Denarius RRC 111/1 var. (unlisted as anonymous)

Denomination: Denarius
Era: after 208 BC
Metal: AR
Obverse: Helmeted head of Roma r. with peaked visor. Behind, “X”. Border of dots
Reverse: Dioscuri r.; in linear frame. “ROMA”. Line border
Mint: Uncertain
Weight: 4.08 gm.
Reference: Crawford 111 (unlisted without AL monogram)
Provenance: Jean Elsen, 7-JUN-2015

This is an anonymous denarius in the style of RRC 110 (Wreath), and RRC 111 (AL). Crawford lists 110/1b as the anonymous version of the wreath type (110/1a), but does not list an anonymous variation of the rare AL type (111/1). This example has three tiny dots below the horses on the reverse that would perfectly align with the AL monogram, thus the RRC 111 attribution. An example with this phenomenon was in the NAC 61 RBW collection, lot 505. In that sale, the coin was categorized as "Cr. 111/1 var." and the phenomenon explained as an unfinished die.

This issue is rare both with and without the AL monogram. Not all anonymous examples have this three dot die maker’s pattern. Those without should probably be attributed to 110/1b, which is also very rare.

Collection : Fully Anonymous Early Roman Silver of the denarius system