Saturday, June 25, 2005
Billon antoninianus, Gallienus, Viminacium, Göbl 828q
IMP GALLIENVS P AVG, Radiate cuirassed bust left | VIRTVS AVGG, Mars standing facing, head left, holding reversed spear right and shield left.
That Mars here holds his spear with the point down was probably meant to convey a message that peace was at hand, but peace would be rare for the empire at this time. The emperor getting goosed was also rarer than his portrait here might make a person think.
Amend the constitution, overturn Kelo v. New London.
Friday, June 24, 2005
Æ17, Temnos in Aeolis, quasi-autonomous, SNG Copenhagen 274
TH_MNOC, Turreted bust of city goddess (the Amazon founder of the city?) right | THMN_E_ITΩN, Tyche standing facing, head left, holding cornucopia right and rudder left.
Very closely related to this coin, differing mainly in the spacing of the letters of the ethnic on the reverse, more a case of different dies than of different designs.
Still, it's a thing to know and, if a hobby needs any justification, knowledge is a good thing.
Amend the constitution, overturn Kelo v. New London.
Thursday, June 23, 2005
Billon antoninianus, Gallienus, Antioch, Göbl 1631a
GALLIENVS AVG, Radiate head left | GENIO AVG, Genius standing facing, head left, holding cornucopia right, sacrificing from patera onto flaming tripod left. Branch in exergue.
Here's a well-preserved example with a different bust. With this bust, though, Göbl attests only two examples and I decided that a very imperfect one was better than none at all.
I do find it interesting though that, worn as it is, it's still showing all white metal rather than bronze showing through a silvered surface. The mint of Antioch was doing something very different than was done at Rome.
Wednesday, June 22, 2005
AR antoninianus, Trebonianus Gallus, Mediolanum, RIC 73
IMP C C VIB TREB GALLVS AVG, Radiate draped cuirassed bust right | PIETAS AVGG, Pietas standing facing, head left, hands raised. Altar at feet, left.
Gaius Vibius Trebonianus Gallus succeeded Trajan Decius as emperor in 251. Gallus quickly signed a treaty with the Goths and retreated to Rome where, finding an outbreak of plague, he arranged relief efforts.
He did little to punish the Sasanian Persians for their incursions in the east (Valerian would try, hilarity would follow), and, while preparing to make war on the usurper Aemilian, he was assassinated by his own troops in August 253.
Tuesday, June 21, 2005
Æ tetradrachm, Alexandria, Salonina, Milne 4045
KOPNHΛIA CAΛωNEINA CEB, Diademed draped bust right | L_retrograde Z, Eagle standing left, head right, holding wreath. Regnal year across fields.
Milne catalogs it with the retrograde letter on the reverse, Emmett doesn't. I'm guessing that the date was the last thing engraved on the die and, after all that work, it wasn't worth throwing the damned thing away and starting over. If there are multiple dies like this though, then something else entirely was going on.
Monday, June 20, 2005
AR antoninianus, Valerian, Rome, Göbl 63c
IMP C P LIC VALERIANVS P F AVG, Radiate draped cuirassed bust right | P M TR P V COS IIII P P, Emperor, veiled, seated left in curule chair, holding globe left and short scepter right.
This was issued to honor the emperor for the renewal of his annual Tribunician and Consular offices, in 257 CE. It's a design seen in other years, and for other emperors; the emperor doing emperor stuff.
And it's not badly worn, a good-looking coin, given the state of coins of the era.
Sunday, June 19, 2005
Æ17, Cyme in Aeolis, quasi-autonomous, SNG Copenhagen 137
KV_MH, Turreted bust of city goddess (the Amazon Kyme, founder of the city?) right | KVM_AIΩN, Kyme standing facing, head left, holding trident right and globe left.
Like this coin of the same city, which I posted in February, and this one, from neighboring Temnus, which I posted earlier this month, this small piece is a quasi-autonomous coin from the time of Valerian and Gallienus.
