So since I can’t afford to buy new coins right now, I’m getting further acquainted with RIC and trying to provide RIC numbers and dates for coins that I picked up in uncleaned lots years ago. I’m struck by how many of the 3rd century “crisis and recovery” coins are undated by RIC. Take Aurelian, for example. It seems that when I track down the RIC number, the coin belongs to a certain “period” of his "undated coins," leaving me simply to date the coin to his general reign of 270-275 A.D. Pictured is RIC 5.151; from Part 1 of RIC volume 5, p. 281. According to RIC, this coin was struck during “Period III” of his undated coins, but that doesn’t seem to do me much good in dating the coin. Maybe I'm missing something or using RIC incorrectly. Has more progress been made in dating the coins of Aurelian and his 3rd-century cohorts? Is there a trick to dating these “periods” defined by RIC? Or are the regnal years the best we can do for most coins of this chaotic period?
Try the advanced database search at: http://www.ric.mom.fr/en/home I think it's the ongoing project to the eventual update of RIC for the period. It's awesome! PS: it only covers 268-276 though.. Claudius II - Florian... but that covers Aurelian!
