Romulus Aeternae Memoriae Reduced Follis From Ostia

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Author	Replies: 5 / Views: 1,078
Victor Pillar of the Community United States 905 Posts	Posted 06/07/2019 6:55 pm I recently got this coin, which is interesting because it is a reduced follis. The normal size follis for this period weighs around 6 grams while this one weighs 2.1 grams. RIC calls this coin a half follis, which, to be more accurate, would be about 3 grams. I have seen others call it a quarter follis; but this coin is a little overweight to properly fit that designation. Drost, in his book on Maxentian coinage Le Monnayage De Maxence (306-312 APRÈS J.-C.), calls this coin a third of a follis; which is spot on as far as the weight.but might still be incorrect, as this coin might not have actually been worth only a third of the normal follis. Romulus A.D. 309- 312 reduced follis 17mm 2.1gm DIVO ROMVLO N V BIS CONS; bare head right. AETERNAE MEMORIAE; Eagle with wings spread on domed shrine with doors ajar. In ex. MOSTS RIC VI Ostia 59 Report this Post to the Staff

sel_69l Bedrock of the Community Australia 21788 Posts	Posted 06/07/2019 8:23 pm I guess that in our times it is impossible to prove definitively what the denomination of this coin. may be. A period of weight transition, which somewhat clouds the situation. A parallel: the term *antoninianus* is a modern 'coined' word. We don't know what the Romans called this denomination. Report this Post to the Staff
Victor Pillar of the Community United States 905 Posts	Posted 06/07/2019 8:36 pm The name of the coin is not the issue, it is the weight. It is one third of the regular issue, so the question is, was this coin worth one third of the regular weight coin. Of course, this is a rhetorical question. Report this Post to the Staff
Kushanshah Pillar of the Community United States 1554 Posts	Posted 06/07/2019 10:13 pm Interesting coin. RIC lists the expected weight of this coin at 3.25 to 2.75 gm compared to the weight of the full follis of the same issue (struck late 309 to October 312) at 6.75 to 5.5 gm. However, the follis of the following issue (from October 312) falls to a standard between 4.5 and 3.5 gm, by which this coin would be spot on at 50%. A case could be made that either the weight reduction must have occurred earlier or that the issue of this type continued after the reduction. Edited by Kushanshah 06/07/2019 10:19 pm Report this Post to the Staff
Victor Pillar of the Community United States 905 Posts	Posted 06/07/2019 10:48 pm Drost (Le Monnayage De Maxence) believes that two fractional denominations exist-- halves struck at 96 to the pound and thirds minted at 144 to the pound. He also states that sometimes "bronze denominations outside of the metrological system were periodically struck at Rome." pg 229 Report this Post to the Staff
Doctorwho2485 Valued Member New Zealand 292 Posts	Posted 06/08/2019 01:21 am A very nice coin Victor. I'll love to found this one in a lot too. Report this Post to the Staff
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