Silver Roman Ancient Help.

I can't tell if this is either one. I thought I could look at the hair style and perhaps distinguish a difference, but, alas, I can't. I wish I could read the legend on your coin. If it is Otacilia Severa the obverse legend should be something like:

OTACIL SEVERA AVG

If it is Herennia Etruscilla, the obverse legend should look something like:

HER ETRVSCILLA AVG

Perhaps with the coin in-hand, you can read something of the obverse legend which might give a clue.

This portrait does look like HERENNIA ETRUSCILLA.

Third row down, left. Looks like this one?

http://www.ancientresource.com/lots...r-coins.html

They do look much alike. Glad you were able to make the legend.

While I do believe this is Etrucilla with little doubt, any coin hat requires this much effort to identify or even tell which side is up will suffer greatly when it comes to value. You posted a link to a nice one selling for $75 and I would say this is at best 5% of that. There is quite a bit of variation when it comes to metal content of these and more when you allow for leaching of some metals more than others when the coin was buried and cleaned. These should be a bit under 50% silver at best with 35-40% more likely. Numismatic value and melt are probably pretty close (about $1?) but being identifiable would suggest not melting it. Of course I can not understand why anyone melts any ancient coin or, for that matter, anything identifiable that has any age.

Sorry to say but in this condition with the reverse pretty much gone I think the most you would get for it is about $15.

Okay, thanks. I collect mainly U.S. so I know nothing on value.

The harsh reality of the matter is that ancient coins exist in numbers far smaller than 'rare' US coins but people who want to buy them are even more scarce. Something famous that exists in minuscule numbers like the 1913 V nickel might sell for millions while an ancient rarity that exists in a similar small number will struggle to bring half a million. Modern collectors pay more for the millions of worn Indian Head cents than ancient collectors will for the millions of late Roman bronzes in similar condition. To sell the OP denarius for as much as $15, you might need to find someone who does not know that better looking coins are available. The few thousand serious collectors of ancient coins would be unlikely to buy it at any price simply because we all realize that we can not own every coin we see and we choose to spend each dollar in another way. You might call that attitude 'coin snob' but it is pretty much the same situation we see in US with damaged and poor-fair Barber silver. Numismatic value approaches melt due to lack of demand.