Keady Collection of Ancient Coins
Table of Contents Introduction............................................................................3 Collection Areas......................................................................4 Roman Republic..................................................................5 References.......................................................................6 KRR1............................................................................7 References:..............................................................7 KRR2............................................................................8 References:..............................................................8 KRR3............................................................................9 References:..............................................................9 KRR4..........................................................................10 References:............................................................10 KRR5..........................................................................11 References:............................................................11
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Introduction I have collected coins since I was a child in the 1970s. At that time, I collected mostly Irish and UK pre-decimal coins and coins of foreign countries. My collection received a major boost when my late Aunt Nora retired from her job in London and moved home to Ireland, giving me a large accumulation of foreign coins and pre-decimal UK coins. At this time, I didn't collect ancient coins – I knew they existed from browsing the Seaby “Coins of England and the United Kingdom” in the local library, but not that they were easily available. My collection stagnated from the early 80s until about 2000 – I bought the odd coin, but without any focus. In the summer of 2001, I was in Madrid and went to the Sunday morning coin market in Plaza Mayor, where I saw my first ancient coins and bought a Marcus Aurelius denarius. Back home, I bought Sear's “Roman Coins and Their Values” volume 1, to find that it didn't cover as far as Marcus. When volume 2 was published, I bought that too – while the era was covered, my particular coin wasn't listed :D I bought my second and third ancient coins from Spink in early 2002 – a drachm of Alexander Balas and a stater from Istros. In 2003, I bought an uncleaned lot on eBay – my first purchase from that market – and was hooked. My collection doesn't have a single focus – Roman Republican silver is one focus, along with Greek silver, Roman Imperial portraits and whatever takes my fancy. Roman provincial coins are under-represented, as are Byzantine coins. This book will catalogue what I have as of late 2013 and will be a maintained work – future additions will be inserted into the text where appropriate. The the coins are arranged by collecting area and within each area by date, where possible.
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Collection Areas •
Celtic
•
Greek
•
Roman Republican
•
Roman Imperatorial
•
Roman Imperial
•
Roman Provincial
•
Byzantine
3
Greek
4
KG1
Figure 1: Neapolis Didrachm - ca 320-300 BC Date: ca 320-300 BC. Obverse: Head of Parthenope right, wearing ear-ring and necklace; bunch of grapes behind. Obverse legend: ΔΙΟΦΑΝΤΟΣ Reverse: Man-headed bull right, crowned by Nike flying right, monogram beneath. Reverse legend: ΝΕΟΠΟΛΙΤΗΣ in exergue Weight: 7.31g Diameter: Die axis:
References: •
BMC Campania 47
•
Rutter, Historia Nummorum 571
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Sambon 438
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SNG Munchen 234
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KG2
Figure 2: Lysimachos Tetradrachm - after 280 BC Date: After 280 BC. Obverse: Diademed head of the deified Alexander with horn of Ammon right. Obverse legend: Reverse: Athena enthroned left, holding Nike, resting left elbow on shield, spear behind; lion's head before, two monograms in exergue. Reverse legend: ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΛΥΣΙΜΑΧΟΥ Weight: 16.95g Diameter: 30mm Die axis: 10h
References: •
Cf AMSN 13, 21
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Roman Republic Roman Republican coins can be divided into pre-denarius issues, before 211 BC and denarius, post 211 BC. The earliest money used by the Romans was aes rude, crude lumps of bronze which traded by weight. These were replaced by aes signatum, bronze bars cast to weight standards and bearing symbols. These were often broken to give smaller change. The aes grave series introduced the as and its subdivisions – semis, triens, quadrans, sextans, uncia. These were initially large cast coins, but eventually were reduced in size and struck. The Romans didn't initially use precious metal coinage, unlike their Greek neighbours in the south of Italy. The Romans eventually started to strike drachms and didrachms, probably to facilitate trade with the Greek cities. During the Second Punic War, the quality of the didrachms being minted fell – both in weight and in purity of silver – and after the war a new coinage appeared, based on the denarius. The denarius initially weighed about 4.5g, though it was reduced to about 4.0g within a few years. The denarius was tariffed at 10 asses, later increased to 16 asses. A half denarius, the quinarius and a quarter denarius, the sestertius were also minted in silver, though the sestertius wasn't often issued and became a large brass (orichalcum) coin in the Imperial era. At the same time, another silver coin, the victoriatus, was minted and continued to be minted for about 50 years. This appears to have taken the place of the old drachm. My collection has mostly focussed on denarii as these are easily obtainable and offer a myriad of designs. Initially, there was very little variety in the denarii – the head of Roma on the obverse and the dioscuri on the reverse. As time went by, the moneyers (a relatively low-ranking office with three members who changed each year) put their names on the coins and began to mint designs related to their own families and ancestors, making these coins an important record and insight into Roman life. In some cases, the moneyers went on to achieve fame or infamy in later life, in other cases they are unknown to history beyond their coins.
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References I've used a number of references and generally use three or more for each coin. They are: •
RSC – Roman Silver Coins vol. 1. This organises coins based on the family names of the moneyers who issued them. The numbers are based on those of Ernest Babelon's 19 th century work. References have a number followed by the family (gens) name in parentheses.
•
Sydenham – Coins of the Roman Republic, 1952
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Crawford – Roman Republican Coina, 1974
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HCRI – History and Coinage of the Roman Imperators
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Sear – Roman Coins and Their Values vol. 1
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KRR1
Figure 3: Anonymous Didrachm - ca 280-276 BC This is the earliest silver coin of the Roman Republic, possibly minted in Metapontum around 280BC. Date: ca 280-276 BC. Obverse: Helmeted head of Mars left, oak-sprig behind. Obverse legend: Reverse: Legend on tablet below head of bridled horse right, ear of wheat behind. Reverse legend: ROMANO Weight: 6.93g Diameter: 20.0mm Die axis: 6h
References: •
RSC 4 (Anon.)
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Sydenham 1
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Crawford 13/1
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KRR2
Figure 4: Anonymous Didrachm - ca 234-231 BC Date: ca 234-231 BC. Obverse: Laureate head of Apollo right. Obverse legend: Reverse: Horse galloping left. Reverse legend: ROMA Weight: 6.36g Diameter: 18.0mm Die axis: 2h
References: •
Sydenham 27
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Crawford 26/1
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KRR3
Figure 5: Anonymous Quadrigatus - ca 225-214 BC Date: ca 225-214 BC. Obverse: Laureate head of Janus. Obverse legend: Reverse: Jupiter in quadriga driven by Victory right, legend incuse on solid tablet below. Reverse legend: ROMA Weight: 6.04g Diameter: 24.0mm Die axis: 6h
References: •
RSC 23 (Anon.)
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Sydenham 64
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Crawford 28/3
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KRR4
Figure 6: Minucia 19 Denarius - 103 BC Date: 103 BC. Obverse: Helmeted head of Mars left, with richly ornamented helmet. Obverse legend: Reverse: Roman soldier left, fighting a foreign warrior, right; protecting fallen comrade. Reverse legend: Q THERM MF Weight: 3.73g Diameter: 20.0mm Die axis: 5h
References: •
RSC 19 (Minucia)
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Sydenham 592
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Crawford 319/1
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RCV 197
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KRR5
Figure 7: Marcia 8 Denarius – 134 BC Date: 134 BC. Obverse: Helmeted head of Roma right, * below chin, modius behind. Obverse legend: Reverse: Victory in biga right, legend divided by two ears of corn below. Reverse legend: M AR C / RO MA Weight: 3.90g Diameter: 17.0mm Die axis:
References: •
RSC 8 (Marcia)
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Sydenham 500
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Crawford 245/1
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KRR6
Figure 8: Didia 2 Denarius - 113 BC Date: 113 BC. Obverse: Helmeted head of Roma right. Obverse legend: Roma (in monogram). Reverse: Two soldiers fighting, one is attacking with a whip and the other defending with a sword. Reverse legend: T . DEIDI in exergue Weight: 3.78g Diameter: 19.0-20.0mm Die axis: 6h
References: •
RSC 2 (Didia)
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Sydenham 550
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Crawford 294/1
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KRR7
Figure 9: Poblicia 6 Denarius - 91 BC Date: 91 BC. Obverse: Head of Mars right, feather on helmet, mallet (malleolus above), * below chin. Obverse legend: Reverse: Warrior or hero standing left before trophy, foot on cuirass, prow and legend upwards behind, symbol above prow. Reverse legend: C. MAL Weight: 3.86g Diameter: Die axis:
References: •
RSC 6 (Poblicia)
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Sydenham 615a
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Crawford 335/c-e
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Roman Empire The Roman Empire began in 27 BC when Octavian, grand-nephew and heir of Julius Caesar and the victor of the Battle of Actium over Marc Antony, was awarded the title of Augustus by the Senate. The Roman monetary system of the Empire was the same as that of the Republic, with no major changes in the denominations struck.
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Aureus
400 asses
(gold)
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Gold quinarius
200 asses
(gold)
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Denarius
16 asses
(silver)
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Silver quinarius
8 asses
(silver)
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Sestertius
4 asses
(orichalcum)
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Dupondius
2 asses
(orichalcum)
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As
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Semis
0.5 asses
(Orichalcum)
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Quadrans
0.25 asses
(Copper)
(Bronze)
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References The main references used here are: •
RSC – Roman Silver Coins – five volume work
•
RIC – Roman Imperial Coinage – ten volume work, the most comprehensive
•
BMC – Catalogue of Roman Imperial Coins in the British Museum
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Sear – Roman Coins and their Values
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Augustus
18
Tiberius
19
Caius (Caligula)
20
Claudius
21
Nero
22
Galba
23
Otho
24
Vitellius
25
Vespasian
26
Titus
27
Domitian
28
Nerva
29
Trajan
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