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<p>[QUOTE="Curtisimo, post: 7962113, member: 83845"][ATTACH=full]1380247[/ATTACH]</p><p><font size="3">Roman Empire</font></p><p><font size="3">Severus Alexander </font></p><p><font size="3">AR Denarius, Antioch mint, struck AD 223</font></p><p><font size="3">Dia.: 18.38 mm</font></p><p><font size="3">Wt.: 3.20 g</font></p><p><font size="3">Obv.: IMP C M AVR SEV ALEXAND AVG, laureate, draped and cuirassed bust right</font></p><p><font size="3">Rev.: LIBERALITAS AVG, Liberalitas standing left, holding counting board and cornucopia</font></p><p><font size="3">Ref.: RIC IV 281 Antioch</font></p><p><font size="3">Ex Phil Peck (aka Morris Collection) with collectors envelope, ex private purchase from Herb Kreindler (Jan. 2005)</font></p><p><br /></p><p>When I first saw the Liberalitas type I really wanted an example because I thought that the object that Liberalitas was holding in her right hand was an abacus. In fact, this is what the authors of RIC (1938) noted it to be as well. As an engineer and a math enthusiasts, having an abacus on one of my coins appealed to me. My assumption was that an abacus might have been used in some way in the calculations that went into the emperor distributing money to the people (a <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Congiarium" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Congiarium" rel="nofollow">congiarium</a>). This would have made it a great attribute for Liberalitas (the spirit of generosity).</p><p><br /></p><p>However, during my research on the type, I read a <a href="https://www.cointalk.com/threads/liberalitas.328632/" class="internalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.cointalk.com/threads/liberalitas.328632/">great thread</a> started by [USER=75937]@Roman Collector[/USER] that led me to doubt the abacus attribution. I encourage everyone to read that thread for background on the Liberalitas type and how it relates to the congiarium.</p><p><br /></p><p>After reading up on the topic more I am now convinced that the object that Liberalitas is holding is a coin counting and distribution device whose Latin name we do not know.</p><p><br /></p><p><font size="6"><span style="color: #404040"><b><u>The Imperial Congiarium</u></b></span></font></p><p>The actual act of distributing money to the people is shown on the reverse of coins starting with Nero [1]. During the reign of Hadrian the Liberalitas type was introduced in addition, presumably as artistic shorthand for the same scene. Outside of coins there is only one other ancient work of art that shows the congiarium: the Arch of Constantine. The arch was dedicated in AD 315 and a relief above one of the arches is the clearest evidence available for what the object held by Liberalitas is and how it was used.</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1380248[/ATTACH]</p><p><font size="3">Arch of Constantine as seen from the Colosseum, looking back towards the forum. The relief in question is located above the small arch on the right of the photo. (Author’s photo)</font></p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1380249[/ATTACH]</p><p><font size="3">Top left: Congiarium scene showing Constantine distributing coins to the people of Rome. The emperor sits in the center of the scene. On the top of the relief on either side of the emperor we see part of a scene where officials document the gifts at what is probably meant to represent multiple stations for the distribution. Top right: Here we can clearly see Constantine holding the counting board over the outstretched toga of a citizen. Small circular objects are falling from the board. These are clearly meant to represent coins. (Image courtesy of Wikimedia) Bottom: close up view of the counting board being held by Liberalitas (Author’s photo)</font></p><p><br /></p><p>As is clearly demonstrated above the device was used to count out the correct number of coins and possibly to verify to all present that none were being discreetly pocketed by the distributor. The citizen received the coins by approaching the distributor and extending the sinus of his toga so that the distributor could dump the coins straight from the counting board into his toga. In the central scene we see the emperor doing this himself but it was overwhelmingly likely that this function was carried out by multiple people at multiple stations as suggested by the relief.</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1380255[/ATTACH]</p><p><font size="3">Parts of the Roman Toga as seen on this statue of Augustus in National Roman Museum in Rome, Italy. This Sinus portion of the toga was used by the citizen to receive coins during the congiarium (Author's photo)</font></p><p><br /></p><p>I highly recommend everyone to read the article by Beckmann that I link to below for a fuller discussion of the subject. Beckmann postulates, that the denarius was the primary coin gifted during the congiarium and that most of the distributions throughout the imperial period were 100 denarii per person or less. This could have been achieved with a counting board with dimensions of 12” x 12” square.</p><p><br /></p><p><font size="6"><span style="color: #404040"><u><b>Notes on the Coin</b></u></span></font></p><p>This coin came with the below envelope. On the back is written “Harl 1/05” (At least I think it says Harl, it could be Herb or Herl?). I assume this gives a date if January 2005. This looks like it might be a dealer envelope. Does anyone recognize it?</p><p>[ATTACH=full]1380251[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>This coin was struck in the east (Antioch) and has a pleasant style to my mind. This is my second Severus Alexander denarius struck in Antioch. My other is shown below for comparison of style.</p><p>[ATTACH=full]1380252[/ATTACH]</p><p><font size="3">Roman Empire</font></p><p><font size="3">Severus Alexander</font></p><p><font size="3">AR Denarius, Antioch mint, struck ca. AD 222-235</font></p><p><font size="3">Dia.: 18 mm</font></p><p><font size="3">Wt.: 3.35 g</font></p><p><font size="3">Obv.: IMP C AVR ALEXAND AVG; Laureate, draped and cuirassed bust right</font></p><p><font size="3">Rev.: PROVID DEORVM; Providentia standing left, holding wand over globe and sceptre</font></p><p><font size="3">Ref.: RIC 294</font></p><p><font size="3">Ex arnoldoe Collection, Ex Otto Helbing Nachfolger 86, Lot 1585 (Nov. 25, 1942)</font></p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1380250[/ATTACH]</p><p><font size="3">Bust of Severus Alexander in the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, Italy (Author's photo)</font></p><p><br /></p><p>As stated above this coin is noted as being struck at Antioch. I find it interesting that a coin type commemorating a gift of money would be struck outside of Rome. Does this imply that money was distributed in Antioch and other large imperial cities? Could this be a case of the eastern mint simply copying the Roman mint types or was this perhaps part of a gift of money to the legions stationed in the east by the emperor? Anyone have any thoughts on this?</p><p><br /></p><p><font size="6"><span style="color: #404040"><u><b>References</b></u></span></font></p><p>[1] Beckmann, Martin. “The Function of the Attribute of Liberalitas and Its Use in the Congiarium.” American Journal of Numismatics (1989-), vol. 27, American Numismatic Society, 2015, pp. 189–98, <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/90017068" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/90017068" rel="nofollow">https://www.jstor.org/stable/90017068</a>.</p><p><br /></p><p><a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Congiarium" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Congiarium" rel="nofollow">https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Congiarium</a></p><p><br /></p><p><a href="https://www.cointalk.com/threads/liberalitas.328632/" class="internalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.cointalk.com/threads/liberalitas.328632/">https://www.cointalk.com/threads/liberalitas.328632/</a></p><p><br /></p><p><font size="6"><span style="color: #404040"><u><b>Please post your</b></u></span></font></p><ul> <li><font size="5"><span style="color: #ff0000">Liberalitas types</span></font></li> <li><font size="5"><span style="color: #ff0000">Coins of Severus Alexander</span></font></li> <li><font size="5"><span style="color: #ff0000">Eastern mint denarii</span></font></li> <li><font size="5"><span style="color: #ff0000">Colorfully toned denarii</span></font></li> <li><font size="5"><span style="color: #ff0000">Anything else you feel is relevant</span></font></li> </ul><p>[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>
[QUOTE="Curtisimo, post: 7962113, member: 83845"][ATTACH=full]1380247[/ATTACH] [SIZE=3]Roman Empire Severus Alexander AR Denarius, Antioch mint, struck AD 223 Dia.: 18.38 mm Wt.: 3.20 g Obv.: IMP C M AVR SEV ALEXAND AVG, laureate, draped and cuirassed bust right Rev.: LIBERALITAS AVG, Liberalitas standing left, holding counting board and cornucopia Ref.: RIC IV 281 Antioch Ex Phil Peck (aka Morris Collection) with collectors envelope, ex private purchase from Herb Kreindler (Jan. 2005)[/SIZE] When I first saw the Liberalitas type I really wanted an example because I thought that the object that Liberalitas was holding in her right hand was an abacus. In fact, this is what the authors of RIC (1938) noted it to be as well. As an engineer and a math enthusiasts, having an abacus on one of my coins appealed to me. My assumption was that an abacus might have been used in some way in the calculations that went into the emperor distributing money to the people (a [URL='https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Congiarium']congiarium[/URL]). This would have made it a great attribute for Liberalitas (the spirit of generosity). However, during my research on the type, I read a [URL='https://www.cointalk.com/threads/liberalitas.328632/']great thread[/URL] started by [USER=75937]@Roman Collector[/USER] that led me to doubt the abacus attribution. I encourage everyone to read that thread for background on the Liberalitas type and how it relates to the congiarium. After reading up on the topic more I am now convinced that the object that Liberalitas is holding is a coin counting and distribution device whose Latin name we do not know. [SIZE=6][COLOR=#404040][B][U]The Imperial Congiarium[/U][/B][/COLOR][/SIZE] The actual act of distributing money to the people is shown on the reverse of coins starting with Nero [1]. During the reign of Hadrian the Liberalitas type was introduced in addition, presumably as artistic shorthand for the same scene. Outside of coins there is only one other ancient work of art that shows the congiarium: the Arch of Constantine. The arch was dedicated in AD 315 and a relief above one of the arches is the clearest evidence available for what the object held by Liberalitas is and how it was used. [ATTACH=full]1380248[/ATTACH] [SIZE=3]Arch of Constantine as seen from the Colosseum, looking back towards the forum. The relief in question is located above the small arch on the right of the photo. (Author’s photo)[/SIZE] [ATTACH=full]1380249[/ATTACH] [SIZE=3]Top left: Congiarium scene showing Constantine distributing coins to the people of Rome. The emperor sits in the center of the scene. On the top of the relief on either side of the emperor we see part of a scene where officials document the gifts at what is probably meant to represent multiple stations for the distribution. Top right: Here we can clearly see Constantine holding the counting board over the outstretched toga of a citizen. Small circular objects are falling from the board. These are clearly meant to represent coins. (Image courtesy of Wikimedia) Bottom: close up view of the counting board being held by Liberalitas (Author’s photo)[/SIZE] As is clearly demonstrated above the device was used to count out the correct number of coins and possibly to verify to all present that none were being discreetly pocketed by the distributor. The citizen received the coins by approaching the distributor and extending the sinus of his toga so that the distributor could dump the coins straight from the counting board into his toga. In the central scene we see the emperor doing this himself but it was overwhelmingly likely that this function was carried out by multiple people at multiple stations as suggested by the relief. [ATTACH=full]1380255[/ATTACH] [SIZE=3]Parts of the Roman Toga as seen on this statue of Augustus in National Roman Museum in Rome, Italy. This Sinus portion of the toga was used by the citizen to receive coins during the congiarium (Author's photo)[/SIZE] I highly recommend everyone to read the article by Beckmann that I link to below for a fuller discussion of the subject. Beckmann postulates, that the denarius was the primary coin gifted during the congiarium and that most of the distributions throughout the imperial period were 100 denarii per person or less. This could have been achieved with a counting board with dimensions of 12” x 12” square. [SIZE=6][COLOR=#404040][U][B]Notes on the Coin[/B][/U][/COLOR][/SIZE] This coin came with the below envelope. On the back is written “Harl 1/05” (At least I think it says Harl, it could be Herb or Herl?). I assume this gives a date if January 2005. This looks like it might be a dealer envelope. Does anyone recognize it? [ATTACH=full]1380251[/ATTACH] This coin was struck in the east (Antioch) and has a pleasant style to my mind. This is my second Severus Alexander denarius struck in Antioch. My other is shown below for comparison of style. [ATTACH=full]1380252[/ATTACH] [SIZE=3]Roman Empire Severus Alexander AR Denarius, Antioch mint, struck ca. AD 222-235 Dia.: 18 mm Wt.: 3.35 g Obv.: IMP C AVR ALEXAND AVG; Laureate, draped and cuirassed bust right Rev.: PROVID DEORVM; Providentia standing left, holding wand over globe and sceptre Ref.: RIC 294 Ex arnoldoe Collection, Ex Otto Helbing Nachfolger 86, Lot 1585 (Nov. 25, 1942)[/SIZE] [ATTACH=full]1380250[/ATTACH] [SIZE=3]Bust of Severus Alexander in the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, Italy (Author's photo)[/SIZE] As stated above this coin is noted as being struck at Antioch. I find it interesting that a coin type commemorating a gift of money would be struck outside of Rome. Does this imply that money was distributed in Antioch and other large imperial cities? Could this be a case of the eastern mint simply copying the Roman mint types or was this perhaps part of a gift of money to the legions stationed in the east by the emperor? Anyone have any thoughts on this? [SIZE=6][COLOR=#404040][U][B]References[/B][/U][/COLOR][/SIZE] [1] Beckmann, Martin. “The Function of the Attribute of Liberalitas and Its Use in the Congiarium.” American Journal of Numismatics (1989-), vol. 27, American Numismatic Society, 2015, pp. 189–98, [URL]https://www.jstor.org/stable/90017068[/URL]. [URL]https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Congiarium[/URL] [URL]https://www.cointalk.com/threads/liberalitas.328632/[/URL] [SIZE=6][COLOR=#404040][U][B]Please post your[/B][/U][/COLOR][/SIZE] [LIST] [*][SIZE=5][COLOR=#ff0000]Liberalitas types[/COLOR][/SIZE] [*][SIZE=5][COLOR=#ff0000]Coins of Severus Alexander[/COLOR][/SIZE] [*][SIZE=5][COLOR=#ff0000]Eastern mint denarii[/COLOR][/SIZE] [*][SIZE=5][COLOR=#ff0000]Colorfully toned denarii[/COLOR][/SIZE] [*][SIZE=5][COLOR=#ff0000]Anything else you feel is relevant[/COLOR][/SIZE] [/LIST][/QUOTE]
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A Beautifully Toned Liberalitas... but What is she Holding?
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