Quadrans (Roman Imperial),
Quadrantes, Semis, Semisses
Sale catalogs offering significant selections:
CNG 49 (3/99) mbs. 2076 ancients
among 2349. 888 G (including 12 AE Kings of the Bosporus),
250 RP, 59 Roman Egypt, 98 RR, 576 RI (including 59 AE fractions), 6
DA, 103 Byz, Viking 4, 28 Celtic England, 17 English DA, 25 English
Roman
imperial AE
fractions (59), Augustus (41)
CNG 53 (3/00)
mbs. 2175 ancients among 2416, a few with
enlargements throughout. 796 G, 191 Baktrian and Indo-Greek, 27
Aksumite, 177 RP, 59 Roman Egypt, 114 RR, 40 RI quandrantes, 401 RI, 11
DA, 15 Lombards, 127 Byz, 156 Crusader, 6 Merovingian, 12 Celtic
England, 6 English DA, 34 pennies
RI Quadrans (40), Lombards
(15), Crusader (156), Aksumite (27), Baktrian and Indo-Greek (191)
The New York Sale
5 (1/03) 412 HV ancients among 477, with 3 color E among 4.
176 G, 11 RP, 25 RR, 49 R fractional AE (quadrans, semis), 154 RI, 6
Byz.
Roman quadrans,
semis (49)
Munzen und Medaillen AG fixed-price list
502 of August 1987 has 28 quadrantes and a few other small Roman pieces
among its 83 ancient coins
Articles:
King, C. Quadrantes from the river Tiber. NC* 1975, 56-90.
(not illustrated)
quadrans; mines, coins of
James Lamb, "Roman Semisses and Quadrantes, an Introduction", The
Picus, 1996, pages 38-59 including photos of 57 types.
Weigel, R. "The anonymous quadrantes reconsidered," Annotazioni
Numismatiche, supplemento XI, Milano 1998, 24 pp. including
enlarged
photos of 22 types.
quadrans, 2nd C.*
Reference Books:
For anonymous quadrantes:
RIC Volume II, pages 216-219
Vagi, pages 330-333 including coins of the mines
Sear 1, pages 519-520
van Meter, page 117
BMC III (Nerva - Hadrian) pages 533-535 and plate 98 for anonymous
coins of the mines.
Other articles:
Carter, G. "Zinc content of Neronian semisses and quadrantes,"
ANSMN 33, 1988, 91-106.
Nero, alloy*, semis, zinc
Simic*, V. & Vasic, V. "La monnaie des mines Romaines de
l'Illyrie," RN 1977, 48-61
and plate I (with 11 types of coins of the
mines photographed)
mines (coins of), quadrans (anonymous)
Marvin Taemeanko wrote me, and I
quote him here:
"Cathy King's article, 'Quandrantes from
the River Tiber' in NC, 1975, is the best study on the topic so far
(270 + 1128 coins) but it was preceded by the 55 quadrantes found in
the Liri River in 'Roman Coins from the River Liri' by B. W. Frier and
A. Parker, in NC 1970, and in part II of the article by W. Metcalf in
NC 1974.
"The largest find of quadrantes (including semises) from
an archaeological site was the 1237 coins found in Pompeii in 1939.
They were found in the cash box of a restaurant owned by Vestutius
Placidus. (See 'Circolazione Monetale--etc. --- a Pompei' in
'Pompeiana' by Laura Breglia, page 59.) These are in the National
Archaeological Museum in Naples and have never been cataloged. I asked
two touring colleagues at two different dates to visit this museum and
ask the curator of coins about a listing of the types but all they got
was an Italian 'shrug'. I think they are lost. The second largest
hoard of 586 quadrantes was also found in Pompeii in 1822, see
'Pompeianorum Antiquatum Historia' by G. Fiorelli, Vol. III, page
32,. It was found in the entrance to the macellum in a box with
gold rings. This find was also never catalogued so types and emperors
are unknown. Damn those archaeologists, they couldn't even tell a
semis from a quadrans.
"I [Marvin] wrote an overview article about semis and
quadrans, as a "Numismatic Mystery", with speculations as to their
possible function in Roman life, published in the SAN Journal, April
1993. pages 86-93. My theories are not proven but also not
contested.
"The finds in Pompeii are mentioned briefly in my
article, 'The Coins of Pompeii' in The Celator, Jan. 2003."
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