Denarius, Crawford 55/1, Extremely Rare

Denomination: Denarius
Era: c. 211 BC
Metal: AR
Obverse: Helmeted head of Roma r. Behind, “X” . Border of dots
Reverse: Dioscuri r.; in linear frame. “ROMA”. Line border
Weight: 3.69 gm.
Reference: Crawford 55/1
Provenance: NAC 61, Lot 213 5-OCT-2011; Ex NFA-Leu sale 29-MAR-1985, Garrett III lot 860

Among the rarest of the fully anonymous denari in RRC, there are fewer than a dozen specimens known. This variety displays a rather slender head of Roma in relatively good style. There are four prominent hair locks on neck below helmet, the shortest of which curls up just under Roma’s jaw line. This is the only variety of denarius where some dies render a peaked visor, and some render a splayed visor.
The reverse cape style splits and ends in two points, the points extending roughly equal distances from their point of split. This style follows none of the patterns described elsewhere for other varieties.
For additional discussion see this article by Pierluigi Debernardi: http://stevebrinkman.ancients.info/anonymous/C55.htm

Collection : Fully Anonymous Early Roman Silver of the denarius system