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Artemide Aste s.r.l.
Auction LV  24-25 Apr 2021
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Lot 256

Starting price: 9000 EUR
Price realized: 12 000 EUR
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H series. AR Denarius, c. 211-210 BC, South East Italy. Obv. Helmeted head of Roma right; behind, X. Rev. The Dioscuri galloping right; below, H; in exergue, ROMA in linear frame. Cr.- (cf. 85/-); BMC -(cf. 196, plated); Syd-(cf. 173, same); RBW -; Witschonke NC 2008, pp. 141-144. AR. 4.15 g. 20.00 mm. RRR. Of the highest rarity. Among the finest of the very few specimens known and one of the just three in private hands. Insignificant shallow hair-line flan crack at six o'clock on reverse and minor dark grey spots, otherwise virtually as struck. Good EF/EF. ���

The H that accompanies the Dioscuri on this issue has often been resolved as the initial for a mint at Hatria or Herdonea. This particular denarius, often described as "the H denarius," has a storied history in the scholarly literature of Roman Republic coinage. This rare early issue has been known since 1860, but was condemned as false by Crawford in 1975 because the three specimens known to him were said to be plated. However, the appearance of a new specimen, a round of specific gravity and metallurgical tests, and an apparent hoard context (all discussed by Witschonke in 2008) now makes it clear that "the H denarius" was an official Republican issue after all. (NAC 106, 358 note).
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