LEGEND ERRORS: Un-Spellchecked Ancients

I've had this Gordian III antoninianus for some time now, but only noticed the minor reverse legend spelling error when I was photographing the coin a few days ago. Instead of LIBERALITAS, the legend is spelled LIBERATAS... easy to see how it may have been missed at the mint. The error is unrecorded in RIC, but I found one other specimen online with the same error and from the same die sold in a Gemini auction lot.

Anyway, it's just a small boo-boo at the workshop, but I'm pleased with the discovery as I do actually enjoy coins with spelling errors. It also adds some interest to an otherwise common issue of a common ruler. And yes, it's another pile on thread, so post your coins with legend errors!


GORDIAN III
AR Antoninianus. 4.02g, 22mm, Rome mint, early AD 239 - early 240. RIC IV 67 var (rev legend mispelled, error not recorded in RIC, but cf. Gemini Auction IV (8 Jan 2008) Lot 460 for another example from same rev die). O: IMP GORDIANVS PIVS FEL AVG, radiate, draped, cuirassed bust right. R: LIBERATAS (sic!) AVG III, Liberalitas standing front, head left, holding counter in right hand and cornucopiae in left hand.

 

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Nice sleeper! Was this from your All Time Best Ever Most Fantastic Mixed Lot From Gentleman Whose Wife Made Him Sell?

The "typo" changes the meaning. "Liberalitas" = generosity; "Liberata" = freed.

Maybe the mint worker did this purposefully as an act of rebellion .

 

No, though it did come from a small mixed lot. If it were to have a provenance, it could possibly be Ex Collection of a Guy Who Paid Too Much, or perhaps, Ex Over-optimistic Dealer's Stock. It came with two small tags written in Italian, while not noting the legend error, stated a price of EUR 160. The average per coin price I paid for the lot was about $16 .

Neat! Thanks, I didn't think to try a translation.

 

This one had several problems that made it an interesting buy for me, but the pertinent error here is in the reverse legend, which shows COS DE II rather than COS DES II.


ANTONINUS PIUS
AR Denarius. 3.2g, 19.5mm. Rome mint, AD 138. RIC 9 var (rev legend). O: IMP T AEL CAES HADRI ANTONINVS, bare head right. R: AVG PIVS P M TR P COS DE (sic!) II, Minerva standing left, holding Victory in her right hand and shield with her left; spear leaning on her left arm.

 

Too many coins to choose from.

I'll choose some Probus....

Probus

Obv:– IMP C PROBVS • P • F • AVG, Radiate, cuirassed bust right
Rev:– COMITI PORBI(sic) AVG, Minerva standing left, holding olive-branch and spear and resting left hand on shield
Mint – Lugdunum (I in exe) Emission 7 Officina 1. A.D. 280
Reference:– Cohen -. Bastien 315 (example c). RIC 69 Bust type F var (PORBI in error not listed in RIC)

One of the examples cited by Bastien of 315 - the standard PROBI coin, 315c - Voetter, is also PORBI from the same reverse die. No examples cited in Bastien Suppl. II



Obv:– IMP C M AVR PROBVS AVG, Radiate cuirassed bust right
Rev:– ORIES (sic) AVG, Sol walking left between two captives, right hand raised, left holding globe.
Minted in Lugdunum (I in exe) Emission 2 Officina 1. from November to December A.D. 276
Reference:– Cohen -. Bastien 164c. RIC 44 Bust type F.



Obv:– IMP C PROBVS P • F • AVG, Radiate, cuirassed bust right
Rev:– TEMPR (sic) FELICI, Felicitas standing right, holding caduceus and cornucopiae
Mint – Lugdunum (I in exe) Emission 6 Officina 1. A.D.278 to A.D. 279
Reference:– Cohen -. Bastien -. RIC 104 Bust type F var. Not listed in Bastien or RIC with this reverse legend error.

 

Martin, these are nice, but don't you have one with a reverse legend error that ends up wishing a plague upon the emperor?

 

HADRIANVS AVGSTVS (sic)

IVLA (sic) DOMNA AVG

VIRVS (sic) AVG

 

Here are two more, with the errors in the rulers' names.

Should be VETRANIO rather than VERTANIO...


VETRANIO
AE2. 4.93g, 24mm. Thessalonica mint, AD 350. RIC VIII 126 var (obv. legend); Hirsch 258, lot 2707; CNG inv. no. 161220. O: D N VERTAN-IO (sic) P F AVG, laureate, draped, and cuirassed bust right. R: VIRTVS EXERCITVM, Emperor standing left, wearing military attire, holding labarum and shield; TSA in exergue.

Should be SEP SEV instead of SEV SEV...

SEPTIMIUS SEVERUS
AR Denarius. 2.95g, 17.5mm. Eastern mint, AD 194-195. RIC 370 var (obv legend). O: IMP CAE L SEV (sic) SEV PERT AVG COS II, laureate head right. R: CERERI-FRVG, Ceres standing left, holding wheat ears and long torch.
Ex Curtis Clay Collection

 

I would of sold her, instead of the coin .....

 

An as of L Calpurnius Piso Frugi circa 90 BC with "FRVGF" below the prow rather than "FRVGI". This error unlisted in Crawford(the only var listed is with retrograde "S" in "PISO" above prow) and when I first discovered this I was actually told by one collector that the coin was likely tooled until finding a die matched example in the ANS(with variant unlisted).

 

It's not an ancient, but I do have a US Civil War token with a spelling error. See if you can spot it:

Yes, it says "Shoot him on the spoot [sic]". This type exists both with the correct spelling and with this error.

 

Sometimes spelling errors are claimed when the problem is lettering style. Many Greek language workers on Roman coins had trouble with the difference between B and R. My favorite is the common Emesa mint coin showing Septimius Severus on horseback. The legend was supposed to be SPQR OPTIMO PRINCIPI but the vast majority of these read SPQR OPTIMO PBINCIPI. There are a few dies that have the R as we expect it but many more have the 'error'. Below is one of each.

 

Many errors involve Libertas (freedom shown with a freedman's cap) and Liberalitas (generosity shown with an abacus). The OP coin was a compromise between the two words but some just show the wrong one.
Severus Alexander barbarous LIBERTAS words by Liberalitas standing figure.

 

Another B/R mix is interesting to me since the reverse dies (one with B one with the correct R) share the same Julia Domna obverse die.

 

So far, I'm still unaware of any spelling errors within the legends of the coins I currently have....but now I have to keep looking...Thanks alot 'Z'

 

How about a BONETAE for MONETAE? My examples from the same rare AVG II C obverse die.

 

Good excuse to go through them all one by one to take a closer look?

 

if any of my coins have spelling errors...i probably wouldn't spot it...i can't spot my own spelling errors!

 

I spell it Christ ... but that's just me, eh?



=> Kristy was what his homies called him, yo!

... hopefully I don't get struck by lightning!!

 

You may have solved a problem that has baffled the experts. Many or perhaps most Tyrian year 162 Shekels of Tyre have a typical three digit greek date, but for this one year only, the last digit appears to have been modified to form 'B' (beta), but was previously engraved as something else. The Phoenicians who engraved the dies may not have spoken either greek or latin, and for that matter may have been illiterate, so that may explain the problem. Die cutters have been rarely known to change last years date to this years date, in order to re-use the die, but it's hard to imagine changing next years date in to this years date. For whatever reason, they appear to have stamped over one digit to create another, possibly in an attempt to recycle some of the previous year's undistributed shekels of Tyre.

This blog discussion has suggested an answer. Like car manufacturers who release next years model in the last half of the current year, the Tyrian mint may have started making next years model (which would end in our 3, but their gamma Γ), only to have the Romans demand more of the current year coins. The solution would be to simply change the Γ in to a B.

What about the P-R thing? The mint craftsmen may have made this die on a Monday, having not quite recovered from the weekend and simply accidentally engraved a P when they intended to engrave a B. Or they may have simultaneously been making year 162 and 163 dies and gotten confused. Either way, you'll see in the picture that they did a nice job with everything but the B, so something happened to that B, probably before it was made in to a Beta