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© 2004-2006 Andrew McCabe. If you've any questions or
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Comprehensive
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Catalogues
Introductory
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History
Coins and History
Hoards and
Archaeology
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Period-specific
studies
Provincial and
Imitative
Books and Websites
about Books
RR_Bronze_Rarities
rarely seen Roman Republican coins
Comprehensive
& Period Catalogues & Major Sylloges
Essential
M. H. Crawford, Roman Republican Coinage (London, 1974).
The standard
reference book on Roman Republican coinage, accurate and thorough, backed by
comprehensive research evidence, this is the first book that gets the overall
story correct in all its fundamentals although there remain specialist areas of
debate. Excellent plates illustrating many rare varieties, often illustrated in
preference to common varieties. Plates in the first (1974) edition are
noticeably better than the reprints, and worth paying a premium – in case of
doubt the 1974 edition can be identified by its (fragile) paper dust-jacket,
missing from the reprints.
In covering the
entire scope of the coinage Crawford has drawn from a wide range of existing
studies, adding his own analysis to fill in the gaps. Dating in the pre-150 BC
era is based on the foundation research by Thomsen in "Early Roman
Coinage". Post 150-BC dating is based on hoard evidence from Crawford’s
own “Roman Republic Coin Hoards”. Historical background is covered only by
exception where conclusions differ from the discussion in Grueber’s British
Museum catalogue. Crawford draws on many other specific studies, for example
Kraay and Alföldi as regards the arrangement of 44BC Caesar portrait coins
which Crawford reasseses, or Buttrey’s various studies on Imperatorial issues.
Specific new studies fill in the gaps, for example (a) a tentative proposal for
arrangement of the quadrigatus issues (b) approximate size (relative
commonness) of denarius issues based on statistical estimates of die-counts and
inferences from economic history (however Crawford provides no information on
the relative rarity of small issues, which are of less interest to him as
having little economic impact). (c) early struck bronzes, particularly
"difficult" series such as the various Luceria coins (d) assignment
of the anonymous denarius to many discreet issues based on style (e) analysis
of 1st century coins with symbols, such as the Crepusia types.
Crawford is not an
easy read. As an example, in distinguishing the many types of anonymous
denarius he does not specify how the types differ from each other, instead the
reader is expected to study the photos carefully and work out the stylistic or
type differences for themselves. Another example is the way in which the
chronological and mint analysis is presented up-front, separate from the
catalogue, and sometimes in highly abbreviated form. Nevertheless its general
reliability makes it essential for any serious student of RR coins. The
majority of references on this website consist either of studies preceding
Crawford (1974) providing evidence that supports his conclusions, or post-1974
studies with new evidence that modifies his conclusions. Few pre-1974 studies
that disagree with Crawford have stood the test of time, which is a testament
to Crawford’s good judgment in reviewing the work of others.
The dating (and
related evidence) remain generally undisputed 30 years after publication, with
a number of specific exceptions: (1) earliest didrachms which Burnett in
Historia Numorum Italy dates somewhat earlier than Crawford (2) relative and
absolute dating of the earliest anonymous denarii that Crawford assigns to a
narrow range 211-206BC, which are believed to cover a longer timescale after
211BC, see Hersh (3) dating in the 150-90 BC era for which HB Mattingly has
proposed many refinements in a series of studies republished in “From Coins to
History” (4) dating in the 50s, 60s and 70s BC, which lacks hoard evidence and
has been significantly revised since discovery of the Mesagne hoard, refer
Hersh, Walker, Mattingly, Harlan (5) a substantially revised dating and
locations of 49-42BC coins has been proposed by Woytek in “Arma et Nummi” (6)
chronology of Octavians Imp Caesar and Caesar Divi F, now considered
Imperatorial period, refer the new RIC1 and HCRI. With the exception of the
Caesar Divi F and Imp Caesar coins where there is a definitive catalogue that
post-dates RRC (RIC1, 1979), Crawford’s dating is generally quoted unaltered in
books, catalogues and websites because there is still debate and disagreement
over the other proposed adjustments.
Aside from these
examples I’d note some other areas that today still have significant scope for
future study (1) the quadrigatus, Crawford’s arrangement being tentative and
not yet based on die studies, and no easy to apply (2) bronzes that straddle
the denarius reform date, both anonymous types and those from Luceria and
Sicily (3) anonymous post-reform bronzes, almost all classified as Cr. Series
56, which vary widely in style, module and presumably dating and merit the same
treatment that Crawford provides to the different styles of anonymous silver
(4) Italian small change, both anonymous types and those attributed to Italian
cities – their dating and relationship with the mainstream bronze coinage is
unclear (5) mint locations and dating of coins associated with the travels of
the Imperators between 49 and 30 BC, the varying views of Crawford, Sear and
Woytek illustrating the uncertainty.
C.A. Hersh reviewed
RRC in the 1977 Numismatic Chronicle - Hersh's views essentially form a first
revision to RRC, with Essays for Hersh (1998) being the second major revision.
R.Russo in "Essays Hersh" provides a significant additional corpus of
bronzes not listed in Crawford, in many cases completing series that missed
only one or two denominations. An updated list of RR bronzes including Russo’s
additions is included on my website:
http://hometown.aol.co.uk/ahala/RomanRepublicBronzesRarities.htm
David Sear, the History and Coinage of the Roman Imperators, 49-27 BC (1988)
Very readable historical analysis that presents the
coins alongside the history. It restores to the main Republican series many
imperatorial coins missing from Crawford including Antony's Fleet Bronzes,
Octavian's Imp Caesar and Caesar Divi F (as per RIC dating) and Antony's
Cistophori. The numismatic analysis generally relies on the work of others but
Sear makes some well-informed judgment calls as to precise (to the season)
dating and mint locations. Even where opinions on dating and mints differ
between numismatists (Crawford, Woytek), the close association of coins with
historical events in this book makes it a useful baseline against which to
interpret the views of others. There is a thorough discussion of the types and
their interpretation, this aspect being generally lacking in Crawford. The
reference list of provincial coins of the imperatorial period will save a lot
of work for collectors who don't wish to wade through RPC to work out
what's Republican and what's Imperial - though I find it inconsistent (also in
RPC) to include local coins without any Roman magistrates name or any
typological reference to the Roman Imperium. Beautifully presented with illustrations
of every coin in the text. Essential.
E. A. Sydenham et al., Coinage of the Roman Republic (London, 1952).
An attractive single volume handbook on Roman Republican coins – although dating
for earlier coins has been superseded, it remains useful. Easier to use than
Crawford because its column layout allows you to scan the listings more quickly
and it has a more intuitive numbering system. The division of the coinage into
coherent series with common styles or issuers allows you to easily grasp the outline
of the coinage, and all the information on a given coin or series is presented
in the one place, whereas in Crawford you have to hop between the catalogue and
the explanatory text. The analysis and relative chronology of the helmet-styles
of the early denarius remains valid today (although the absolute
chronology is incorrect). Logical and inclusive coverage of Imperatorial coins,
close to Sear's HCRI. Also useful for Social War coinage which is omitted from
Crawford. Sydenham's rarity estimates are still the standard, although I’ve
published updated rarities for struck bronzes elsewhere on this website.
Excellent plates in the original, terrible reduced-size plates in the Durst
reprint, which should be avoided. On the downside, the dating is clearly incorrect
for pre-150BC coins, the rationale for assigning mints to "Italy" or
"Rome" has not withstood the test of recent hoard evidence, far fewer
coins are illustrated than Crawford - almost no bronzes - and you have to take
a lot of the chronological analysis on trust, it is not explained in the book.
H. A. Grueber, Coins of the Roman Republic in the British Museum (London, 1910; reprinted 1970).
Still extremely
useful for the historical analysis of types illustrating family history, which
remain valid today and contain much more information than in Crawford. Crawford
addresses historical links only by exception where the BMCRR historical
analysis is out of date, so a curious collector should have both books. Indeed
Crawford encouraged the BM with the 1970 reprint so that it would be easily
available when RRC was published. It has many excellent plates particularly
useful as a back-up to Crawford's plates for bronzes, for non-mainstream coins,
and for type varieties. Coins not in the BM collection are illustrated as line
drawings in the text, which adds to its readability. For most types there are
multiple copies listed in many varieties with weights specified, so it is in
many cases possible to match a coin with its exact variety in the BM catalogue.
This can only be done with a corpus such as the BM catalogue that refers to
actual coins rather than generic types. Crawford usually references BM coins as
type examples so BMCRR can be referred to for details. The numismatic analysis
(evidence of dating) has generally been superseded and should be ignored, but
this book is useful for many other reasons. As usual the 1910 original has
somewhat better plates than the reprint but the reprint is still well produced
with good plates, and also includes a useful Appendix discussing and
illustrating important 20th century acquisitions so is
numismatically more valuable.
F. Berger, Die Münzen der römischen Republik im
Kestner-Museum Hannover (Hannover, 1989).
4000 coins illustrated, mostly rare bronzes that are
not to be found in any other published source (perhaps with the exception of
the Goodman collection). High quality photos on the page facing their
description therefore very easy to use. Catalogued according to Crawford, it is
an essential illustrated companion when referring to bronzes. A significant
number of later bronzes in the collection are classified as unattributed local
types – falling outside the stylistic boundaries of Crawford’s RRC, which
highlights an important area for future study. The layout of the plates allows
you to understand stylistic matches and differences better than any other
catalogue. Difficult to find, worth a significant premium to acquire.
Roman Silver Coins, Volume 1 - Republic to Augustus. Seaby, London 1978
This is an essential collectors handbook, Babelon in a
small volume with excellent photographs, and very easy to use due to being
sorted by family name. It includes many varieties of coins missing from Sear's
millenium edition, and its pricing is a better indication of relative rarity
than Sear's. The 1978 edition was republished in 2005 (unchanged, hence the RIC
numbers for Octavian’s coins still refer to the old RIC1). The 1952 first
edition, with line drawings, is also worth having, as it contains useful
information on how relative prices have moved over the last 50 years.
Historia Numorum - Italy, NK Rutter, British Museum 2001
Important for the
dating of early Roman coinage, and fundamental for understanding the coins of
the Italian communities after the Roman conquest. It places the early didrachm
and aes grave coinage of Rome in an Italian context and updates Crawford’s
dating for this period based on Burnett’s more recent studies, though the
dating assumptions remain contentious. The bronzes of Brundisium, Paestum, Cosa
and other Italian communities are early provincial coins so HNI can be seen as
the predecessor of RPC for Italy – any collection of RR bronzes should include
some representative examples. Many still-quoted books on Greek or Italian
coinage include long-discredited dating based on a 269BC introduction of the
denarius and associated Italian bronze coinages, and HNI is a badly need update
to their dating. Also useful for Social War coinage. 42 good plates,
illustrating a large sample of types – SNG France 6 is a useful source of
pictures for types not illustrated.
Burnett, Amandry, Ripollès, Roman Provincial Coinage I. From the death of Caesar to the death of Vitellius, British Museum Press, 2 vols, 1992
A fundamental reference, it covers many coins of the
Imperatorial period (Sear's HCRI provides a complete list of RPC entries for
the Imperatorial period), accurate and up to date analysis in many cases
building on earlier work by Grant in FITA: see my comments. Excellent plates in
a separate volume. Due to its encyclopaedic coverage its can be difficult to
get an overview: there is a 68 page introductory section that comments on
authorities, production and circulation, denominations and types but it
presumes some familiarity with provincial coinage. The analysis is critical and
thorough and the authors do not hesitate to place coins in the
"uncertain" category - there's not much speculation. A small and
inessential supplement volume was published in 1998, mostly consisting of
varieties to types already in the main volume. RPC1 is scheduled for another
reprint (at about $325) early 2006. Historical prices when out-of-print have
spiked to $750 or more so don’t wait around. Essential.
Useful
Coins of Macedonia and Rome: Essays in
Honour of Charles Hersh (“Essays Hersh”). Burnett, Wartenberg & Witschonke
London 1998
This is an update to
Crawford on many aspects of Roman Republican research, sufficiently
comprehensive to include it in the “catalogue” listings in this website.
Contents (discussed elsewhere on this website) include (1) Selinus and the
quadrigatus, by Michael Crawford; (2) The Mars/eagle and thunderbolt gold and
Ptolemaic involvement in the Second Punic War, by A.R. Meadows; (3) More
evidence for the early denarius, by Richard Schaefer; (4) Some late ‘early’ Republican
quinarii, by Richard Witschonke; (5) Unpublished Roman Republican bronze coins,
by R. Russo; (6) Roman Republican coinage c.150-90 B.C., by H. B. Mattingly;
(7) The coinage of the Social War, by Andrew Burnett; (8) Coinage, credit and
the aerarium in the 80’s BC, by J.H.C. Williams; (9) The coinage of Bibulus
again, by Michel Amandry; (10) A group of Eraviscan denarii, by Robert Freeman;
(11) Roman Republican coins in the Manchester Museum, by Keith Sugden; (12)
Overstrikes and imitative conages in central Italy in the late Republic, by C.
Stannard
E. J. Haeberlin, Aes Grave. Das Schwergeld Roms und Mittelitaliens
(Frankfurt, 1910).
Two volumes with text and plates. The plates volume
has high-quality illustrations of thousands of genuine Aes Grave (Haeberlin
included all the Aes Grave he could find) with accurate weights. I use it for
(a) a guide for identifying genuine aes grave: style, manufacturing technique
and metrology (b) visual indication of frequency / rarity of various examples
(c) weight ranges, uniquely helpful in considering the libral-sextantal
reductions from 225-212BC. Originals
are very expensive ($3000+) – a facsimile edition has been reprinted by Forni
at €438, which I haven’t seen so can’t comment on its quality.
SNG British Museum Spain, PB Purefoy, A Meadows, British Museum 2001
Important for the
provincial coinage of Spain during the Republic, struck on Roman standard and
paid to Roman legionaries in lieu of regular Roman coins. Copiously
illustrated. It should replace Burgos' catalogue as the standard reference for
the series. Read with Knapp, R.C., The date and purpose of the Iberian
denarii', NC 1977.
Corpus Nummorum Romanorum Monetazione Republicana,
A. Banti, 9 Vols Firenze. 1982
Photographic corpus of
RR coins, principally silver, taken from auction catalogues, museum and private
collections, arranged by family name. Italian with English translations.
Particularly strong on very rare coins not seen in many auctions, e.g. it has
got multiple examples of Brutus' EID MAR and multiple illustrations of types
with complex varieties or symbols, therefore it is still very valuable even in
the age of online databases such as WildWinds and CoinArchives. Also useful for
establishing the auction provenance of rare coins as it lists the source of
every photo. The quality of the photos is variable depending on the original
source.
Corpus Numorum Romanorum Vols 1-6, Banti, Simonetti, Firenze 1972-74
The first six volumes of the CNR Roman Imperial set (out of
18 volumes in total) cover the Imperatorial and Augustan period, with the same
approach as the CNR Roman Republic set.
M. Grant, From Imperium to Auctoritas (FITA) Cambridge, 1946
Covers imperatorial issues from Julius Caesar to
Augustus. Superseded by RPC, but interesting as it group coins by type of
issuer (e.g. local magistrates, imperators) and discusses each coin as an essay
within its historical context. Still useful if bought as an addendum to RPC,
which has many references to FITA. The 1946 edition is difficult to find. The
1969 reprint is widely available but has poor-quality reduced-size plates,
however if you already own RPC1 and want FITA for the narratives then the lack
of plates is not such a drawback. I've read elsewhere that Grant's deductions
are not always watertight and indeed some of the historical deductions seem
rather speculative, but if in doubt you can always refer to RPC.
Roman Imperial Coinage Vol.1 31BC-AD69, CHV
Sutherland, London 1984
Catalogues the Caesar Divi F and Imp Caesar coins of
the last five years of the Republic (32-27BC), inexplicably omitted from
Crawford. The general introduction and discussion of dates and mints for these
coins is of interest but RIC1 is otherwise quite light on text, referring for
its numismatic evidence to Sutherland’s “Octavian’s Gold and Silver Coinage
from c.32 to 27BC” (Quaderni Ticinesi 1976, offprint republished 1997). If you
can find a copy of the latter and already own Sear’s HCRI then RIC1 is not
essential.
Recherches sur la Monnaie Romaine Depuis son
Origine Jusqu a la Mort d'Auguste, Baron d'Ailly, Lyons 1864-69, 4 vols, 1100
pages, 114 plates, Forni reprint
In the absence of a
catalogue of the massive Paris collection this is as good as you can get.
Excellent and stylistically accurate line illustrations, particularly of
bronzes which may not be found elsewhere, though I have been told that in some
instances rare but worn coins have been erroneously completed in the
illustration which makes the plates less reliable than they should be. Much of
the analysis (French) is still worth reading 140 years after publication, it
forms building blocks to 20th century research on bronzes. The Forni reprint is
adequate for a line-drawing-illustrated book although some plates are rather
washed out.
M. von Bahrfeldt, "Nachträge und
Berichtigungen zur Münzkunde der römischen Republik".
This set of essays is a commentary on Babelon and
comes in four parts published in 1897, 1898, 1900 and 1918 of which I've the first
two parts in one volume, analysing Babelon's treatment on each family series.
German. Rare. I am advised that its analysis is perceptive and remains valid
today.
Less Useful
E. Babelon, Description historique et
chronologique de monnaies de la république romaine (Paris, 1885).
The handbook on which the "family name"
organisation and numbering of Roman Republican coins is based. French. Except
for the prow series it does not include aes grave, and has limited coverage of
the early post-212BC coinage with symbols / letters. Its line drawings of
scarcer RR bronzes fill in some gaps not covered by other books and I
occasionally refer to it to clarify the original arrangement behind Roman
Silver Coins, but otherwise it has been superseded by other handbooks. However
Bahrfeldt’s commentary on Babelon (1897-1918) remains important.
Monnaies
sous L'Empire Romaine, Vol.1 Pompey-Domitian, 2nd ed. Henry Cohen, 1880
Outdated and not worth paying for, but does
have the merit that it is available as a free download on the web so may be of
interest for collectors who don’t yet own any of the main catalogues.
http://www.inumis.com/rome/books/cohen/vol_i/imperator.html