4128
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  [Image]                              Item Sold At Auction #19
                                  -----------------------------------
                Lot Number: 61177
                Estimate: $200.00
                Final Sale Price: $187.00
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                Denomination: Quadrans
                Grade: VF green patina
                Reference: RIC III 1255 (Aurelian); Cohen -; Bizot Collection 129




  Anonymous. Time of Marcus Aurelius. Circa 161-180 AD. Ć Quadrans (1.85 gm). Mint of
  Caesarea in Cappadocia. "Mine coinage." Laureate and draped female bust right /
  METAL/AVRELIA/NIS, in three lines. RIC III 1255 (Aurelian); Cohen -; Bizot Collection
  129. VF, green patina, some obverse pitting. Very Rare. Estimate $200.



  As a class the ‘coins of the mines’ belong mostly to the reigns of Trajan and
  Hadrian, with this final rare issue under Marcus Aurelius. Several series of bronze
  quadrantes, valued at one-fourth the copper as, were struck in the name of the
  imperial mines in Noricum, Dalmatia, Pannonia and Moesia (Dardania). Their actual
  purpose is unclear, though they must have served some local need in the regions where
  the mining activities were concentrated. These operations supplied metal for the mint
  at Rome, and perhaps were the sites of workshops to produce coinage for local
  circulation or as donatives. Others theorize that these pieces were struck at Rome
  itself, and served some unidentified function, much as the contemporary "nome"
  coinage struck at Alexandria in Egypt. This particular issue is attributed to the
  mint at Caesarea due to fabric, similarities to a certain Cappadocian issue of
  Hadrian, and the appearence of Jupiter Ammon on other related issues.


Used by permission of CNG, www.historicalcoins.com