Roman Republican Coins from the Ahala Collection, May 2013, PART 1, RRC 1 to RRC 100

Roman Republican Coins from the Ahala Collection, May 2013, PART 2, RRC 101 to RRC 300

Roman Republican Coins from the Ahala Collection, May 2013, PART 3, RRC 301 to RRC 546

The following coins, from my personal collection, will soon be owned by other collectors. I am reducing the size of my coin collection. In some cases I have two coins of the same type, and one must go. In other cases these are the only examples of a coin I ever owned, but to reduce space and to make my collection easier to manage, it is time for me to let go of them and let others have the pleasure of owning them. Many rare and unusual coins are included. I though to make a web-page so that I can comment on them, and explain what is important and interesting about them, in memory of some very special coins.

Anonymous Aes Grave AE Sextans. Rome, 280-276 BC. Scallop shell seen from outside, two pellets below / Caduceus, pellet in each left and right field. Crawford 14/5. 46.30g, 36mm, 6h. Near Very Fine. From the Andrew McCabe Collection. Ex Baldwin's, London 2001.

Anonymous AE27. Messana, circa 264 BC. Head of Minerva left, wearing Corinthian helmet decorated with griffin, symbol behind, ROMANO before / Eagle on thunderbolt, sword before, ROMANO around. Crawford 23/1. 12.80g, 27mm, 10h. Good Fine. Extremely Rare. From the Andrew McCabe Collection.

A classic rarity of Roman Republican coinage. Analogies with the coinage of Bruttium and of Messana indicates Messana as the likely mint, about 264 BC coincident with first Punic war activities. Each reverse die has a symbol, some symbols appearing on more than one die. As almost all examples are in a poor state of preservation the symbols are not yet well recorded, but helmet (as on this coin) and plough are the more usual symbols. Ex Vecchi Sale 15, London, 1999.

Anonymous AE Litra. Rome, 241-235 BC. Helmeted head of beardless Mars right / Horse's head right, sickle behind, ROMA below. Crawford 25/3. 3.04g, 17mm, 9h. Good Very Fine. Some corrosion on obverse. Scarce. From the Andrew McCabe Collection.

Ex CNG 42 May 1997 Lot 759 ex. Brad Thurlow collection, a duplicate from the RBW collection, a beautiful coin with great provenance; as I had an example with better surfaces I reluctantly decided not to retain it in the Ahala collection.

Anonymous AE Uncia. Rome, 230-226 BC. Astragalus seen from outside, club beside / Astragalus seen from inside, club beside. Crawford 27/10; Sydenham 43. 14.90g, 14mm. Very Fine. Scarce. From the Andrew McCabe Collection. Ex Baldwin's, London 1991.

Anonymous AE Quartuncia. Semilibral issue. Rome, 217-215 BC. Helmeted head of Roma right / Prow right, ROMA above. Crawford 38/8. 2.16g, 15mm, 9h. Very Fine. An attractive coin of unusual quality for the type. From the Andrew McCabe Collection. Purchased 2009.

Anonymous AE Quartuncia. Semilibral issue. Rome, 217-215 BC. Helmeted head of Roma right /Prow right, ROMA above. Crawford 38/8. 3.16g, 17mm, 9h. Good Fine. From the Andrew McCabe Collection.

Another attractive quartuncia but of an entirely different style, fabric and flan, suggesting there may have been more than one mint for these coins. Ex Brunetti, London, 2010.

Anonymous AE Triens. Semilibral issue. Rome, 217-215 BC. Female head right, four pellets behind / Hercules fighting centaur, four pellets before, ROMA in exergue. Crawford 39/1. 45.23g, 37mm, 12h. About Very Fine; some traces of corrosion on reverse. Rare. From the Andrew McCabe Collection; Ex RBW Collection, NAC 61, 5 October 2011, lot 120; Ex Auctiones 15, 1985, lot 417.

A rare and very sought after coin type, the first truly large Roman struck bronze, with the famous type of Hercules fighting the Centaur Nessus. Nessus was a Thessalian Centaur who was fled after the war between the Lapiths and the Centaurs. He settled down as a ferryman across the Aitolian river Euneo. When Herakles came with his wife Deianeira, Nessos took her and ferried her across the river on his back. However, he inflamed with lust for Deianeira and assaulted her. She cried out and Herakles came to the rescue and killed Nessus with his poisoned arrows. As Nessus was dying he persuaded Deianeira to take some of his poisoned blood to use as a love charm should Herakles ever proved unfaithful, a deception that led to Hercules' death. Deianeira later became suspicious of Hercules' interest in a woman, Iole, and smeared the blood of Nessus in Hercules tunic. She persuaded Hercules to don the jacket, and he died in great pain. This coin type rarely comes up for sale with only a few on acsearch.

Anonymous AE Quadrans. Semilibral issue. Rome, 217-215 BC. Head of Hercules right, wearing boar-skin, three pellets behind / Bull charging right, three pellets above, snake below, ROMA in exergue. Crawford 39/2. 40.23g, 35mm, 8h. Good Fine. Pleasant green patina. From the Andrew McCabe Collection.

This semilibral quadrans is a very much rarer type than the later and lighter coins of similar type but with corn-ear from Sicily. It is type difficult to find in clear condition. Ex Soler y Llach, Barcelona, 2011.

Anonymous AE Triens. Postsemilibral issue. Rome, 215-212 BC. Helmeted head of Minerva right, four pellets above / Prow right, ROMA above, four pellets below. Crawford 41/7b. 22.43g, 30mm, 9h. Good Fine. From the Andrew McCabe Collection.

McCabe group A2, refer http://andrewmccabe.ancients.info/RRC056.html. This is an unusually clear example. Ex Lucernae, Spain, 2011.

Anonymous Aes Grave AE Cast Quadrans. Postsemilibral issue. Rome, 215-212 BC. Head of Hercules left, three pellets below / Prow left, three pellets below. Crawford 41/8a. 23.21g, 29mm, 12h. Fine. Rare. From the Andrew McCabe Collection.

Post-semilibral Aes Grave are common in As and Semis denominations (whose struck coins are rare) but are rare in the smaller denominations (whose struck coins are relatively common). Ex Ancient Imports, USA, 2006.

Anonymous AR Denarius. Rome, from 211 BC. Helmeted head of Roma right, X behind / The Dioscuri riding right, ROMA within linear frame below. Crawford 44/5. 4.45g, 20mm, 9h. Good Very Fine. From the Andrew McCabe Collection.

An attractive and well preserved early denarius type, Steve Brinkman's Group 2.

Anonymous AE Semis. Rome, after 211 BC. Laureate head of Saturn right, S behind / Prow right, S above, ROMA below. Crawford 56/3; McCabe Group H1. 8.88g, 25mm, 3h. Good Very Fine. From the Andrew McCabe Collection.

This is part of a second Punic War half-weight issue typically overstruck on Carthaginian booty, or on captured coins from Sicily, Sardinia or Illyria. The sextantes and trientes are common but the semis and quadrans are relatively scarce. Due to their light weight they are often mistaken for first century BC issues: the frequent evidence of second Punic war overstrikes proves them to date from 210 to 200 BC. Very attractive patination. UK, 1990. McCabe group H1, refer http://andrewmccabe.ancients.info/RRC056.html.

Anonymous AE Triens. Rome, after 211 BC. Helmeted head of Minerva right, four pellets above / Prow right, ROMA above, four pellets below. Crawford 56/4; McCabe Group H1. 6.24g, 20mm, 1h. Near Good Very Fine. From the Andrew McCabe Collection.

Anonymous AE Lightweight Sextans. Rome, after 211 BC. Head of Mercury right, two pellets above / Prow right, ROMA above, two pellets below. Crawford 56/6; McCabe Group H1. 1.47g, 15mm, 9h. Very Fine. From the Andrew McCabe Collection.

Notice evidence of overstriking behind the obverse head, where the undertype, probably Carthaginian, is still visible. Then compare the reverse style with the triens and semis above: all are of the same style and weight standard, thus are part of a single late second Punic war issue, dated 210 to 200 BC.

Anonymous AE Lightweight Sextans. Rome, after 211 BC. Head of Mercury right, two pellets above / Prow right, ROMA above, two pellets below. Crawford 56/6; McCabe Group H1. 2.21g, 15mm, 3h. Near Very Fine. From the Andrew McCabe Collection.

Although a different style than the previous sextans, note evidence of overstriking before Mercury's forehead and behind his head.

Cornucopiae Series Imitative AE Quadrans. Rome, 207 BC. Head of Hercules right, three pellets behind / Prow right, cornucopiae before, ROMA below. Cf. Crawford 58/6 (position of legend). 2.17g, 16mm, 9h. Good Very Fine. Lightweight and differs in prow details thus likely an imitative issue. Very Rare. From the Andrew McCabe Collection.

Apex and Hammer Series AE Triens. Central Italian Mint, 211-208 BC. Helmeted head of Minerva, four pellets above / Prow right, hammer and apex above, four pellets before. Crawford 59/4. 9.22g, 25mm, 12h. Very Fine. Scarce. From the Andrew McCabe Collection.

Caduceus Series AE Quadrans. Central Italian mint, 211-208 BC. Head of Hercules right, three pellets behind / Prow right, caduceus above, three pellets before, ROMA below. Crawford 60/5. 13.37g, 26mm, 3h. Good Fine. Scarce. From the Andrew McCabe Collection.

Victory Series AE Quadrans. Central Italian mint, 211-208 BC. Head of Hercules right, three pellets behind / Prow right, Victory with wreath and ROMA above, three pellets below. Crawford 61/5. 13.25g, 27mm, 8h. Fine. From the Andrew McCabe Collection.

Victory Series AE Sextans. Central Italian mint, 211-208 BC. Head of Mercury right, two pellets above / Prow right, Victory flying right and ROMA above, two pellets below. Crawford 61/6. 3.33g, 19mm, 1h. Very Fine. From the Andrew McCabe Collection.

Rostrum Tridens Series AR Denarius. Central Italian mint, 211-208 BC. Helmeted head of Roma right, X behind / The Dioscuri right, rostrum tridens below, ROMA within linear frame in exergue. Crawford 62/1. 3.43g, 20mm, 6h. Fine. Extremely Rare. From the Andrew McCabe Collection.

The early rostrum tridens denarius, RRC 62/1 dating from the middle of the second Punic war and where Roma's helmet has a curved visor, is one of the great rarities in the Republican silver series. It is not to be confused with the common late post-war rostrum tridens denarius RRC 114/1 of a completely different style and with Roman having a peaked visor helmet.

C series AE Sextans. Sardinia, 211 BC. Head of Mercury right, two pellets above / Prow right, ROMA above, C before, two pellets below. Crawford 63/6. 2.16g, 18mm, 8h. Very Fine. Scarce. From the Andrew McCabe Collection.

MA series AE Sextans. Rome, 210 BC. Head of Mercury right, two pellets above / Prow right, ROMA above, MA ligate before, two pellets below. Crawford 64/6a. 3.66g, 19mm, 9h. Very Fine. From the Andrew McCabe Collection.

AVR series AE Sextans. Sardinia, 209 BC. Head of Mercury, two pellets above / Prow right, ROMA above, AVR ligate before, two pellets below. Crawford 65/6. 4.18g, 19mm, 7h. Good Fine. From the Andrew McCabe Collection.

Corn-ear Series AE Quadrans. Sicily, 211-210 BC. Head of Hercules right, three pellets behind / Prow right, corn-ear above, three pellets before, ROMA below. Crawford 72/14. 6.02g, 21mm, 9h. Good Fine. Attractive green patina. From the Andrew McCabe Collection.

This is an extremely rare bronzes, as are all corn-ear bronzes where ROMA is below the prow rather than above, except for the merely-scarce as RRC 72/11. Roberto Russo demonstrated that the coins types from RRC 72/11 through 72/15 date from the early second century BC and are unrelated to the second Punic war Sicilian corn-ear types. In fact, stylistically this type is related to series such as RRC 182 gryphon. It's a mystery why it bears a corn-ear as that symbol was usually reserved for Sicilian issues and this must be from the Rome mint given its late date.

C. AL Series AR Denarius. Sicily, 209-208 BC. Helmeted head of Roma right, X behind / The Dioscuri riding right, C AL below, ROMA within linear frame in exergue. Crawford 75/1a. 4.10g, 18mm, 5h. Good Fine. Rare. From the Andrew McCabe Collection.

ROMA series AE Quadrans. South-East Italy, 211-210 BC. Head of Hercules right, three pellets behind / Prow right, ROMA above, ROMA monogram before, three pellets below. Crawford 84/6. 7.93g, 23mm, 12h. Good Fine. Scarce. From the Andrew McCabe Collection.

H Series AR Quinarius. South-East Italy, 211-210 BC. Helmeted head of Roma right, V behind / The Dioscuri riding right, H behind, ROMA in exergue. Crawford 85/1b. 1.75g, 15mm, 11h. Very Fine. Scarce. From the Andrew McCabe Collection.

H Series AE Triens. South-East Italy, 211-210 BC. Helmeted head of Minerva right, four pellets above / Prow right, ROMA above, H before, four pellets below. Crawford 85/4. 10.69g, 25mm, 6h. Good Fine. Scarce. From the Andrew McCabe Collection.

Q Series AE Sextans. South-East Italy, 211-210 BC. Head of Mercury right, two pellets above / Prow right, ROMA above, Q before, two pellets bellow. Crawford 86A/4. 6.74g, 20mm, 12h. Good Fine. Scarce. From the Andrew McCabe Collection.

V Series AE Sextans. South-East Italy, 211-210 BC. Head of Mercury right, two pellets / Prow right, ROMA above, V before, two pellets below. Crawford 87/5. 6.19g, 19mm, 7h. Good Fine. Very Rare. From the Andrew McCabe Collection.

Club Series AE As. South-East Italy, 208 BC. Laureate head of Janus, I above / Prow right, club above, I before, ROMA below. Crawford 89/3. 43.15g, 35mm, 1h. Good Fine. Pleasant green patina. From the Andrew McCabe Collection.

CROT series AR Victoriatus. Croton in Bruttium mint, 211-208 BC. Laureate head of Jupiter right / Victory crowning trophy, CROT between, ROMA in exergue. Crawford 92/1a. 2.55g, 16mm, 6h. Good Fine. Scarce. From the Andrew McCabe Collection.

L series AR Quinarius. Luceria, 211-208 BC. Helmeted head of Roma right, V behind / The Dioscuri riding right, L below, ROMA in exergue. Crawford 97/2. 1.82g, 14mm, 3h. Good Fine. Scarce. From the Andrew McCabe Collection.

L Series AE Semis. Luceria, 211-208 BC. Laureate head of Saturn right, L below, S behind / Prow right, S above, ROMA below. Crawford 97/17. 16.54g, 29mm, 12h. Fine. Scarce. From the Andrew McCabe Collection.

LT Series AR Victoriatus. Luceria, 211-210 BC. Laureate head of Jupiter right, L below / Victory crowning trophy, T between, ROMA in exergue. Crawford 98A/1a. 2.93g, 19mm, 12h. Very Fine. Scarce. From the Andrew McCabe Collection.

P Series AE Dextans. Luceria, circa 209-208 BC. Head of Ceres right, P behind / Victory in quadriga right, holding reins in right hand and staff in left, ROMA below, S and four pellets in exergue. Crawford 99/2a. 15.90g, 29mm, 11h. Good Fine. Extremely Rare. From the Andrew McCabe Collection.

The Dextans type is a key coin missing from most collections; this example was purchased in a Vecchi auction in 1999 for £500. A browse of acsearch shows a few examples of this denomination at prices ranging from about $1000 to over $7000. Very important. It is a clearer coin than the auction photo suggests.

Anonymous AE Sextans. Luceria, 209-208 BC. Head of Mercury right, two pellets above / Prow right, ROMA above, two pellets below. Crawford 99/7 (no mintmark), pl. XI.3; McCabe Anon. Group F2. 4.87g, 20mm, 6h. Very Fine. Rare. From the Andrew McCabe Collection.

This Sextans is of the Luceria P series, but without mintmark, McCabe Group F2 anonymous bronzes, refer http://andrewmccabe.ancients.info/RRC056.html

P Series AE As. Luceria, 211-208 BC. Laureate head of Janus, Prow right, I above, ROMA below. Crawford 99/10. 2.34g, 18mm, 8h. Very Fine. Very Rare. From the Andrew McCabe Collection.

Although these lightweight asses are mostly classified as RRC 97/28, the style of the obverse and reverse is more reminiscent of the P series RRC 99 coins, therefore I classify this as RRC 99/10 P series lightweight As. These are rare if in official style, which this coin is.

Anonymous AE As. CA Canusium, 211-208 BC. Laureate head of Janus, mark of value below / Prow right, mark of value above, ROMA below. Crawford 100 CA series (lightweight As not listed for RRC 100). 2.43g, 20mm, 8h. Good Fine. From the Andrew McCabe Collection.

This lightweight as is of the style of the RRC 100 CA series, and is not listed in Crawford.

Roman Republican Coins from the Ahala Collection, May 2013, PART 2, RRC 101 to RRC 300

Roman Republican Coins from the Ahala Collection, May 2013, PART 3, RRC 301 to RRC 546

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