Catalog
See full images - free registration
Continue with Google - no registration!
or register with email
Why register? Just to keep bots out of our catalog. Your email stays private - we will never share it or send you anything uninvited. We guarantee you that!
1 Sextans
| Issuer | Uncertain city of Central Italy |
|---|---|
| Year | 301 BC - 201 BC |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | Log in to see details |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Technique | Log in to see details |
| Orientation | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | ICC#300, HN Italy#380, Haeberlin#p.165, Thurlow-Ve#216, Syd#111 |
| Obverse description | A scallop shell depicted in high relief dominates the obverse field, rendered in a somewhat crude but characteristic Central Italian aes grave style. The shell is shown from above with radiating ribs extending from a central boss, occupying the majority of the flan. The casting is irregular, consistent with the heavy bronze coinage of the Roman Republican period. Two pellets, the mark of value for the sextans (one-sixth of the as), are typically associated with this denomination though flan condition obscures fine detail. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
| Reverse script | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Edge | Plain |
| Mint | Log in to see details |
| Mintage | Log in to see details |
| Additional information |
Heavy cast bronzes of this class — attributed to an unidentified Central Italian mint — were produced during one of the most violent centuries in Italian history, as Rome methodically absorbed its neighbors through the Samnite Wars and their aftermath. The issuing authority remains disputed; scholars have proposed various Oscan, Umbrian, and Latin communities, none convincingly. At 44 grams for a sextans, the piece reflects the heaviest end of the aes grave tradition before Rome's Second Punic War monetary reforms drove weights down sharply and permanently.