Dea Moneta
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Banner Artemide 59E
Lot # 279
Female head series. AR Denarius, uncertain Spanish mint (Tarraco?), 203 BC. Obv. Helmeted head of Roma right; behind, X. Rev. The Dioscuri galloping right; below, female head right; in linear frame, ROMA. Cr. 127/1; B. 1 (Horatia). AR. 3.67 g. 18.00 mm. RR. Very rare. Scratch and delamination on reverse. A choice example, nicely toned, with bluish highlights. Good VF. About this issue and its weight standard (3.6 gr. according to Crawford) see CNG 49, 1999, lot 1233 , from the Andrew McCabe Collection and note: In “A Hoard of Cut Roman Republican Denarii from the Second Punic War” (Essays Witschonke, pp. 221-238), I noted it included early denarii up to Cr. 110, as well as several Cr. 125 VAR and Cr. 126 QLC types, but did not include types from Cr. 111 through 124. This Cr. 127 type, related by style and fabric to the VAR and QLC types, should therefore be dated late in the second Punic war, rather than just after the war as Crawford proposed. The weight of this coin (3.44 g.) is typical for an issue that is always struck light. [A. McCabe].