Anonymous. Ca. 248-230 BC. AR didrachm (19mm, 6.21 gm, 7h). NGC Choice AU S 5/5 - 4/5, Fine Style, light marks. Rome. Head of youthful Mars right, wearing crested Corinthian helmet pushed back on head; vertical club behind / ROMA, free horse rearing right on short ground line; transverse club above. Crawford 27/1. Sydenham 23. HN Italy 314. Struck from magnificent style dies, expertly centered on blue-violet surfaces. Ex Rick Witschonke collection, published in R. Russo and A. de Falco, "The RBW collection of Roman Republican coins", Zurich 2013, p. 24, no. 52; Numismatica Ars Classica, Auction 61 (5 October 2011), lot 88; Tkalec Auction (October 28, 1994), lot 145. The didrachms are the first silver coins of Rome and were struck on the Campanian standard and the didrachms of Naples. They appear during the Wars against Pyrrhus and disappear during the Punic Wars, as a result of the shortage of silver. HID09801242017 © 2023 Heritage Auctions | All Rights Reserved

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