436, Lot: 424. Estimate $100. Sold for $425. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

Anonymous. 189-180 BC. Æ Quadrans (18.5mm, 4.94 g, 5h). Dolphin (third) series. Rome mint. Head of Hercules right, wearing lion skin; ••• (mark of value) to left / Prow of galley right; ROMA above, dolphin downward to right, ••• (mark of value) below. Crawford –; Sydenham –; RBW –. Good Fine, dark green to black patina. Extremely rare.

From the Andrew McCabe Collection, purchased retail from Tkalec AG, October 2008.

New and unpublished denomination for the third dolphin series, first published in Essays Russo and associated with the S. FVRI series, therefore sequenced as RRC 151B. See for comparison RBW 677A, which is unmistakably in the style of RRC 151, with Witschonke's note: “In RRC, Crawford describes two series with dolphin symbol: Cr. 80 is dated to 209-208, has an As-weight of 45 g., and the dolphin is always before the prow. Cr. 160 is dated to 179-170, has an As-weight of 36 g., and the dolphin is always above the prow. R.Russo in Essays Hersh 1998 pp. 146-7, proposes a third dolphin series dating to 169-158, with an As-weight of 26-30 g., with the dolphin again before the prow.... The style of this series is very similar to the S. FVRI series...” See also the note to RBW 677B, which references this coin: “A quadrans of this series and of the same style, weighing 4.96 grams, is in my collection.” Unique and important. [Andrew McCabe]