VENERI VICTR bronze coins in my B.Litt. thesis (Oxford, 1972): Sestertii: 34 spec., 11 obv. and 13 rev. dies Ryro: new die comb., o400/r578 Doug first: Cat. 1639, o399/r584, 1 spec. Doug second: Cat. 1625, o395/r577, 3 spec. RomColl: new die comb., o398/r589 Middle bronzes: 12 spec., from 3 obv. and 3 rev. dies. Doug third: Cat. 511, o138/r185, 4 spec. I wouldn't bother quoting Hill, incidentally, since his works on the Antonine and Severan coinage are largely mere speculation, so much more often wrong than right. So he assigns Domna's VENERI VICTR type to 194. Actually 193, according to my research. According to Hill Domna was not declared Augusta until c. Spring 194; correct date c. June 193, immediately after Septimius' accession. VENERI VICTR was her first coin type at Rome.
Thanks for the detailed information, @curtislclay! A previously unreported die combination on my coin! I'll make a note of it!
Thank you. If I recall correctly there was no die study of denarii due to the huge numbers of dies. Do you have an estimate of the number of denarius dies (by mint?) and whether there were any denarii known to be struck from the aureus dies??
This is amazing! Thanks so much for sharing your expansive experience and knowledge. May I ask how you are able to tell that mine is a new die combination?
Doug, Correct, a die study of denarii would have been a gigantic task, and might well have shown few die links between types, since only a very small percentage of all the coins struck would have participated in such links, and those particular coins may not have survived, or may not have been included by the researcher. The production of gold and bronze was much smaller, producing a higher percentage of links between types, results which can be applied to the denarii too whenever they used the same types. No, I have no estimate of the numbers of denarius dies used per reign. What we need to know about denarius production are the relative volumes of each type, which are of course supplied by specimen counts in large hoards, without any need to identify the dies. Severan gold and silver quinarii were sometimes struck from the same dies, but not Severan aurei and denarii as far as I know. Severan aureus dies are I think always larger and finer than Severan denarius dies. Ryro, My thesis includes photographs of every die for aurei, medallions, and bronze coins, and a die catalogue specifying how those dies were combined to produce coins, and the location of the known specimens showing each die combination. So all I had to do was identify your dies from my thesis plates, then check in the catalogue whether or not the same die combination was already known to me from other specimens. I have not checked the dies of most of the large amount of new material that has accrued since 1972, however, which doubtless includes many new dies and new die combinations, quite possibly already attesting the die combinations of your and Roman Collector's specimens, which were unknown to me in 1972.
LAST CHANCE TODAY : A ROMAN MARBLE TORSO OF VENUS CIRCA 1ST-2ND CENTURY A.D. (9 7/8 in. (25 cm.) high) Estimated between 15,000- 20,000 USD Christie's Auctions New-York