420, Lot: 414. Estimate $100. Sold for $220. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

Anonymous. Circa 86 BC. Æ Quadrans (16.4mm, 4.21 g, 12h). Rome mint. Head of Hercules right, wearing lion’s skin headdress; ••• (mark of value) behind, club below / Prow of galley left; ROM[A] above, ••• (mark of value) to right. Crawford 350B/3a; Sydenham 679c; Type as RBW 1344. VF, brown surfaces. Very rare.

From the Andrew McCabe Collection. Ex RBW Collection duplicate; Aes Rude Titano 32 (28 November 1987), lot 90.

Classification of lightweight quadrantes of the first century BC is especially difficult, because they are the same weight as the lightweight quadrantes of the late third century BC and often found overstruck on Carthaginian types in Sardinia. This is definitely first century BC as evidenced by the prow style that exactly matches the VER GAR OGVL issue and other fractions of this issue. Clive Stannard and I have discussed quadrantes of this specific style; it is his view that their prevalence in riverine finds on the Lazio-Campania border indicates they were locally produced in the south, whereas the close match with the characteristics of the RRC 350 issue inclines me to think they are official issues. [A. McCabe]