I found this nice Tacitus Antoninian on Ebay and thought it was a good buy at 46 euros. Ruling briefly in 275-276, Tacitus was an old man when he came to the throne. He is also notable for being the only emperor in about 30 emperors of the "military anarchy", who died of natural causes. IMP C CL TACITVS AVG // VIRTVS AVG I wonder, if this is from the mint of Rome or Lyon?
Very nice coin! It’s interesting how he was only emperor for a year! Does that mean his coins were only minted for one year?
Great coin, especially at that price! Here's my only Tacitus; it's not in great condition, but it's a double antoninianus from Tripolis, and they are relatively hard to find: Tacitus (275-276), Double Antoninianus, Tripolis mint. Obverse: IMP C M CL TACITVS AVG, radiate, draped and cuirassed bust right, seen from the front; Reverse: CLEMENTIA TEMP, Mars standing left, holding olive branch in right hand, spear and shield which rests on ground in left hand, star in left field; IA in exergue; RIC 214, RIC V Online 4113 This denomination, while called "double", was not actually double the weight of the standard coins; it simply had double the silver content, as indicated by the exergue mark (IA means "10:1" in Greek, and the same is true for the Antioch version, which said XI, in Latin). Yes, the coins of Tacitus were only struck for the duration of his reign, as he was not deified and no emperor struck posthumous coins for him; however, this doesn't mean that his coins are particularly rare, with the exception of a few special types.
Good coin. Good example! TACITUS Antoninianus OBVERSE: IMP C M CL TACITVS AVG, radiate, draped and cuirassed bust right REVERSE: CLEMENTIA TEMP, Tacitus receiving globe from Jupiter, Z in lower centre, XXI in ex. Struck at Antioch, 275-6 AD 3.2g, 22mm RIC 210, Z TACITUS Antoninianus OBVERSE: IMP C M CL TACITVS AVG, radiate cuirassed bust right REVERSE: PROVIDE AVG, Providentia standing left, holding globe & transverse sceptre, Q in ex Struck at Ticinum, 275-6 AD 3.6g, 23mm RIC 152f, C 90
Nice score Tacitus, Antoninianus - Ticinium mint, AD 275-276 IMP C M CL TACITVS AVG, Radiate bust of Tacitus right SECVRIT PERP, Securitas standing left leaning on column, retrograde µ at exergue 4.03 gr Ref : RCV #11812, Cohen #131, RIC V (1) 163 Thanks to Helvetica for RIC reference and help on exergue Q
I agree. I found this one, which fetched an insanely high price: https://www.acsearch.info/search.html?id=7862445
Wow, this is a very attractive example. I love the portrait! Is the symbol in the exergue a mint mark that distinguishes the Ticinium mint?
Tactus held the title of "Gothicus Maximus" and he issued coins celebrating his victories over the Goths. This was the reason why I was first attracted to his coins and for a long time these two were my only two Tacitus coins: VICTORIA GOTTHI Mint: Ticinium
I got this Tacitus recently (sales picture). The seller attributed it to Ticinium. Is this correct? I'm more inclined to think that the coin is from Siscia.
The OP coin is certainly Lugdunum (Lyon). I have a couple. Obv:– IMP C CL TACITVS AVG, Radiate, draped and cuirassed bust right Rev:– VIRTVS AVG, Mars standing left, holding spear and resting hand on shield Minted in Lugdunum (no marks), Emission 1, from October to December A.D. 275 References:– Cohen 172, Bastien 48, RIC 69 Bust Type C This one was one of my ealiest Tacitus (ex Langcroft hoard). It's still in my trays somewhere but this image is poor (taken with a flatbed scanner!) as it was taken back in 2004 A more recent version (bought as part of a mixed lot) is here.
I also have an issue from the mint of Rome, which I bought recently in an auction. FIDES MILITVM The portrait style is quite distinctive. It is only recently, that I became interested in different mints and to collect mostly common coins, but from different mints.
Here is another nice example from the Ticinium mint. TEMPORVM FELICITAS I wonder what the letters A - A stand for on the reverse: