| Last additions - Ken W2's Gallery |
P. Fonteius P. f. Capito (55 BC)AR Denarius
19.16 mm 3.90 gr.
Obv: P FONTEIVS P F CAPITO III VIR, Mars helmeted draped bust right with trophy over shoulder
Rev: MN FONT TR MIL, Marcus Fonteius on horseback riding right spearing Gaulish enemy having already speared another
Mint: Rome (55 BC)
Crawford 429/1; RSC I 17; Sydenham 900
[As many of you probably knew before me, it was inevitable I would get into Republican coinage. This coin, pointedly, among others, celebrates through stark representation Roman prowess achieved through violence. Although the cited references describe the reverse as a Roman horseman spearing an enemy about to slay an unarmed captive, Crawford noted that the enemy has the same helmet and shield type of the supposed captive. Thus, I subscribe to the view that both infantrymen are Gallic soldiers, one already having been dispatched and the other about to be, celebrating the exploits of the moneyer’s ancestor Marcus Fonteius in Gaul.]Ken W2Mar 01, 2024
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Legion XII ANTIQVAE 19.15 mm 3.41 gr.
Crawford 544/9; RSC I 40; Sear HCRI 363; Sydenham 1231
[2 reverse matches in Schaefer’s die study, 14/42.
Although holed and plugged, nevertheless a good example of a named legion issue of the series.]Ken W2Feb 25, 2024
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M. Aemilius Lepidus as Moneyer (66 BC)AR Denarius
18.53 mm 3.61 gr.
Obv: No legend, Roma laureate and diademed head right, wreath behind, simpulum before
Rev: M LEPIDVS in exergue, equestrian statue of M. Aemilius Lepidus (Consul 187 BC) riding right, holding trophy
Mint: Rome (66 BC)
Crawford 419/1d; RSC I 20; Sydenham 828
[3 obverse matches and 4 reverse die matches in Schaefer’s die study, 7/106-1. Interestingly, there are also 2 reverse die matches in Schaefer’s but with the legend AN XV PR H O C S added. Perhaps this legend was engraved on the dies for later struck coins to better express the symbolism of the reverse.]Ken W2Feb 25, 2024
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CHORTIS SPECVLATORVM 18.97 mm 3.51 gr.
Crawford 544/12; RSC I 6; Sear HCRI 386; Sydenham 1214
1 reverse and 1 obverse and reverse die matches in Schaefer’s die study, 14/51Ken W2Jan 19, 2024
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M. Aemilius Lepidus as Moneyer (66 BC)AR Denarius
19.79 mm 3.81 gr.
Obv: No legend, Roma diademed head right
Rev: M LEPIDVS in exergue, equestrian statue of M. Aemilius Lepidus (Consul 187 BC) riding right, holding trophy
Mint: Rome (66 BC)
Crawford 419/1a; RSC I 21b; Sydenham 827
7 obverse die matches in Schaefer’s die study, 7/97; 3 reverse matches, 7/102
[Issued by a young Lepidus as Moneyer some 23 years before becoming the third wheel in the Second Triumvirate. The reverse celebrates his ancestor of the same name who as a young soldier of 15 is reputed to have killed an enemy in the Second Punic War saving the life of a citizen, and who later was Consul in 187 BC.]
Ken W2Jan 19, 2024
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Legion XII ANTIQVAE 18.31 mm 3.34 gr.
Crawford 544/9; RSC I 40; Sear HCRI 363; Sydenham 1231
2 obverse and reverse matches in Schaefer’s die study, 14/37Ken W2Jan 18, 2024
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C. Cassius Longinus as Imperator (42 BC)AR Denarius
19.74 3.70 gr.
Obv: LEIBERTAS C CASSI IMP, Libertas veiled and draped head right
Rev: LENTVLVS SPINT, jug and lituus, double struck with rotation
Mint: Military mint, probably Smyrna (42 BC)
Crawford 500/5; RSC I 6; Sear HCRI 223; Sydenham 1305
1 obverse and reverse die match in Schaefer’s die study, 13/82Ken W2Jan 12, 2024
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C. Cassius Longinus as Imperator (42 BC)AR Denarius
19.72 mm 3.60 gr.
Obv: LEIBERTAS C CASSI IMP, Libertas diademed head right
Rev: LENTVLVS SPINT, jug and lituus
Mint: Military mint, probably Smyrna (42 BC)
Crawford 500/3; RSC I 4; Sear HCRI 221; Sydenham 1307
2 obverse and reverse die matches in Schaefer’s die study, 13/75, 13/87
[Together with the veiled Libertas type, likely struck in early 42 BC just after the conference with his co-conspirator and assassin, M. Junius Brutus, at Smyrna. These issues bear the essentially self-declared title of Imperator, as the tyrannicides had no official State status, other than that of assassin co-conspirators. At the first battle of Philippi in October 42 BC Cassius’ forces suffered a temporary rout by Antony’s forces upon which Cassius committed suicide mistakenly thinking Brutus had also suffered defeat.]Ken W2Jan 12, 2024
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Gallienus Billon Silvered Antoninianus23.01 mm 3.56 gr.
Obv: GALLIENVS AVG, radiate draped and cuirassed bust right
Rev: AETERNITAS AVG, she-wolf standing right suckling Romulus and Remus
Mint: Antioch (265-266) palm branch in exergue
RSC IV 46a; Alfoldi, Berytus V (1938) pp. 49-50, Table XVI, plate 15Ken W2Dec 14, 2023
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Gallienus Billon Silvered Antoninianus23.01 mm 3.05 gr.
Obv: GALLIENVS AVG, radiate head left
Rev: AETERNITAS AVG, she-wolf standing right suckling Romulus and Remus
Mint: Antioch (265-266)
RSC IV 47; Alfoldi, Berytus V (1938) pp. 49-50, Table XVII, plate 19
Ken W2Dec 14, 2023
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Sextus Pompey as Imperator AR Denarius
19.52 mm 3.71 gr.
Obv: MAG PIVS IMP ITER, Neptune diademed head right, trident over shoulder
Rev: PRAEF CLAS ORAE MARIT EX S C, naval trophy on anchor, trident above, heads of sea monsters Scylla and Charybdis below
Mint: Sicily (42 BC)
Crawford 511/2c; RSC I 1d; Sear HCRI 333; Sydenham 1347
[Four obverse die matches in Schaefer’s die study, 13/127, with ligatured ITER confirm type 511/2c attribution.]
Ken W2Dec 09, 2023
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Legion XFlip-over double strike
19.28 mm 3.76 gr.
Crawford 544/24; RSC I 38; Sear HCRI 361; Sydenham 1228
[The double strike is obvious in the dot borders. The flip-over is clearly seen by the appearance of the eagle’s beak and head on the galley on the obverse. It’s hard to see in the photo, but part of the N in ANT and a die break from the obverse can be seen on the reverse.]Ken W2Dec 07, 2023
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| Random files - Ken W2's Gallery |
Severina AntoninianusSeverina (274-275)
Wife of Aurelian
Billon silvered antoninianus 23.04 mm 5.05 gr.
Obv: SEVERINA AVG, draped bust right on crescent
Rev: PROVIDEN DEOR, Fides standing right holding
two standards, facing Sol raising hand and holding globe
VXXT in exergue Ticinum (274-275)
[RIC 9]Ken W2
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Claudius II AE Silvered Antoninianus23.15 mm 3.17 gr.
Obv: IMP C M AVR CLAVDIVS AVG, radiate cuirassed bust right, 2 pellets below (2nd officina)
Rev: P M TR PO P P, she-wolf standing right suckling Romulus and Remus,
SPQR in exergue
Mint: Smyrna (268-269)
Alfoldi, Berytus V, 1938 pp. 64-65 & Table XXVII, plate 12 (no pellet, 1st officina)
[Apparently very rare.]Ken W2
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Octavian as Triumvir (43-33 BC)AR Denarius
20.14 mm 3.98 gr.
Obv: CAESAR III VIR R P C, Octavian, bare head right, slightly bearded
Rev: CAESAR DIC PER, inscribed on curule chair, wreath atop
Military mint in Italy (42 BC)
RSC I 55c; Sear HCRI 137a; Sydenham 1322
1 obverse match, 1 reverse match, and 1 obverse and reverse die match in Schaefer’s die study, 13/52
[This coin is somewhat paradoxical. The obverse declares Octavian one of three men for the regulation of the Republic, while, as Sear notes in HCRI, the reverse reflects his close ties to Caesar, dictator in perpetuity.]Ken W2
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