BOOK REVIEW: ESSAYS IN HONOUR OF ROBERTO RUSSO

He was one of the bigwigs of the international coin trade, Roberto Russo, the coin dealer that has died in 2012, of Neapolitan descent and famous for his impressive auction sales in Zurich, the heart of the numismatic world. He was not only the founder of Numismatica Ars Classica but a keen scholar as well who liked to occupy himself with the mysteries of Republican numismatics. That is why some of the most influential numismatists pay him homage by contributing to his festschrift entitled “Essays in Honour of Roberto Russo”.

The content is divided into three parts, Greek, Roman and Medieval numismatics, with the emphasis on the Republic while the Middle Ages are represented by a single article.

Keith Ruttner starts with his essay on the early coinage of Sicily, Cyprus and Crete. With the aid of a comparison of the coin series of these three islands that all lacked silver, he wants to take a step forward in regard to the question as to what end the very first coins were produced. Christof Boehringer honours the deceased by writing his article on the “Maestro dalla foglia”, who owes his nickname to his famous die for the city of Katane, in Italian.

Much more comprehensive is the second part of the book, dealing with Republican coins. An article written by David Vagi opens this second section, in which he proposes the date of 326/5 for the earliest minted Roman coins and connects the depiction on the reverse with the sacrifice of the October horse. Andrew Burnett, too, examines this first emission, or more specifically, some stylistically highly unusual specimens that might constitute something of a subtype of this group. At the end of the day, he cannot really provide an answer to the question if it is a new group or a counterfeit of either contemporary or modern times, because there are simply too few original pieces preserved. The lengthiest essay, comprising of more than 170 pages, is contributed by Andrew McCabe. The author puts forward a new chronology for all of the minted bronze coins of the Roman Republic and therewith covers the main collecting area of Roberto Russo.

Lucia Travaini contributes the only Medieval article that deals with a tari of Conrad IV.

The festschrift in honour of Roberto Russo is not only a memorial to the many academic friendships he managed to build over the years. First of all, it is a standard work of reference on the coinage of the Roman Republic. The contribution of Andrew McCabe in particular is likely to replace Crawford in catalogs with a scholarly focus as reference for the minted bronze coins of the Roman Republic.

The book can be ordered from the NAC branch in Milan as exclusive distributor at the price of 150 $

To read the complete article, see: Essays in Honour of Roberto Russo (www.coinsweekly.com/en/News/4?&id=2839)

To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see: NEW BOOK: ESSAYS IN HONOUR OF ROBERTO RUSSO (www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v17n21a08.html)

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