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obolos 18 21 Feb 2021
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L. Papius, 79 BC. Denarius Serratus (Silver, 19 mm, 3.89 g, 4 h), Rome. Head of Juno Sospita to right; behind, flail. Rev. L · PAPI Gryphon springing right; below, basket with strap. Babelon, (Papia) 1. Crawford 384/1 (symbol: 45). Sydenham 773. An nicely toned attractive coin with good centering. Very fine.
From the Trausnitz Collection, ex G. Hirsch 187, 19 September 1995, 949.
Coins of L. Papius are very popular with collectors for the interesting controls they display, which according to Crawford "are no more than a random selection of pairs of everyday objects" (p. 399). Papius used two related symbols, one on the obverse die, the other on the reverse, to keep track of production and to control losses by the workers at the mint. Each pair of controls only has one set of dies. On this particular coin the paired symbols are a flail and a basket with a strap, and are thus associated with threshing grain.
From the Trausnitz Collection, ex G. Hirsch 187, 19 September 1995, 949.
Coins of L. Papius are very popular with collectors for the interesting controls they display, which according to Crawford "are no more than a random selection of pairs of everyday objects" (p. 399). Papius used two related symbols, one on the obverse die, the other on the reverse, to keep track of production and to control losses by the workers at the mint. Each pair of controls only has one set of dies. On this particular coin the paired symbols are a flail and a basket with a strap, and are thus associated with threshing grain.