Late Roman Bronze Coins
Coin talk => Late Roman Bronze coins => Topic started by: Nikko on November 20, 2017, 11:13:21 AM
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I noticed these two coins in the recent Dr Busso Peus auction and i was suprised by the weight of the fist one: 10,6 gr!
According to RIC VI, coins with such reverse type from Aquileia mint are all reduced follis (7 to 6 gr) and the second coin has a coherent weight of 5,8 gr.
My thought is the first coin falls in the unreduced weight emisisons (RIC 76-112).
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I don't believe this coin would be from the unreduced emission. Two things seem most likely- first, that a flan from the first emission was mistakenly used.
Secondly, and what most likely happened, is that it is just a heavier flan. The CONSERV coins from this emission were struck at 48 to a pound for an average of around 6 grams. Each flan was not weighed though, so some might be heavier and some might be lighter.
and a third possibility- the weight is misrecorded in the auction.
Drost in his book on Maxentian coinage only has the CONSERV coinage listed as reduced folles. He only gives an average weight of 6.47g and does not list weights of individual coins.
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Hi Victor,
i think it's too heavy to be "only" a heavier flan.
Sutherland didn't reported an average weight but a range (7 to 6 gr) and all the coins of such type i find, fall in or around this range.
Also, i noticed that the style of the portrait is quite different respect the reduced follis and closer to the style of unreduced ones.
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I simply don't believe the auction listing. The listed weight must be an error. Buyer, please correct me if I am wrong.
Brent Upchurch
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It's a great coin with a great pedigree, but i's also only 6,76 gr :D