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Roman siliqua

Tom Burton said he posted this coin on Facebook but couldn’t get a straight answer about it. So, he sent it in to my website.

Tom’s find is a clipped Roman siliqua. When we talk about clipping we tend to be referring to the late medieval, Tudor and Stuart periods. However, during the later 4th and into the 5th century there was much clipping of Roman silver coins. Many lost so much metal there was nothing left of the legends.

On this coin the head on the obverse is clear but it could be one of a number of emperors. On the reverse is the seated figure of Roma and what is left of the legend reads ANORVM. The mint letters in the exergue could be what is left of TRPS for Trier but I could not be certain that this is correct.

The siliqua was first introduced during the reign of Constantine the Great and thereafter a number of different reverses were used. If the full legend on this coin was visible then it would read VIRTVS ROMANORVM. I can’t pin it down to a specific reign but cay say that this legend was most prevalent from the reign of Theodosius to Honorius. 

Valuation

Clipped siliquae aren’t popular for an obvious reason: a high percentage of silver is missing. The only information I have been able to provide on this specimen is a possible mint and the period during which the type was struck. In its present clipped state my price range of this coin would be no higher than £12 – £15.

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