Acquisition number: 1967.03
Other images
Obv.: Head of Mercury r.
Rev.: Prow of a ship r. Above, ROMA.
This type is typical of the bronze Roman coins of this period.
Title: Semuncia - 1967.03
Acquisition number: 1967.03
Culture or period: Roman Republic
Date: 215-212 BC
Material: Metal - Bronze
Object type: Coins - Roman
Dimensions: 20mm (w)
Origin region or location: Italy
Origin city: Rome
Display case or on loan: 5
Keywords: Coin, Roman, Republic, Mercury
Sear, D.R., Roman Coins and their Values 5 vols (London, Spink, 2000-2014) 621; Crawford, M., Roman Republican Coinage 2 vols (Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2011) 41/11 and pl. VIII.5; Grueber, H.A., Coins of the Roman Republic in the British Museum 3 vols (London, The Trustees of the British Museum, 1910; rev. edn London, 1970), I. 129; Sydenham, E. A. The Coinage of the Roman Republic (London, Spink, 1952; (Sanford J. Durst repr. 1976) 109.
1967.03
Semuncia
3.675 g. 215-212 BC
Obv.: Head of Mercury r.
Rev.: Prow of a ship r. Above, ROMA.
The types are typical of the Roman coins of this period. The prow was the standard reverse type of bronze coins until the end of the Republic.
After the Second Punic War there was a gradual reduction in the weight of the bronze coinage which was increasingly struck instead of cast. These reforms were completed in the currency reform of 211 BC based on an As of about 44gm (the sextantal weight standard). The typical denominations are outlined below:
The prow was the standard reverse type of bronze coins until the end of the Republic.
Sear, D.R., Roman Coins and their Values 5 vols (London, Spink, 2000-2014) 621; Crawford, M., Roman Republican Coinage 2 vols (Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2011) 41/11 and pl. VIII.5; Grueber, H.A., Coins of the Roman Republic in the British Museum 3 vols (London, The Trustees of the British Museum, 1910; rev. edn London, 1970), I. 129; Sydenham, E. A. The Coinage of the Roman Republic (London, Spink, 1952; (Sanford J. Durst repr. 1976) 109.