Valerian, antoninianus, BI 20 mm, 5.00 g. Obv. : IMP C P LIC VALERIANVS P F AVG, radiate draped and cuir. bust right, seen from front Rev.: SALVS AVGG, Salus standing left holding sceptre and feeding serpent arising from altar I cannot find this coin in RIC, not with this obverse legend. According to RIC, Valerian antoniniani with Salus Augg were minted in Lyons, Rome and Milan, but not in oriental mints. Has a similar coin been recorded elsewhere than in RIC? This coin was found in the Middle East: could it be a yet unrecorded Antioch emission, or do you think it is more likely a western mule?
Hmmm. The closest I could find appears without the P F. RIC 121: Rome mint, Göbl 29d. See here. The variety was also known to Cohen, who numbered it 197:
Only one specimen in the Cunetio hoard (# 465), classified as a mule (M) with this obverse legend (V2). I’ll have to check if there is something in the Normanby hoard.
Vive l'Empereur ! Thank you ! I am pleased to know there was a specimen in the Cunetio Hoard ! And thanks for the photo : I can see there is no die link, maybe it's not a mule... To which mint should we attribute these coins?
Based on the classification made by Göbl in 1951, your coin is a mule (pairing of dies belonging to different issues or phases) with a reverse type proper to the first series minted in Rome.
