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Æ Semis Imitation of the Roman Republic
| Issuer | Uncertain Iberian mint |
|---|---|
| Year | 90 BC - 1 BC |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
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| Obverse description | Crude laureate male head facing right, executed in a barbarous Iberian imitative style with coarse, Summary engraving. The facial features are rendered schematically, with the wreath of laurel suggested by rough incised lines around the crown of the head. The field is plain and unscribed, with no legend or mintmark present. The overall style reflects a local provincial workshop imitating Roman Republican semis prototypes at a considerable remove from the original. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Schematic prow of a galley facing right, rendered in a coarse barbarous style closely imitating the reverse type of Roman Republican bronze semisses. The hull and ram are summarily indicated by broad, roughly incised lines, with the upper deck and oar-box suggested in simplified form. No legend, value mark, or exergual inscription is present, consistent with the anonymous and uninscribed character of these Iberian local imitations. The overall execution reflects the work of a peripheral provincial die-cutter unfamiliar with the finer details of the Roman prototype. |
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| Additional information |
These Iberian imitations of Republican semisses circulated during and after Rome's drawn-out pacification of the peninsula, filling a genuine small-denomination vacuum in regions where official Roman supply was inconsistent. Local workshops copied the type freely, with no authorization and varying fidelity to the prototype — which is precisely why attribution remains contested and mint assignment nearly impossible for most specimens.