After JA posted his "Obsecure Constans", I received this less than common Gallienus in the mail on Saturday. RIC actually rates this type as common, but I believe they're scarce if not rare. I have checked the traditional sources, i.e., Acsearch, Vcoins and Ebay, only to find there are very few listed as sold or for sale, and those generally sell for much more than the $31 I paid. Like JA, I'm always on the hunt for coins that seem more obscure and that others have passed over for whatever reason. GALLIENUS Billon Antoninianus OBVERSE: GALLIENVS AVG, radiate cuirassed bust right REVERSE: LVNA LVCIF, Diana walking right holding torch in both hands, PXV in ex. Struck at Antioch, 260-268 AD 3.8g, 20mm RIC VI 609 In ancient Roman religion and myth, Luna is the divine embodiment of the Moon (Latin luna; cf. English "lunar"). She is often presented as the female complement of the Sun (Sol) conceived of as a god. Luna is not always a distinct goddess, but sometimes rather an epithet that specializes a goddess, since both Diana andJuno are identified as moon goddesses. In Roman art, Luna's attributes are the crescent moon and the two-yoke chariot (biga). In the Carmen Saeculare, performed in 17 BC, Horace invokes her as the "two-horned queen of the stars" (siderum regina bicornis), bidding her to listen to the girls singing as Apollo listens to the boys. The Romans dated the cultivation of Luna as a goddess at Rome to the semi-legendary days of the kings. Titus Tatius was supposed to have imported the cult of Luna to Rome from the Sabines, but Servius Tullius was credited with the creation of her temple on the Aventine Hill, just below a temple of Diana. The anniversary of the temple founding (dies natalis) was celebrated annually on March 31. It first appears in Roman literature in the story of how in 182 BC a windstorm of exceptional power blew off its doors, which crashed into the Temple of Ceres below it on the slope. In 84 BC, it was struck by lightning, the same day the populist leader Cinna was murdered by his troops. The Aventine temple may have been destroyed by the Great Fire of Rome during the reign of Nero. As Noctiluna ("Night-Shiner") Luna had a temple on the Palatine Hill, which Varro described as shining or glowing by night. Nothing else is known about the temple, and it is unclear what Varro meant. The Kalends of every month, when according to the lunar calendar the new moon occurred, was sacred to Juno, as all Ides were to Jupiter. On the Nones, she was honored as Juno Covella, Juno of the crescent moon. Both Juno and Diana were invoked as childbirth goddesses with the epithet Lucina. To be honest, when I saw the coin, the reverse made me think of Satan and that's what drew my attention in the first place. I wonder what conclusion we can draw since Luna is female??????????
Nice! I agree about the scarcity of the LVNA LVCIF types of Gallienus. I've only seen a few, and yours is in great condition. The reverse is superb! Nice find.
I see them a few times now and then, so more scarce then rare. This is a great example compared to the others I have seen.
I have more than my fair share of this Emperor since I've been reading a lot about the recovery so I've looked at a bunch of his coins. I've never seen this reverse. Good score! Of course I had to search Vcoins just now and there is one and it's beat and it sells for $69 so real good score!!
I had to make a correction in the original post. This coin was struck at Antioch, not Rome as previously noted.
Unlike a lot of his coins I've seen, this one is definitely worth owning. Nice pickup! In other news, I was checking out the Current Visitors section and I found something: I found out your secret Bing! You're a robot! Admit it!
just bought one from ebay for $19 delivered, not as nice as yours though.... ive cleaned it up a bit as i t has a lot of grime on it, these are sellers pics.
The sellers images of the one I bought were pretty good, but the images you see above are my own and a good representation of the actual coin.
Oh, sorry dude => your new coin absolutely "rocks", my friend ... the Exorcist thingy was merely a poor joke regarding the fact that your wife (the amazing and charming Mrs Bing) might not have appreciated the fact that you mentioned Satan and women in the same sentencey-kinda-thingy ... know what I mean, big bother? I like you
