Roma Numismatics Ltd
Auction X 27 September 2015
View prices realized
► Sale information
Find similar lots
Etruria, uncertain inland mint, possibly Arretium Æ Cast As. 3rd century BC. Wheel of six spokes within double linear border, ivy leaf countermark between two spokes / Wheel of six spokes within double linear border, •••••••••••• around rim. Cf. Haeberlin p. 254, 2 pl. 85, 1; EC II, 1; ICC 155; HN Italy 56a. 181g, 64mm.
Extremely Fine. Extremely Rare, and of significant numismatic importance. A splendid example with fine olive-green patina. Haeberlin lists 11 examples, all in museum collections. Only one has ever appeared in a public sale: Sir Edward Bunbury collection II, Sotheby sale 10 June 1895, 27, now in the Haeberlin collection in Berlin.
From the VCV Collection.
Inland Etruria is dominated by the valley of the river Clanis (Val di Chiana) which played a major part in the economic development of Etruria. From its source near Arretium (Arezzo), the Clanis ran past Curtun (Cortona), Clusium (Chiusi) and after being joined by the Pallia (Paglia) tributary, flowed into the Tiber beside Volsinii (Orvieto). These four cities are amongst the oldest and most eminent of the Etruscan dodecapoleis and owed much of their wealth to the fertility of the Clanis valley, especially in grain. This region was also strategically located at the centre of a network of roads, and with its proximity to the Tiber it was a centre of trade and industry, especially that of bronze working. Notable masterpieces produced there include the celebrated Chimaera of Arezzo, now in the Museo Archeologico of Florence, and the richly decorated lamp of Cortona, not to mention the 2000 bronze statues looted by the Romans in 264 BC from the federal sanctuary of the nomen etruscum at Volsinii, from whence the celebrated Mars of Todi possibly originates.
By the 3rd century the whole of Etruria was allied to Rome and therefore all the cast and struck series of Etruria must have been produced under its auspices. The hoard and single find evidence points to a federal coinage between several cities. Although none of the issues has an ethnic, many have Etruscan initials and intriguing countermarked symbols.
Extremely Fine. Extremely Rare, and of significant numismatic importance. A splendid example with fine olive-green patina. Haeberlin lists 11 examples, all in museum collections. Only one has ever appeared in a public sale: Sir Edward Bunbury collection II, Sotheby sale 10 June 1895, 27, now in the Haeberlin collection in Berlin.
From the VCV Collection.
Inland Etruria is dominated by the valley of the river Clanis (Val di Chiana) which played a major part in the economic development of Etruria. From its source near Arretium (Arezzo), the Clanis ran past Curtun (Cortona), Clusium (Chiusi) and after being joined by the Pallia (Paglia) tributary, flowed into the Tiber beside Volsinii (Orvieto). These four cities are amongst the oldest and most eminent of the Etruscan dodecapoleis and owed much of their wealth to the fertility of the Clanis valley, especially in grain. This region was also strategically located at the centre of a network of roads, and with its proximity to the Tiber it was a centre of trade and industry, especially that of bronze working. Notable masterpieces produced there include the celebrated Chimaera of Arezzo, now in the Museo Archeologico of Florence, and the richly decorated lamp of Cortona, not to mention the 2000 bronze statues looted by the Romans in 264 BC from the federal sanctuary of the nomen etruscum at Volsinii, from whence the celebrated Mars of Todi possibly originates.
By the 3rd century the whole of Etruria was allied to Rome and therefore all the cast and struck series of Etruria must have been produced under its auspices. The hoard and single find evidence points to a federal coinage between several cities. Although none of the issues has an ethnic, many have Etruscan initials and intriguing countermarked symbols.