Lot 199: Anonymous. 5th-3rd centuries B.C. Æ aes formatum. Aes Formatum.

Anonymous. 5th-3rd centuries B.C. Æ aes formatum (38x39x14 mm, 98.67 g). Cast leaded-bronze in the form of a cockle shell. Cf. ICC pl. 90, 4-5; cf. Thurlow & Vecchi p. 20. A couple of small nicks and scrapes under the patina. Brown patina with light sandy deposits. Very fine.

While native sources for precious metals were scarce in Italy, mining of bronze stretched back into prehistoric times. Small bronze lumps, called aes rude, are regularly found in ceremonial settings thought to be votive deposits offered to various divinities, and are also found in hoards that suggest a use in exchange. Even before Rome developed a uniform coinage system in the early third century B.C. it had already codified the rates of exchange for oxen and sheep in bronze. As bronze was traded by weight during this period, bronze hoards sometimes contain everyday objects such as axes, adzes, weights, and various animal shapes such as this cockleshell. Haeberlin called these items aes formatum, and they served and perhaps inspired later aes grave issues.

• Offered By: Barry P. Murphy
• Lot #: 199
• Listing #: 234088
• Closed: Friday, June 3, 2016 6:39:00 PM CT
• Estimate: $200