Classical Numismatic Group, LLC
Electronic Auction 385 26 October 2016
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Anonymous. 169-158 BC. Æ As (29mm, 23.68 g, 7h). Butterfly and vine branch series. Rome mint. Laureate head of Janus; I (mark of value) above / Prow of galley right; above, butterfly on vine branch; I (mark of value) to right. Crawford 184/1a; Sydenham 296; Variety not in RBW, but cf. RBW 780 for type (other variety) and RBW 783 (triens) for style of this variety. Near VF, brown surfaces.
From the Andrew McCabe Collection, purchased from Inasta 41, 2011.
The butterfly and vine and wolf and twins bronzes each come in two distinct varieties: one, as per this coin, with a wide curved prow-stem, a very thick denomination mark, and a wide but very low raised deck structure. This variant is generally struck on a thick, dumpy, and uneven flan. The other variety for these issues has narrow slanted prow-stems, relatively narrow lettering, and is struck on thinner but broader flans. Both types also have related anonymous issues, and McCabe (Essays Russo, 2013) pp. 197-202 shows them also to be struck at significantly different weight standards, with the 90 percentile of this variety estimated at 31.2 grams compared with 35.3 grams for the other variety. The combination of different flan manufacture with a different weight standard suggests these are separate issues, perhaps with this one struck at a camp mint. Pere Pau Ripollès is currently researching overstrikes of Roman prow bronzes on Spanish local coins of this era. [A. McCabe]
From the Andrew McCabe Collection, purchased from Inasta 41, 2011.
The butterfly and vine and wolf and twins bronzes each come in two distinct varieties: one, as per this coin, with a wide curved prow-stem, a very thick denomination mark, and a wide but very low raised deck structure. This variant is generally struck on a thick, dumpy, and uneven flan. The other variety for these issues has narrow slanted prow-stems, relatively narrow lettering, and is struck on thinner but broader flans. Both types also have related anonymous issues, and McCabe (Essays Russo, 2013) pp. 197-202 shows them also to be struck at significantly different weight standards, with the 90 percentile of this variety estimated at 31.2 grams compared with 35.3 grams for the other variety. The combination of different flan manufacture with a different weight standard suggests these are separate issues, perhaps with this one struck at a camp mint. Pere Pau Ripollès is currently researching overstrikes of Roman prow bronzes on Spanish local coins of this era. [A. McCabe]