Roman Republic AR Denarius(4.83g, 21mm, 10h). Anonymous. After 211 B.C. Uncertain mint. Helmeted head of Roma right; behind, X. Border of dots / Dioscuri galloping right; in linear frame, ROMA. Line border. Crawford -; Brinkman-Debernardi website 46(a)/1, example 2(this coin); Numismatic Chronicle 174(2014), "The Orzivecchi Hoard and the Beginnings of the Denarius", p. 85, fig 5.b(this coin)
Ex Harlan J Berk Buy or Bid Sale 210, 6 February 2020, lot 116, ex Harlan J Berk Buy or Bid Sale 121, 10 July 2001, lot 266
See Berk's video of this coin here
This coin is special for a number of reasons. First, the type is a relatively recent discovery, having been first published in the anonymous denarius guide by Steve Brinkman and Pierluigi Debernardi and then more recently in "The Orzivecchi Hoard and the Beginnings of the Denarius". Its recent discovery is directly related to the fact that it is exceedingly rare: as of writing, four examples, including this coin, are known from two die pairs. Of those examples, only two are in private hands. The type is stylistically similar and probably somehow related to the rare Crawford 46/1, hence the aforementioned guide's 46(a)/1 nomenclature, but its existence as a separate issue, rather than simply a stylistic variety is suggested by the fact that the two known die pairs of this issue have no known links to any variety of 46/1, which Pierluigi Debernardi has published a die study for, and that several details on these two die pairs differ from the known dies of the 46/1 issue(see the guide above for discussion of style). Most likely it is an issue either from the same field mint as 46/1, but perhaps separated chronologically and engraved by someone working from a different prototype.
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