"ROMANO" Didrachm - Roma vs Neapolis

[AnyRanger]

Hello everyone!

 

My collection primarily focuses on the Greek Classical and Hellenistic periods, but this Roman Republic didrachm caught my eye. 

I’m having trouble understanding the minting progression of this didrachm. From what I’ve gathered, the Republic’s first coins were minted in Neapolis around 280 BC. Then, after Pyrrhus' defeat in 275 BC, minting in the city of Rome began, dating these didrachms between 269-266 BC.

However, while searching upcoming auctions, I noticed some say they were minted in Neapolis. 

Can anyone clarify the minting timeline for these coins? And how can you distinguish between the two mints?

 

Thank you in advance 🙂

[red_spork]

The relative chronology of the early didrachms is basically undisputable due to hoard evidence however the absolute chronology is still debated. I'm not sure why anyone would cite Neapolis for this particular type, I think it is one of the less disputed ones and most everyone believes it was minted in Rome. Below I share the info on the issue from Rutter's Historia Numorum Italy along with HNI's diagram of the overall chronology of these types.

A few sources I'd recommend reading on these types:

Thomsen Early Roman Coinage

Crawford RRC

Crawford Coinage and Money Under the Roman Republic

Rutter Historia Numorum Italy

Also look into papers written by Andrew Burnett and David Vagi also published an excellent paper on the first didrachms in Essays Russo

[AnyRanger]

4 hours ago, red_spork said:

The relative chronology of the early didrachms is basically undisputable due to hoard evidence however the absolute chronology is still debated. I'm not sure why anyone would cite Neapolis for this particular type, I think it is one of the less disputed ones and most everyone believes it was minted in Rome. Below I share the info on the issue from Rutter's Historia Numorum Italy along with HNI's diagram of the overall chronology of these types.

A few sources I'd recommend reading on these types:

Thomsen Early Roman Coinage

Crawford RRC

Crawford Coinage and Money Under the Roman Republic

Rutter Historia Numorum Italy

Also look into papers written by Andrew Burnett and David Vagi also published an excellent paper on the first didrachms in Essays Russo

Thank you for your informative response! I was also confused to see Neapolis cited instead of Rome. One of the main attractions of this coin for me was that it's the first silver coin minted on the Capitoline Hill. If the didrachm I’m watching was actually minted in Neapolis…well that diminishes its significance a bit in my opinion. I'll definitely check out the resources you provided. Thanks again!

[Qcumbor]

Welcome here @AnyRanger

Is that beautiful didrachm (heavy denarius) yours ?
In any case it's gorgeous

I've always considered it to be struck in Rome

Mine :

Roman republic, anonymous didrachm (heavy denarius) - Rome mint c. 269-266 BCE
No legend, Diademed head of young Hercules right, with club and lion's skin over shoulder
ROMANO, She wolf right, suckling Romulus and Remus
7.29 gr
Ref : Crawford # 20/1, RCV # 24, RSC # 8, Albert # 30

Q

Edited November 9, 2024 by Qcumbor

[AnyRanger]

1 hour ago, Qcumbor said:

Welcome here @AnyRanger

Is that beautiful didrachm (heavy denarius) yours ?
In any case it's gorgeous

I've always considered it to be struck in Rome

Mine :

Roman republic, anonymous didrachm (heavy denarius) - Rome mint c. 269-266 BCE
No legend, Diademed head of young Hercules right, with club and lion's skin over shoulder
ROMANO, She wolf right, suckling Romulus and Remus
7.29 gr
Ref : Crawford # 20/1, RCV # 24, RSC # 8, Albert # 30

Q

Thank you for the warm welcome!
I wish that didrachm was mine, but I was just using it as an example. Your didrachm is fantastic; I love the portrait! I hope to win this example in one of the upcoming NAC auctions. My main source of confusion was the description:

- “Didrachm, Neapolis (?) after 276, AR 22 mm, 7.17g.”

- ”Sydenham 6. SNG Lockett 3479. RBW 23. Crawford 20/1.”