Classical Numismatic Group, LLC
Electronic Auction 385 26 October 2016
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Anonymous. Circa 91 BC. Æ As (27mm, 8.64 g, 6h). Rome mint. Laureate head of bearded Janus; I (mark of value) above / Prow of galley right; ROMA above. Crawford 339/1a; Sydenham 679; Type as RBW 1241. VF, dark green patina, some roughness and cleaning marks.
From the Andrew McCabe Collection. Ex Classical Numismatic Group Electronic Auction 190 (25 June 2008), lot 213.
Classification and identification of the sub-varieties of bronzes asses of Cr. 339, 341, 342 and 344 is always problematic as the coins are inevitably poorly struck, with symbols and lettering often obscured or missing. It is worth the time for a serious collector to carefully review the various varieties in Crawford and seek evidenced examples of each. Michael Crawford did a terrific job in sorting out these issues, but there are still plenty of discoveries to be made, as the next overstrike coin and the Tituria as which follows evidence. The identification of this as 339/1a, without value mark, seems safe, but for 339/1b with a supposed value mark above the prow, the cited Crawford example includes a slanted line through the 'value mark', which suggests it may represent a corvus in the raised position – see the cited 339/1b coin, Paris Ancien Fonds, illustrated in McCabe (Essays Russo) page 210, coin M1.As.3, and compare with the theory put forward by Antonio Morello in Prorae, Editrice Diana 2008, where he hypothesized just such a raised corvus design. [A. McCabe]
From the Andrew McCabe Collection. Ex Classical Numismatic Group Electronic Auction 190 (25 June 2008), lot 213.
Classification and identification of the sub-varieties of bronzes asses of Cr. 339, 341, 342 and 344 is always problematic as the coins are inevitably poorly struck, with symbols and lettering often obscured or missing. It is worth the time for a serious collector to carefully review the various varieties in Crawford and seek evidenced examples of each. Michael Crawford did a terrific job in sorting out these issues, but there are still plenty of discoveries to be made, as the next overstrike coin and the Tituria as which follows evidence. The identification of this as 339/1a, without value mark, seems safe, but for 339/1b with a supposed value mark above the prow, the cited Crawford example includes a slanted line through the 'value mark', which suggests it may represent a corvus in the raised position – see the cited 339/1b coin, Paris Ancien Fonds, illustrated in McCabe (Essays Russo) page 210, coin M1.As.3, and compare with the theory put forward by Antonio Morello in Prorae, Editrice Diana 2008, where he hypothesized just such a raised corvus design. [A. McCabe]