Plate Coins & Old Collections from Rome [14 Coins]
Created: 27 Mar 2024 ; Last Updated: . Change Log.
Other Pages in this Series:
- Return to: The “Top Shelf”: Object Biography, Plate Coins & Provenance Glossary
- Return to: Page I (Greek, West: Celts through Central Greece)
- Return to: Page II (Greek, East: Asia Minor, Persia & Jewish Coinage)
- Return to: Page III (Roman Provincial: Europe & Asia)
- Return to: Page IV (Roman Provincial Egypt)
- Forthcoming: Page VI (Byzantine & Contemporaries); Page VII (Numismatic Literature).
Contents of This Page:
RRC I: 2nd Punic War to Middle Republic [3 coins];
RRC II: Late Republic & Imperatorial [3 coins];
RIC I: Twelve Caesars [6 coins];
RIC II: Adoptive to Severan [1 coin];
RIC III: Crisis to Late Empire [1 coin];
ROMAN REPUBLICAN, PART ONE: 2ND PUNIC WAR TO MIDDLE REPUBLIC [top]:
Anonymous AE Sextans (19mm, 4.06g), Second Punic War Issue, 215-211 BCE. Mercury / Galley, long prow-stem. (McCabe G3 [?]; Crawford 56/6)
(Photo Credit: CNG.) Collection History:
RBW Collection Duplicates [Richard B. Witschonke (1945-2015), from Elsen 37 (17 Dec 1994), 219 ; Agora 42 (6 Oct 2015), 116];
Dr. Jay M. Galst (1950-2020) Collection [CNG EA 550 (15 Nov 2023), 457].
Notes: Jay Galst may have had only 2 other Republican bronzes, both optical specimens for his [2018] Ophthalmalogia book with Peter van Alfen. He bought this coin eight months after RBW’s death, I feel sure, to accompany an edited volume that his friend, the great RRC collector-scholar, had inscribed to him in 2013 (along w/ van Alfen). It includes Andrew McCabe’s important essay on anonymous struck bronzes of this type (see next coin also).
A credit to Galst that, being little experienced w/ RRC, he found a coin to perfectly fit the book, both in substance and provenance.
I suspect RBW knew Galst would, sooner or later, take his inscription as a challenge: “I’m not sure that any of these will interest you…”
The copy of the book mentioned (inscribed to Galst by RBW and Peter van Alfen) is now in my library, reunited with the coin, a rather touching artifact of the friendship between two nice numismatists. They clearly belong together:
Anonymous AE Uncia (18mm, 4.91g), Second Punic War Issue, 215-211 BCE. Roma / Galley, long prow-stem. (McCabe G3; Crawford 56/7)
(Photo Credit: CNG.) Collection History:
Richard Schaefer (1946-) Collection [AKA “Goodman Coll.”];
RBW Collection Duplicates [Richard B. Witschonke (1945-2015), from RS, Apr 1989 ; CNG EA 374 (11 May 2016), 436];
Shetland Sheepdog Collection [CNG EA 548 (18 Oct 2023), 403].
Notes (substantive): While Andrew McCabe cited both Schaefer’s & RBW’s coins in his “provisional arrangement” of “The Anonymous Struck Bronze Coinage of the Roman Republic,” this piece and the one above seem to have escaped his attention. (McCabe in van Alfen & Witschonke, eds. [2013], Essays in Honour of Roberto Russo.) This die exhibits the defining feature of McCabe’s Group G3: the long, low prow-stem — so much so that it appears to overlap the dotted border!
Notes (provenance): See also my copy of that volume with the Sextans above. Not only did RBW edit the volume and sign that copy, but this coin’s other collector, Richard Schaefer, also contributed an essay.
Q Caecilius Metellus AR Denarius (19.5mm, 3.91g), 130 BCE. Roma / Jupiter, Quadriga. (Crawford 256/1)
(Photo Credit: CNG.) Collection History:
Frederick Hastings Rindge (1857–1905) Collection [Part I, Malter XXIX (22 Mar 1985), 284];
S & S Collection [acq. Malter XIX ; CNG EA 536 (12 Apr 2023), 424].
Institutional History: Boston Museum of Fine Arts, c. 1880s-1905/1941 (long-term loan/exhibition).
Notes: Rindge’s Republican coins were among the first and most important to be shown at the BMFA from at least 1889 until 1905 (but prob. later). Also in my collection: L. Flaminius Chilo Denarius, ex Rindge/BMFA loan [CNG EA 536, 440].
ROMAN REPUBLICAN, PART TWO: MARIUS TO OCTAVIAN [top]:
L. Thorius Balbus AR Denarius (19mm, 3.87g), 105 BCE. Juno Sospita / Incuse. (Obv. Brockage, Crawford 316/1)
(Photo Credit: CJJ.) Collection History:
Alba Longa Collection (José Fernández Molina, d. 2003) [vol II, Aureo & Calicó 339 (14 Nov 2019), 1398];
Aureo 89 (4 Mar 1998), 1345;
A.N.E. (Xavier Calicó), Asociacion Numismatica Española (Barcelona, 15 Dec 1981), 508.
See also: ANS, Roman Republican Die Project, “Richard Schaefer Binder” No. 22, p. 2 (this coin illustrated twice from the 1981 & 1998 sales above).
L. Julius L. f. Caesar AR Denarius (17mm, 3.92g), 103 BCE. Mars / Venus, biga driven by Cupids. (Craw. 320/1)
(Photo Credit: Soler y Llach.) Collection history:
Leo Benz (1906-1996) Collection [Part I, Lanz 88 (23 Nov 1998), 407 ; acq. Kricheldorf 29 (3 Mar 1975), 249];
Scipio Collection [Part III, Soler y Llach 1124 (23 Feb 2022), 458].
See also: Illustrated twice in ANS, Roman Republican Die Project, Schaefer Binder #19 (Processed, 300-399): pp. 320_08_od [142, corr.] (ꓘ) & 320_10_od [144] (·ꓘ).
Notes: One of my favorite catalog sets! Hardbound Leo Benz ex Lanz Library. (Plus usual softcover set.)
L. Rubrius Dossenus AR Quinarius (14mm, 1.68g), 87 BCE. Neptune, trident / Victory, palm & altar. (Craw. 384/4)
(Photo Credit: Bertolami.) Collection History:
“John Quincy Adams (1767-1848) Collection,” added by Charles Francis Adams (1807-1886) in 1860s London while serving as Minister to the UK [see Adams-RBW Provenance note, below];
Massachusetts Historical Society, donated by Henry Adams (1838-1918) in 1914 [deaccessioned, sold: Stack’s (5 Mar 1971), 496 (part); see note]];
RBW Collection [Richard B. Witschonke (1945-2015), Part II, NAC 63 (17 May 2012), 101].
Published: RBW 1325 (this coin illustrated), in: Russo, Robert (2013), The RBW Collection of Roman Republican Coins (Zurich: NFA).
My thanks to Jordan Montgomery for the RBW images, and to Humilau for the image from Charles Francis’ 1913 catalog, showing corr. weight of 26 grains.
ROMAN IMPERIAL, PART ONE: TWELVE CAESARS [top]:
Divus Augustus AE Dupondius (29.5mm, 16.57g), under Caligula, Rome, 37-41 CE. Augustus radiate / Caligula in curule.
(Photo Credit: CNG.) Collection History:
Archer M. Huntington (1870-1955) Collection;
Hispanic Society of America [HSA 1001.1.22981, donated 1940s];
American Numismatic Society [ANS 1001.1.22981, long-term loan, accessioned, deaccessioned ; CNG EA 397 (17 May 2017), 469];
Lampasas Collection [CNG EA 488 (24 Mar 2021), 404].
Nero & Agrippina II AR Drachm (18mm, 3.68g, 12h), Caesarea, c. 55 CE. Countermark “KK” in rectangular incuse.
[this coin also shown on RPC page]
(Photo credit: CNG.) Collection & Selected Sale Hist.:
(prob.) 1906 Caesarea Hoard (Noe 1937: 179) [dispersed by Indjoudjian Frères, Paris & Istanbul];
Franz Trau Jr. (1881-1931) [Hess/Gilhofer & Ranschburg, (22 May 1935), 394];
Walter Niggeler (1878-1964) [Leu/Münzen & Medaillen AG, Slg. Niggeler, Part II (21 Oct 1966), 659];
Peter J. Merani (1936-2020) [CNG Triton XXIV (19 Jan 2021), 139; video on YouTube];
Four additional sales not naming consignors.
Selected Publications: RPC I 3637, ex. 5 (this coin illustrated);
RPC Supplement II (2006) p.56 & Consolidated Supplement (2015), 3637.5 (this coin cited);
CNR 16, p. 136, no. 73 (this coin illustrated), in: A. Banti & L. Simonetti (1978), Corpus Nummorum Romanorum, Vol XVI: Da Messalina a Nerone.
Trau 394 (this coin) in: Attic Books (1976) reprint, Hess/Gilhofer & Ranschburg, Sammlung Franz Trau: Münzen der römischen Kaiser.
Howgego 850i (6th coin cited);
Wildwinds “digital plate coin,” Caesarea & Nero pp.
Otho AR Denarius (17mm, 3.50g), Rome, 69 CE. Otho in wig / Securitas.
(Photo Credit: HJB.) Collection History:
Jyrki Muona Collection [HJB 212 (9 Sep 2020) 511 (part of 35 denarii)];
This coin among dozens of denarii donated to science by Muona — drilled, sliced, and quartered so we would all know what is inside. The results totally changed what we knew about Roman silver coins & the economy (from Walker’s 1976 surface analysis): A few more notes in Otho “Numislit Exhibit”.
Selected Research/Publication History:
Ponting & Butcher (2005/2015), Archaeology Data Service, UK: No. M16 (this coin illustrated, before cut), Public Dataset: “Analysis of Roman Silver coins, Augustus to the reform of Trajan (27 BC – AD 100)”;
Butcher & Ponting (2014), M16 (this coin analyzed & illustrated by microscopic cross-section), pp. 136 & 253, in: Metallurgy of Roman Silver Coinage, from the Reform of Nero to the Reforms of Trajan (Cambridge);
Butcher, Ponting & Muona (2009), M16 (this coin illustrated by microscopic cross-section), pp. 299-303, in: “The Denarii of Otho: A Stylistic and Compositional Study,” RIN 100: 291-310.
Note: I also have a Titus (ex Muona & Orfew/Andrew Short Collection) from the same group & appearing in some of the same research at “M40.”
Vespasian AR Denarius (17mm, 3.50g), Rome, 71 CE. Vesta.
(Photo Credit: CJJ.) Collection History:
Archer M. Huntington (1870-1955) Collection;
Hispanic Society of America, w/ original museum tag [HSA 1001.1.22362, donated 1940s];
American Numismatic Society [ANS 1001.1.22362, long-term loan, accessioned, deaccessioned];
Lampasas Collection [CNG EA 397 (17 May 2017), 522 ; CNG EA 487 (10 Mar 2021), 510];
Charles Chamberlain Collection [CNG EA 509 (9 Feb 2022), 664].
Vespasian AE Dupondius (27mm, 13.45g), Rome, 71 CE. Vespasian radiate / CONCOR AVG.
(Photo Credit: HJB.) Collection History:
Henry Platt Hall (1863-1949) Collection [Part II, Glendining “Catalogue of the important collection…” (16 Nov 1950), 1198 (part) ; prob. acq. before 1926, see below];
JSW Collection, w/ tray tag [J.S. Wagner, CNG EA 169 (25 Jul 2007), 203];
Curtis Clay Collection, w/ tray tags [HJB BBS 225 (30 Nov 2023), 23].
Institutional/Publication Hist.: RIC II.1 (2nd Ed.) 263 (this coin illustrated [from plaster cast]);
Plaster cast after Hall Collection, held at Heberden Coin Room of Ashmolean Museum, Oxford University;
Probably also the “Hall Coll.” specimen cited in Mattingly & Sutherland’s (1926) original RIC II 470, but giving CONCORDIA in error, instead of CONCOR (but apparently not the one cited under BMCRE 588, C. 71 var., Concordia Standing L., also part of Hall II, Lot 1198; something of a mystery, as BMCRE vol 3 was published 14 years later).
Notes: Curtis Clay’s friend/colleague Colin Kraay (1918-1982) was a long-time keeper of coins (from 1948, and “the” Keeper, 1975-82) at Heberden Coin Room, and published extensively on Vespasian bronzes & other Flavian coinage, so he would’ve known this specimen’s cast. (But at least 25 years before it came to Clay’s possession.)
See also: On Clay & Kraay, see also my note on the Antoninus Pius Sestertius below. When the Byzantine are up, see Goodacre’s John III Tetarteron, whose 34-year loan to Heberden equaled Kraay’s service, 30 of their years overlapping.
Vespasian AE As (29mm, 9.04g), Judaea Capta Issue, Rome, 71 CE. Palm, Judaea mourning IVDEA CAPTA.
(Photo Credit: CJJ / CNG.) Collection History:
Kenneth Bressett (1928 – ) Collection [purchased in 1957 for $8 from Salton ; CNG Keystone Auction 6 (11 Mar 2022), 3156 (Corr. Obv/rev legends, date/mint, ref. no)];
Mark M. Salton-Schlessinger (1914-2005), with his tag & uncertain envelope;
(possibly) Ex Hesperia (V. Clain-Stefanelli/R. Hecht, Baltimore) FPL 1 (Spring 1951), 386 (“F/VF”) or 387 (“G”). [Salton-Hesperia note]
ROMAN IMPERIAL, PART TWO: ADOPTIVE EMPERORS TO SEVERAN ERA [top]:
Antoninus Pius AE Sestertius (34mm, 24.11g), Rome, 140-144 CE. Congiari scene, Antoninus Pius & M. Aurelius (Clay-Kraay Overstrike: GENIO SENATVS).
(Photo Credit: HJB.) Collection History:
Apostolo Zeno (1668-1750) Collection [formed c. 1722-1747];
St. Florian Monastery Collection [1747-1955 ; Dorotheum, Zeno Part I (13 Jun 1955), 952, ill. on plate 16];
Ex Alex G. Malloy (uncertain sale), 574 & Silenos (eBay, 11 Nov 2005);
Curtis Clay Collection, w/ tray tags [Part III, HJB BBS 227 (bt. 15 Mar 24), 93 ; Berk’s coin-in-hand video].
Notes: I suspect Clay found several things notable about this coin. He spent his early career in Vienna (Zeno himself was a foreigner in Vienna when he served in the court of Holy Roman Emperor Charles VI) and was familiar with the practice of Austrian monasteries holding ancient coin collections. I assume Clay knew Robert Göbl (1919-1997), the great Viennese numismatist who cataloged the Zeno sales & commented of this coin, “Der Revers ist auf GENIO SENATVS überprägt.”
Clay certainly knew Colin Kraay, for whom he coined the phrase “Kraay Overstrikes,” based on their conversations (2008, JAN v. 1.2-2). Two reverses must have been paired w/ this obverse (anvil die) & struck in alternating fashion; this coin was struck once w/ the GENIO SENVATVS reverse & then, instead of being replaced by a fresh blank, w/ the Liberalitas scene (the “SENA” remains clear).
Additional Notes: It is fascinating to me that this coin came from two extremes of repute in the “hierarchy of respectability” for provenances: first, from one of the world’s oldest, most distinguished private collections, Apostolo Zeno’s; second, from a notorious eBay dealer surrounded by smuggling accusations, Interpol warrants, organized crime & Bulgarian public corruption, and at least one murder mystery (see e.g., Campbell 2013). A lesson, perhaps, not to assume that a coin associated w/ a scandalous dealer must itself be disreputable.
ROMAN IMPERIAL, PART THREE: CRISIS TO LATE EMPIRE [top]:
Gordian III AE Sestertius (31mm, 21.72g), Rome, 244 CE. Victory & Captive.
(Photo Credit: Leu.) Collection History:
George His (1927-2021) Collection [CNG MBS 69 (8 Jun 2005), 1465];
Sammlung Dipl. Ing. Adrian Lang [Leu 12 (15 May 2022), 1386].
See Also: Wildwinds, Gordian III page, RIC 337a (this coin illustrated); see also Sear 8741 page.
Notes: See this coin on “Barbarians, Captives & Enemies” page; video & additional provenance background on blogpost (15 Jul 2022).
Notes:
Adams-RBW Provenance (return): For more on the Adams Coll., see Provenance Glossary. I believe Charles Francis Adams acquired this coin from Sotheby’s sale of John Lindsay Collection (14 Aug 1867), 526 (part), but still need to verify it w/ one of the libraries (KBR or MHS) that holds a named copy of the sale (his agent, Joseph Curt, did buy coins there).
At the Stack’s JQA-MHS sale, this was coin no. 3 of 3 in Lot 496. Though not illustrated, the other 2 coins were also sold at RBW Part II (NAC 63, Lot 98 & Lot 99 — RBW 1322 & 1323, respectively, shown below). Additionally, the collection catalog, handwritten by Henry Adams in 1913, confirms the identical weight (26 grains). The neighboring lots were acquired by RBW’s main competitor at the sale, John A Sawhill (donated a few years later to James Madison University, but shortly sold — once again at Stack’s!). (As one can see from my catalog library, Alex Malloy was also a major buyer, apparently at both Stack’s sales — the 1971 JQA-MHS and the 1979 JAS-JMU sales!)
Salton Collection & Hesperia Provenance (return): As is clear from the 2022-3 sales of the Salton Collection — especially in comparison with his fixed price & auction catalogs from the 1950s-1960s — Mark Salton did not always sharply distinguish between “collection” and “inventory” (if at all). So, it can be hard to say for sure exactly how he saw the coins he sold.
I suspect he bought this coin from Vladimir Clain-Stefanelli & Robert Hecht in 1951. Salton acquired at least one other coin from Hesperia in 1951 (then in Baltimore) — a Theophilus Semissis, probably Lot 32 from the inaugural pricelist. The same list describes two Vespasian AE Asses of this scarce type, Cohen 244 (IVDEA, not IVDAEA). None of these lots are illustrated. But, given the rarity of Cohen 244, and Salton’s known business with them at the time and possibly in this list, it seems very likely this is one of the two coins, probably the lesser specimen described as “G” for “Good” condition (which, of course, is anything but!). A few more notes here, and details in the Provenance Glossary for Clain-Stefanelli (yet to add my full Salton notes).
Changes (top):
27 Mar 2024 (created, twelve coins by day’s end) ;