 1863
Paray-le-Monial find of seven
Roman Imperial dies, and is now at the
Musee des Antiquites Nationales (at Saint-Germain-en-Laye).
This particular die is exceptionally well preserved. Other dies
from the same find show differing degrees of corrosion. There is
little doubt (none in my mind) of its authenticity.
There have been five
obverse dies of this
type discovered in
France (two in this find, and three in the Auxerre find of 1799). One, from
the latter find, was destroyed in testing in 1945.
Roman precious-metal dies of this period appear to have been made
of a very hard
alloy (about 25% tin bronze -- a bell-metal
alloy).
I found most of these coin dies by looking for research that is not settled. Caligula specimens. If anyone has photos or more information on this? Please let me know: Does anyone have photos of the two dies that were
photographed and been published by J.-B. Giard
and M.
Amandry.
Die No. V31 (
Caligula obverse from Paray-le-Monial)
1. Attributed by Giard (1976) to
mint at
Lugdunum, but to
Rome by
Sutherland (1984).
2. Ovoid die. H = 42 mm (1.7 in); D = 22 mm (0.9 in).
Die No. V42 (
Caligula obverse from Paray-le-Monial)
1.
Obverse of aureus/denarius of
Caligula. Laur.
bust r. CCAESAR
AVG
GERM... (P.M.TRP.POT) (
COS). M. and S., I, p. 115, no. B, C,
etc. Attributed by Giard (1976) to
mint at
Lugdunum, but to
Rome by
Sutherland (1984).
2. Ovoid die. Ht = 47 mm (1.9 in); D = 21 mm (0.8 in).
>
> J.B. Girard has drawn attention to the discovery at Parlay-le-
Mondial (Saone-et-Loire) in
Gaul of two dies for precious metal coins
of
Caligula, each with laureate heads, and has associated one with
coins minted as late as A.D. 40. Girard believes that these dies
represent the remains of the
mint of
Lugdunum and that the equipment
was looted and scattered around the town.
Mattingly has recently
observed that the dies on gold and silver (unlike
his aes) remain
unadjusted throughout Caligula's reign, and started to become
adjusted after Nero's currency reform in A.D. 64.
Joe Geranio
Julio Claudian Iconographic Association
you can email me from this site.
