Heritage World Coin Auctions
Long Beach Signature Sale 3057 7-8 Sep 2017
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Ancients
Constantius I Chlorus, as Caesar. AR argenteus (18mm, 3.57 gm, 11h). NGC Choice AU 5/5 - 4/5. Carthage, AD 300. CONSTAN-TIVS CAES, laureate head of Constantius right / X·C-VI in two lines within wreath. RIC 16a. RSC 345. Scarce! Light golden toning over lustrous fields.
The numeral XCVI (96) on the reverse indicates the theoretical weight of the argenteus, 1/96th of a Roman pound. With the Roman pound (or libra, hence the abbreviation "LB" for pound) weighing 329.9 grams, this works out to 3.426 grams of silver, which is pretty close to the average weight for a late Roman argenteus. The argenteus was Diocletian's attempt to reintroduce a circulating currency in good silver after decades of runaway debasement and inflation had reduced Roman coins essentially to base metal tokens.
HID02901242017
Estimate: 1000-1300 USD
Constantius I Chlorus, as Caesar. AR argenteus (18mm, 3.57 gm, 11h). NGC Choice AU 5/5 - 4/5. Carthage, AD 300. CONSTAN-TIVS CAES, laureate head of Constantius right / X·C-VI in two lines within wreath. RIC 16a. RSC 345. Scarce! Light golden toning over lustrous fields.
The numeral XCVI (96) on the reverse indicates the theoretical weight of the argenteus, 1/96th of a Roman pound. With the Roman pound (or libra, hence the abbreviation "LB" for pound) weighing 329.9 grams, this works out to 3.426 grams of silver, which is pretty close to the average weight for a late Roman argenteus. The argenteus was Diocletian's attempt to reintroduce a circulating currency in good silver after decades of runaway debasement and inflation had reduced Roman coins essentially to base metal tokens.
HID02901242017
Estimate: 1000-1300 USD