Friday, December 08, 2006
Æ28, Iconium in Lycaonia, Gallienus, SNG France 2299
IMP C P LI GALLIENVS, Laureate draped bust right | ICONIENSIVM C[O]L, She-wolf and twins, right. SR in exergue.
The she-wolf and twins is a Roman symbol and is seen virtually only on coins of the city and of cities with latin-speaking colony status, a feature usually reserved for cities in which the state bought land to house legionary veterans (who were best kept away from the city, so any dissatisfaction could more easily dealt with.
Thursday, December 07, 2006
Æ antoninianus, Gallienus, Rome, Göbl 738b
GALLIENVS AVG, Radiate head right | APOLLINI CONS AVG, Centaur walking left, one forefoot raised, globe in right hand, rudder over shoulder. H in exergue.
This is a duplicate, as are so many coins I post now that I haven't been buying, and won't be buying as often as I post. Sometimes it's difficult to find anything new to say about a duplicate, but the history of this blog should prove that a new subject is no guarantee of excellence.
Wednesday, December 06, 2006
Æ22, Tiberius & Livia, Edessa in Macedonia, Sear 315
TI KAIΣAP ΣEBAΣ[TOΣ], Laureate head right | EDEΣΣAIΩN ΣΣEBAΣTH, Diademed head of Livia right.
Last week's Wednesday post conncluded my collection of various emperors. Now I begin various other members of imperial families.
Livia was the wife of the first emperor, Augustus, and survived him. Her son, Tiberius, became the next emperor and, at first partly dependant on her power, he honors her on many of his coin issues. Livia is the villainess in any randomly-chosen popular history of the time the republic fell and the empire formed.
Tuesday, December 05, 2006
Æ31, Tarsus in Cilicia, Valerian, Lindgren & Kovacs 1648
AVT K Π ΛI OVAΛEPIANON C, Radiate draped cuirassed bust right, Π before and behind | TAPC MHTP_OΠOΛ A M K, Artemis, wearing stag horns, standing right, holding bow right, drawing arrow from quiver on shoulder. Γ in left field, B in right.
As I've recently said, Artemis is frequently seen on coins of Tarsus, with fairly minor differences in legends and spacing. I don't think we know if the ancients saw these differences as significant or as variations no more important than markings on two leaves of the same apple tree.
Monday, December 04, 2006
Billon antoninianus, Gallienus, Rome, Göbl 636a
GALLIENVS AVG, Radiate head right | VIRTVS AVGVSTI, Mars standing left holding olive branch in right hand and spear in left. X in left field.
When I wrote last Thursday's post I was, it seems, a bit concernet about the result of a PET scan which has now come back negative so I don't have any more special cancer concern than the average 50-year-old.
While I can't type as quickly as I used to, there's been improvement in the last couple of weeks, and working on blog posts counts as therapy for work-related typing, and the only barrier to further blogging is that I won't be buying coins as frequently, and I must figure out the best response to that.
