Kevin in flan quality control strikes again

I know the Gallic Empire has some quality-control issues, but I think nothing compares to the reign of Gallienus for slipshod workmanship on the part of the mint. Gallienus' coins are consistently inartistic, ragged, malformed, off-center, or weakly struck and that's part of their appeal.

Here's one I just got around to photographing. This flan is pretty good by Gallienus' standards, LOL! And what's up with Felicitas' misshapen head? She looks like something out of the cantina on Mos Eisley. I do like the emperor's neck beard, though.

I'm sure you guys have examples that make this one look FDC by comparison, too!


Gallienus, AD 253-268.
Roman billon antoninianus, 2.61 g, 17.1 mm, 11 h.
Rome, AD 261-262.
Obv: GALLIENVS AVG, radiate head, right.
Rev: FELICIT AVG, Felicitas standing right, holding cauceus in right hand and globe in left; T in right field.
Refs: RIC 188; Göbl 478f; Cohen 183; RCV 10204.

 

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Sometimes Kevin worked in post-strike quality control...





This one is two flans stuck together (bottom pic compares it with a normal single-thickness ant.)...

 

Cool brockage!

 

Yup, Salus. And it turns out that Salus's reminder was captured in sculpture, as demonstrated by TIF:

 

Neck beard. On point. Rockin mullet. Like an 80s rocker Ability to read emperors name...Keeeeeviiiiin!!!


Gallienus
253-268. Denarius (Bronze),
Rome, 264-265. IMP
GALLIENVS AVG Laureate
head of Gallienus to right. Rev.
VBERITAS AVG Uberitas
standing left, holding a purse in
her right hand and cornucopia

 

Gallienus with a frog eye

 

Big flan, Small flan -

 

For all you interesting-neck-beard fans:

 

That's an interesting coin, @gsimonel . I have one too and I suspect the letters on ours were engraved by the same celator because they both use the same weird curved Γ in the left field on the reverse. Although I don't think they are obverse die-matches, the shape of the S in GALLIENVS and the V in AVG are very distinctive and the portraits are so similar they have to have come from the same hand.


Gallienus, AD 253-268.
Roman billon antoninianus, 2.57 g, 19.2 mm, 8 h.
Rome, AD 260-268.
Obv: GALLIENVS AVG, radiate head right.
Rev: AETERNITAS AVG, Radiate Sol standing left, raising right hand and holding globe raised in left; Γ in left field.
Refs: RIC 160; Göbl 577a; Cohen 38 var.; RCV --.

Some, but not all, examples of this issue from this officina of the Rome mint have the same curved gamma in the left field, such as this one from Gallienus.net:



and this one from Coins of Gallienus and Family:

 

This is slightly off flan....

 

Nice coin. I like the spiked head gear. Is the reverse an early logo for the WNBA

 

Frog eye's reverse is different. Any idea why two people instead of one. Coins obverse seem the same on most coins shown

 

Yeah, that was the last straw, we had to fire Kevin.

I heard he got a job managing a branch of 17th century copper.

 

Thank was after his stint making flans for Byzantine trachys.

 

His talent was quickly employed by Tetricus, flan master number 1.

 

. . . and his son:

Bronze Antoninianus
Gallic Empire, unidentified southern mint
Obv: C PIV ESV TETRICVS CAES
Rev: SPES AVG - Spes, walking left, holding flower and raising robe
RIC 270
20x18mm, 2.5g.

 

My Gallienus group seem not to all have the poor flan-shape issues as others. However, I do not consider them the bests in my collection...

I have way too many of this guy.


RI Gallienus AE silvered Ant 21mm 2.7g Radiate CuirassedR - Jupiter L tbolt X RIC 214 SATURNALIA GIFT


RI Salonina wife of Gallienus 254-268 CE AE Ant 3.61g 20mm Rome mint 267-268 CE crescent Deer Walking delta RIC 15


Gallienus Silvered Æ Ant CE 263-264 AVG rad cuiras R Hercules R lion skin club star RIC 673


RI Gallienus 253-268 CE Ant Milan mint Laetitia

This one has a gimpy flan, but not the extreme as others have.

RI Gallienus 253-268 CE Ant Abundantia