Bronze Coin of Corinth (Augustan)

This is a small bronze coin issued by the Roman colony of Corinth during the reign of the first emperor, Augustus (27 BC–14 AD). After Julius Caesar refounded the city as Colonia Laus Iulia Corinthiensis, its magistrates struck their own base-metal coinage for local circulation rather than relying solely on imperial mints. Such pieces are described as Roman provincial or colonial bronzes.

The coin shown carries a laureate male portrait on the obverse, consistent with an Augustan-era imperial or honorific bust. Its reverse is heavily corroded, so the original design and legend cannot be read with confidence from the photographs. Corinthian colonial reverses of this period commonly depicted the winged horse Pegasus (the city's ancient badge), temples, or the names of the local duoviri (magistrates), but the specific type on this example is obscured by surface damage.

Ancient Corinth was destroyed by Rome in 146 BC and lay largely abandoned until Julius Caesar re-established it as a Roman colony in 44 BC, settling it with freedmen and veterans. Under Augustus the rebuilt city became the capital of the province of Achaea and a thriving commercial hub straddling the isthmus between mainland Greece and the Peloponnese.

As a Roman colony, Corinth enjoyed the right to mint its own bronze coinage. These issues were the everyday small change of the marketplace, produced under the authority of annually elected magistrates (duoviri) whose names often appear in the reverse legends. Portraits could honor the emperor and members of the imperial family, tying local coinage to the wider Roman world.

Production of Corinthian colonial bronze continued through the Julio-Claudian period and beyond, making Augustan-era pieces the earliest tier of a long colonial series. Because they circulated heavily and were buried in Mediterranean soil, many surviving examples, like this one, show significant wear and corrosion.

Identify this as an ancient rather than a modern coin first: it is a struck bronze, irregular in shape and flan, with a hand-engraved laureate portrait and often uneven, off-center strike. The laurel-wreathed head on the obverse is the clearest feature on this example.

Attribution to Augustan Corinth relies on the portrait style, module (small AE bronze), and, when legible, Latin reverse legends naming the colony (forms of COR or CORINT) and its magistrates. On this coin the reverse is heavily corroded and its design and inscription are not readable, so a firm type identification would require comparison of the fabric, diameter, and any faint surviving detail with published Corinthian colonial issues (for example in RPC, Roman Provincial Coinage).

Expect a diameter and weight in the range typical of Julio-Claudian colonial bronzes rather than large imperial sestertii. Heavy green or brown patina, pitting, and encrustation are normal for buried bronze of this age and, on this piece, obscure much of the reverse.

Roman colonial bronzes of Corinth are collectible but generally affordable, especially in worn or corroded grades. A small Augustan-era bronze with a badly damaged reverse, like this one, sits at the modest end of the market, since legibility and eye appeal strongly influence price.

Well-centered examples with a clear portrait and an identifiable reverse type (a recognizable Pegasus, temple, or readable magistrate legend) command higher prices, and scarcer types or rarer magistrate names can be worth substantially more to specialists. Corrosion and illegibility, as seen here, reduce value.

Because exact issues vary widely, any figure is best treated as a broad range: common corroded provincial bronzes are inexpensive, while attributed, well-preserved Augustan Corinthian pieces are valued higher. A specialist dealer or auction record for the specific type is the most reliable guide.