COIN (ROMAN)

Silver Republican denarius with only four letters left on the obverse NIVS and a bare head facing right with curly hair and no beard and a defined angular mark at the base of the neck. So perhaps it is a denarius with the head and legend of Marcus Antonius, or Mark Antony (83-30 BC), but must date from at least the time of the Second Triumvirate with Octavian, established in 43 BC. The closest parallels that the recorder can find are on coins from the east, c.32-31 BC, with small lettering behind the head, and the best example of these is illustrated in BMC, Republic III (1970) on Plate CXVI, Fig.16 and noted in BMC Republic II on page 532, No.227, which has a reverse of Victory standing left within a wreath. The reverse is very worn and corroded but a central figure with projections can be made out, but the border is not a wreath but a ring of pellets, as on the obverse. Other permeatations of NIVS and NVS have been investigated, but the lettering and heads do not match, for example the head of Jupiter with CAPITOLINVS behind (see BMC Republic III, Plate LVI, Fig.3).

Ruler: Republic
Denomination: Denarius (Roman Republic)
Material: Silver
Mint: Eastern mint
Obverse: head facing right with curly hair and defined base of neck
Obverse legend: [M ANTO]NIVS [...]
Reverse: standing figure facing left
Reverse legend: illegible
Dated: -43.0 to -31.0
Weight (g): 3.5
Diameter (mm): 18.3
Thickness (mm): 3.5
Completeness: Complete
Preservation: Fair
Parish: Ludgvan
District: Cornwall
County: Cornwall
Region: South West
Discovery method: Metal detector