I just received this coin that I bought on eBay a few weeks ago. I got it because of what appears to be a Latin cross control mark on the SOLI INVICTO reverse. Typically, the Latin cross as a control mark appears only on issues from Ticinum, though this one is from Rome (RP in the exergue). 19 mm. 2.88 g. It is common for this Rome issue to have an X in the left field under the “R” control mark. Therefore, I thought that this “cross” might actually be a poorly executed “X.” However, this control mark seems pretty intentionally perpendicular, suggesting to me that the mark is an intentional cross. I have one question for the board: Do you think that this control mark really is an intentional Latin cross or just a bad X? Is the cross an attested control mark for these issues from Rome? Oops. I guess that’s two questions. If it indeed is a cross, then the coin raises the question of whether there’s a Christian die engraver in this workshop using the cross as a control mark, or whether the cross has no meaningful religious significance and is just a way of marking a particular run of coins. And now for the kicker, which I will discourse on later in this thread: I have some mild doubts about the authenticity of this coin. I bid on this coin and then threw in some lowball bids on 5 others from this Slovenian seller and won 4. I’m fairly certain one of them is a fake, which casts doubt on the entire lot. But one thing at a time. A cross or not?
When I first saw this I didn't answer because I was uncertain about the "cross". I am confident the coin is authentic. I personally think the ones on coins of Ticinum like the one below and on my page: http://augustuscoins.com/ed/Christian/ChristianTable1.html#1.1 are intentional Christian crosses. But, I cannot say whose intention. Relatively few coins of Ticinum have them and it is the only mint to issue them (other than the OP coin.) I know experts who think the symbol is not a Christian cross. Constantine, 307-337 Struck 316 at Ticinum with mintmark PT 21-19 mm, 2.81 grams, 12:00 mintmark: PT RIC Ticinum 45, page 366, plate 9 cross in field left, star in field right Even if they were "Christian" that would not be the same as "authorized by Constantine himself." However, as the OP coin and similar coins show, those issues had many control marks (three on the OP coin, two on mine), selected by someone somehow. I think there was someone in the chain of command at Ticinum who used a Christian symbol on purpose. Now, back to the OP coin. Maybe someone of Christian inclination snuck in a cross as one of the control marks. Or, maybe to them it was just another shape as opposed to intentionally Christian. Or, maybe it is just a "bad X." I don't think we can know.
I have no opinion about the authenticity of the OP, but if we assume it is, then it appears to be a variant of RIC, v.VII, #27, which has an "X" in the field. Whether or not it is a cross or a careless "X" is almost beside the point. X was taken as a symbol for Christ. (Chi, the Greek X, is the first letter in the name, hence the X-R lignate that became the Chi-Rho symbol for Christ.) This coin was minted shortly after Rome was "liberated" (from his point of view) by Constantine and the persecution of the Christians in Rome came to an end. Whoever engraved that coin clearly felt it was safe to express his belief in Christianity and did so deliberately. So if it is legit, then I would call it RIC 27, var. (field mark).
Hi dear coins interested. The presence of a cross and the sol is from an historical-theological pov correct. Its indeed Constantin who established the sun-day as mandatory day of rest for the whole empire, not only christians, against the 7th-day-sabbat that was kept - even till the XXth century in remote places in Ireland and Scottland. He intermingled officially (though he did on plea from bishops) the civil and religious power. Cheers
I'm a bit late to the party here, but only just noticed since someone just bumped the thread. The "cross" on that rome coin is certainly meant to be the letter "X", but it's conceivable that some naughty Christian engraver chose to switch the orientation as opposed to it just being an accident. We will never know. That said, I'm not sure that "X" was any less a Christian mark than "+" at the time. The mintmark sequence here at Rome, at this time, was RP R-F followed by this RP R-F with X under the R. These field marks are sometimes easy to guess at, othertimes not (I'm guessing a roman looking at them would probably agree). The R-F here, being from Rome, is probably "Roma Felix" (happy Rome), and the "X" may well be a reference to Constantine's decennalia that year (315 AD).
