Lot 3232
Anonymous moneyer. AR Didrachm minted at Rome, 270-265 BC. Diademed head right of young Hercules, lion's skin and club over shoulder. Reverse: She-wolf standing right, suckling the twins Romulus and Remus. Sear 24; RSC Pre-Denarius 8; Cr. 20/1; Syd. 6. Toned. A pleasing example of the early didrachm coinage. Bold. Very Fine.
Roman silver coinage began around 280 BC; involvement in the Pyrrhic War perhaps led to adopting the Greek didrachm that had long been in use in south Italy. The Roman didrachm continued to be minted into the second Punic War, when it was replaced by the denarius. While the earliest issues, which were military, reflected to some degree the style of their Greek models, this type was both one of the first to be struck at Rome herself and the first to display expressly Roman imagery.
Estimated Value $1,200 - 1,500.
The Pat Coyle Collection.
|
| |
| Realized $1,783 |
