Friday, August 11, 2006
Æ37, Sardes in Lydia, Gallienus, SNG von Aulock 8262
[AVT] K Π ΛIK ΓAΛΛIHN[OC AV], Radiate draped cuirassed bust right | EΠ ΔOVΦOV ACIAP X VIOV B ACIAP X KPATICT AR A CAPΔIANΩN B NEΩKOPΩN, Three prize crowns on table.
At 37mm, the widest diameter of any Gallienus coin I have so far.
Sardes, home Croesus, remembered for his wealth, of the is one of the places that coins may have first been minted.
Thursday, August 10, 2006
Æ antoninianus, Gallienus, Antioch, Göbl 1626c cf. T33
GALLIENVS AVG, Radiate draped cuirassed bust right | SAECVLARIS AVG, Stag standing right, branch in exergue.
This reverse is more often seen with the misspelling SAECVLARHS AVG but this SAECVLARIS AVG is seen from multiple dies, too.
This was probably issued on the occaision of the same Secular games that saw the issue of the ”Zoo series”, minted at Rome.
Wednesday, August 09, 2006
Silvered Æ centenionalis, Julian II, Heraclea, RIC 104
D N FL CL IVLIANUS P F AVG, Draped, cuirassed diademed bust right | SECVRITAS REIPVB, Bull right, two stars above, ·HERACLA / · in exergue.
Flavius Claudius Julianus, remembered as the last pagan emperor of Rome, became emperor in 360, and he attempted to stem the growth of Christianity in the empire.
His death came in 363 outside the Persian city of Ctesiphon when, on an alarm of an enemy attack on his camp, he apparently rushed to join battle before wearing his armor and was struck with a spear. It's widely rumored that this was, in fact, an assassination.
(Bandwidth and storage for photo provided by ancients.info.)
Tuesday, August 08, 2006
Æ29, Tyre in Phoenicia, Gallienus, BMC 294, 492var...
(reverse legend, murex shell in left field)
IMP C P LIC GALLIENVS AV, Radiate draped cuirassed bust right | COL TVR_O MET, Eagle holding wreath in beak, standing right, head left, in front of vexillum marked LEG / III / GAL in three lines, murex shell to right.
Like Friday's coin, from the unhappy city of Tyre.
The reverse shows the name of Legio III Gallica, a legion stationed at Tyre, not mentioned in the “Legionary Series” of imperial coins issued at Mediolanum.
IMP C P LIC GALLIENVS AV, Radiate draped cuirassed bust right | COL TVR_O MET, Eagle holding wreath in beak, standing right, head left, in front of vexillum marked LEG / III / GAL in three lines, murex shell to right.
Like Friday's coin, from the unhappy city of Tyre.
The reverse shows the name of Legio III Gallica, a legion stationed at Tyre, not mentioned in the “Legionary Series” of imperial coins issued at Mediolanum.
Monday, August 07, 2006
Silvered Æ antoninianus, Gallienus, Antioch, Göbl 1630f
GALLIENVS AVG, Radiate head left | GENIVS AVG, Genius standing left, with right hand sacrificing from patera onto flaming tripod left, with left hand holding cornucopia.
Göbl attests only a single example of this reverse matched with this bust, and that example, like this, is from a die erroneously engraved GENIV AVG.
I found this example on eBay, where it apparently also caught the eye of someone else who understood how uncommon it is. It only requires two bidders to bid an item high, even without a bidding war.
