I had a vision: LAETITIA AVG N

The three most sought after and « not often seen » types for all Victorinus’ coins collectors are COMES AVG, MARS VICTOR and LAETITIA AVG N. If you see one in auctions, please get your wallet ready… Since I’m not willing to spend more than 500 $ when one specimen comes for sale, I have to hope for a miracle to be able to get one of these (I already have a MARS VICTOR). But it happened. I was browsing through Ebay like I do every morning when I had a vision: a nice « crooked nose » Victorinus, with a weak strike reverse, but surprisingly correctly attribute to LAETITIA AVG N… from a French seller not specialized in coins…for 17 € shipping included. I have never seen one for sale, and I can’t find a trace of a sale in the last 20 years. And then the vision wasn’t over: I saw the big button BUY IT NOW… Let’s stop there cause you can easily imagine what I did. Before showing you my new baby, I have to add that the BM owns 5 examples: one is from Cunetio, one from Normanby and another specimen from Blackmoor hoard. Oxford has one too, and the American Numismatic Society believe they have 3 of them; here they are:


Sorry but this is a AEQVITAS reverse or PROVIDENTIA, you can clearly see the cornucopia at the right of the character…


Sorry but it’s a PIETAS reverse, look at the altar…


Sorry but it’s Tetricus I, absolutely not Victorinus’ nose…


Those one are real one from the British Museum, all from the same obverse die (as well as mine) except the first one, and there’s only one reverse die known.


Blackmoor Hoard 2.12g


3.36g


3.24g


Normanby Hoard 3.03g

And this is my new bargain:


LAETITIA AVG N Trier mint
18mm 2.52g Mairat 631

Please feel free to post your LAETITIA coins or your VISION coins !

 

Log in or Sign up to hide this ad.

Wow, what a pickup!

I didn't realize those reverses were so rare. I'd say you got an astounding deal.

Here's my favorite Laetitia, of Quintillus. Disgusting flan, but endearing.


And here's my rarest Victorinus. Unlike 99% of the V's I've seen, this retains 90% of the bright original silvering. Amazing.

 

Wow, what a deal, @Ocatarinetabellatchitchix! It's not an overstatement to say that your example is the finest known!! Coingratulations!

This denarius is a new addition to my numophylacium Faustinae.


Faustina II, AD 147-175.
Roman AR denarius, 3.19 g, 18.1 mm, 5 h.
Rome, late AD 162 - early 163.
Obv: FAVSTINA AVGVSTA, draped bust right, Beckmann type 7 hairstyle and wearing stephane.
Rev: LAETITIA, Laetitia standing right, holding scepter and wreath.
Refs: RIC 702 var. (stephane); BMCRE 127-128; RSC 152c; RCV --; MIR 22-4/10b diad.; CRE 199.

You'll notice this coin is a mirror image to the usual reverse type, which depicts Laetitia standing left, holding wreath and scepter.


Faustina II, AD 147-175.
Roman AR denarius, 3.41 g, 18.7 mm, 11 h.
Rome, late AD 162 - early 163.
Obv: FAVSTINA AVGVSTA, draped bust right, Beckmann type 7 hairstyle and wearing stephane.
Rev: LAETITIA, Laetitia standing left, holding wreath and scepter.
Refs: RIC 701; BMCRE 129-131; Cohen 148; RCV --; MIR 21-4/10b diad.; CRE 198.

 

Under Victorinus, the first issues in both mints had an average silver content of c. 3.3% with a further reduction to c. 1.1% during his last issue (two years later) at both mints. On your coin, all the silver was surely on the top layer !

Thanks for sharing RC. I had forgotten about this type of reversed reverse…

 

awsome find,congrats @Ocatarinetabellatchitchix

 

Here's my duo of Allectus Laetitia coins. Nice ebay hunting!

 

Great pickup, @Ocatarinetabellatchitchix - I really enjoy "good hunting" stories like yours. Nice coin too.

I do not have that coin (of course!) but here is a Gordian III with LAETITIA AVG N reverse. It comes with and without a dot before the "N." Not sure what the N stands for, and until this post I thought it was a Gordian-only legend.


Gordian III Antoninianus
(241-243 A.D.)
Rome Mint (4th Issue)
IMP GORDIANVS PIVS FEL AVG, radiate, cuirassed and draped bust right / LAETITIA AVG N, Laetitia standing left, holding wreath and anchor.
RIC 86; RSC 121; RCV 8617.
(3.33 grams / 21 mm)
eBay Sep. 2018

 

I have a few attractice Laetitias from Gallienus as well. Dime a dozen, these are, but they are pretty!

This Antioch issue has AVGG which is kinda cool.


I like these two Milanese ones for their expressive portraits and lanky goddesses on the back.

 

I wonder who was hired to attribute those ANS coins lol.

Amazing find! Your heart must have been racing as you clicked the "buy it now" button (waiting for the payment to go through before someone else snaps it up). I second that yours is the finest known example.

Here's my rarest (barbarous) antoninianus of Victorinus, in completely terrible condition, but with FORTVNA AVG reverse.


A much better AEQVITAS AVG antoninianus of Victorinus (with Marius features)


FIDES MILITVM

 

Abbreviation of : Laetitia Augusti Nostri - Joy of our Emperor.

 

Thank you!