Salus was a minor goddess, the daughter of Aesculapius, the god of healing, whose staff, with a snake coiled round it, is symbolic of the practice of medicine. During the Empire, the Arval Brotherhood (a college of senior priests) used to make annual sacrifices for the welfare of the Emperor, to the Capitoline triad of major deities and also to Salus Publica. There was a statue to Salus in the temple of Concordia, according to Pliny; and she had an annual festival on March 30th. Nero is the first Emperor to use the goddess on his coinage. This tyrant made frequent vows for his own health, and also instituted certaminaon that account. Indeed, the historian Tacitus records that, for his escape from a plot laid against him in, he erected a temple to Salus. But so little did he care about the health of others, that he made the same conspiracy against his life a pretext for sacrificing hundreds to his revenge. I believe the last ruler to use it was Allectus in 293-296 AD. But a reverse minted in 326 for Fausta is described as "empress or Salus standing, cradling two infants in her arms". Many various depictions of Salus on the Imperial coinage over centuries: * standing , holding patera & sceptre, feeding serpent * standing, holding patera & rudder * standing, holding cornucopia & feeding serpent * standing, holding patera & feeding serpent in arms * seated, holding patera & sceptre * seated, holding patera * seated, holding branch & poppies * seated, holding ears of corn Let's talk about Victorinus now. Two different type featuring Salus can be found for this guy. The first one is from the Treveri mint, last issue (5th) from 271 AD. The goddess is standing, holding a patera and a sceptre, feeding a snake rising from altar. The snake lacks a head; and look at that extra-long finger placed delicately on the sceptre ! (Mairat 637). This reverse is new to the Gallic Empire and might be inspired by earlier coins of Claudius II. Salus with her extra long finger again... The second example (Mairat 644) is from the mint of Cologne, issue 2 from mid 269-early 270. It introduces a new reverse type for Victorinus: Salus is standing, holding a patera and feeding a serpent in arms. The design was used already under Postumus, and its meaning is probably very general, on the general welfare brought by Victorinus. Now I'm gonna show you my two weirdest Salus: Reverse brockage. My attempt of explaining what it is: an incuse coin has the same image twice: embossed on the side of one blank flan, and embossed on the other. This anomaly is the result of a precise accident, which occurred when a coin remained stuck or placed on one of the die, which gave the blanks their images. The next coin was then struck over the first. It took the image engraved in negative on one of the dies, but the coins left on the die imprinted the same pattern on it, pushing the blank into its thickness. Flip over, double struck. The coin was struck, flipped and restruck. Why ? I can't explain or understand...Please somebody give me your theory about this kind of "error" coin. By the way, this is a rare issue with the "dots" in the obverse legend VICTORINVS·P·F·AVG Please show me your Salus, Victorinus or even your weirdest coin !
Great writeup, as usual Ocat... those long fingers have always puzzled me! Here's a Tetricus Salus: And speaking of flip-over double strikes, here's Gallienus with a Salus stuck in his beard :
My best Salus is this one Claudius on a horrifically undersized flan. There are absolutely no letters left on the obv, and I only ID's the guy by reverse. It's a lovely reverse though. Very lovely.
I always assumed it was just an accident from the team operating so quickly. Sometimes a flan stays on the bottom die (double strike), and on rare occasions it flips over due to the initial impact and stays (flip over double strike). Sometimes there's no flan (die clash), sometimes there were two flans when another gets added on top (brockage, or I have a Gallienus with two flans fused together), etc. etc. For any accident we can imagine, there's a coin that shows it. Then of course there's Kevin, who maybe started out in the Gallic mints and then transferred to the domains of Gallienus.
I really like that reverse brockage Salus, great coin. Tacitus, AE Antoninianus. 275-276 AD. Rome mint. IMP CM CL TACITVS AVG, radiate, draped, cuirassed bust right / SALVS AVG. Salus standing left, holding sceptre, feeding serpent rising from altar. Mintmark ; XXIΔ. RIC 93.
I agree that the oddities we see from this period are due to the speed they were forced to make these coins. When it comes to odd Victorinus / Salus, my mind goes to my example of the coin later overstruck by Carausius / Pax. When I get one of these, I like to add a 'normal' undertype as well.
Here are some barracks emperors with Salus reverse types! Maximinus I, AD 235-238. Roman Æ Sestertius, 26.7 mm, 18.01 gm. Rome, AD 236-238. Obv: MAXIMINVS PIVS AVG GERM, Laureate, draped, and cuirassed bust, right. Rev: SALVS AVGVSTI SC, Salus enthroned left, feeding snake arising from altar. Refs: RIC-85; BMCRE-175, Sear-8338; Cohen-92. Trebonianus Gallus, AD 251-253. Roman AR Antoninianus, 3.78 g, 24 mm, 7 h. Rome, AD 253. Obv: IMP CAE C VIB TREB GALLVS AVG, radiate, draped and cuirassed bust, right, seen from behind. Rev: SALVS AVGG, Salus standing left, feeding serpent, rising from altar, out of patera with her right hand and holding scepter in her left. Refs: RIC 46a; Cohen 117; RCV 9649; Hunter, p. cvi. Trebonianus Gallus, AD 251-253. Roman orichalcum sestertius, 19.25 g, 27.4 mm, 1 h. Rome mint, 3rd officina, 1st emission, AD 251. Obv: IMP CAES C VIBIVS TREBONIANVS GALLVS AVG, Laureate, draped, and cuirassed bust right. Rev: SALVS AVGG S C, Salus standing right, feeding serpent which she holds in both arms. Refs: RIC 121a; Cohen 115; RCV 9678; Banti 31; Hunter p. cvi. Volusian, AD 251-253. Roman billon antoninianus, 4.15 g, 21.2 mm, 1 h. Rome, 2nd issue, September - December, AD 251. Obv: IMP CAE C VIB VOLVSIANO AVG, radiate, draped and cuirassed bust, right. Rev: SALVS AVGG, Salus, standing right, feeding out of patera snake held in arms. Refs: RIC 184; Cohen/RSC 118; RCV 9769; Hunter 22.
Here is my one example featuring Salus. Great write-up! Antoninus Pius Æ Sestertius Struck 145-147 AD Obverse: ANTONINVS AVG PIVS PP TRP COS IIII; laureate head right. Reverse: SALVS AVG, S-C; Salus standing left, feeding serpent coiled around altar and holding rudder on globe. References: RIC III 784; Cohen 718; Banti 349; BMCRE 1715. 28mm; 21.44g
Terrific write-up, as always. Here are a couple of coins depicting Salus (although the figure holding a snake on the reverse of the first one is actually Valetudo, a differently-named manifestation of Salus, whose head is on the obverse). Roman Republic, Manius Acilius Glabrio, AR Denarius, 50 BCE (Harlan and BMCRR) or 49 BCE (Crawford), Rome Mint. Obv. Laureate head of Salus right, wearing necklace and earring, with hair collected behind in knot ornamented with jewels, SALVTIS upwards behind head / Rev. Valetudo* [Harlan says portrayal is of a statue of Valetudo] standing left, holding snake with right hand and resting left arm on column, MN•ACILIVS [downwards on right] III•VIR•VALETV [upwards on left] [MN and TV monogrammed]. RSC I Acilia 8, Crawford 442/1a, Sydenham 922, Sear RCV I 412 (ill.), Harlan, RRM II Ch. 30 at pp. 229-238, BMCRR Rome 3945. 17.5 mm., 3.98 g. * Valetudo was essentially another manifestation of Salus (portrayed on the obverse), the goddess of health and well-being -- a concept sometimes “extended to include not only physical health but also the general welfare of the Roman people, the army and the state.” John Melville Jones, Dictionary of Ancient Roman Coins (London, 1990) at p. 276. This is the only Roman coin to depict a personification of Valetudo. See id. at p. 314. Maximinus I Thrax, AE Sestertius, 236-238 AD, Rome Mint. Obv. Laureate, draped and cuirassed bust right, MAXIMINVS PIVS AVG GERM / Rev. Salus seated left, holding patera with outstretched right hand and using it to feed a serpent rising from an altar; resting left arm on side of chair, SALVS AVGVSTI; S C in exergue. RIC IV 85, BMCRE 175-176, Cohen 92, Sear RCV III 8338 (ill.). 31 mm., 17.58 g., 12 h.
Great write up and coins! Here's my Victorinus Salus. It has a lot of silvering going for it but also a small flan and corrosion on the obverse left. I'd like to get a nicer one but this one does the job for now. Victorinus - Cologne - RIC V-2 67/122
Small flan? That it isn't a raggedy flan is unusual for Victorinus! Victorinus, AD 269-271. Roman billon antoninianus, 2.11 g, 19.0 mm, 5 h. Cologne, AD 270-271. Obv: IMP C VICTORINVS P F AVG, radiate and draped bust, right. Rev: PAX AVG, Pax standing left, holding olive branch and scepter; V in left field, * in right field. Refs: RIC 118; Cohen 79; RCV 11175; Hunter 11.