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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Limes, post: 8652714, member: 101013&quot;][ATTACH=full]1518885[/ATTACH] </p><p><br /></p><p>Hello everyone,</p><p><br /></p><p>One of my latest acquisitions is an interesting (and in my opinion absolutely lovely!) AE As of Trajan, with a temple reverse. The identity of the reverse however is uncertain and various sources identify it differently. However, if the sources are compared, it seems the majority points in the same direction. A note before I start: when it comes to sources, I have to do with a limited amount. I don&#039;t have BMC or RIC, so I look online (acsearch, wildwinds, ocre). I do have some books (Sear, van Meter, etc) and of course there are articles online. So, if you happen to have sources that shed another or additional light on this matter, please feel free to add it in this discussion! </p><p><br /></p><p>My coin is an AE As, and there&#039;s also a sestertius version of this type. It caused a bit of confusion on my side, that both have the same RIC number: 575. There&#039;s also a <a href="https://www.wildwinds.com/coins/ric/trajan/RIC_0576.jpg" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.wildwinds.com/coins/ric/trajan/RIC_0576.jpg" rel="nofollow">dupondius </a>(RIC 567) on wildwinds, and the reverse is described as showing the temple of Pax. It however looks the same as RIC 575. <a href="https://www.wildwinds.com/coins/sear5/s3210.html#RIC_0577,Sestertius" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.wildwinds.com/coins/sear5/s3210.html#RIC_0577,Sestertius" rel="nofollow">RIC 577</a> also shows a temple, but a different one with &#039;side porticos&#039; that is mentioned by Van Meter in his book, unlike RIC 575. This coin shows the temple of Jupiter Victor. The &#039;temple coins&#039; were not part of&nbsp; the coinage commemorating Trajan&#039;s building projects, which includes coins showing the Via Traiana, the Aqua Traiana and the famous Forum of Trajan. Sear dates my temple AE As at 107 AD, just before the decennalia of Trajan. This appears to correspond with Clive Foss (p. 97) who mentions that the temples of Honos and Venus Genetrix had already been restored before that anniversary. The building of the Via Traiana for example, commenced in 109 AD. </p><p><br /></p><p>Now, about the sources: </p><ul> <li>RIC: RIC identifies the temple shown on the AE as as the temple of Pax. The temple&nbsp; is to be sought in the provinces. The sestertius (RIC&nbsp; 575) is identified as the temple of Venus Genetrix (via <a href="https://www.wildwinds.com" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.wildwinds.com" rel="nofollow">https://www.wildwinds.com</a>). </li> <li>Sear (p. 112, 116):&nbsp; Sear cites Hill, stating that the temple is the temple of Honos. The temple was part of the twin-temple complex of Honos and Virtue, and situated outside the Porta Capena in Rome&#039;s First Region. No remains are existent today (wikipedia). According to Sear, RIC 577 shows the temple of Jupiter Victor, at the north eastern corner of the Palatine. </li> <li>Hill: Philip Hill (pp. 9-10):&nbsp; Hill refers to the large series of bronze struck by Trajan to commemorate his tenth anniversary, and identifies the figure as Honos (picture 1 shows the sestertius), since it is identical with on of the figures on the &#039;Honos and Virtus&#039; types of Galba, Vitellius and Vespasian. Hill also states that it is impossible to identify the temple exactly, since details of the temple are lost, but because a large and imposing building is shown, we may assume it is the temple dedicated to Honos and part of the twin-temple complex with Virtus. (Do note the reference to the tents anniversary, which contradicts with Clive Foss.)</li> <li>Clive Foss (p. 97, 102): Prior to his decennalia, Trajan had restored the temples of Honos and Venus Genetrix. Two coins show the restored temples: RIC 575 (sestertius and AE as) shows the temple of Honos (as and sestertius), and RIC 577 shows the temple of Venus Genetrix. </li> <li>Ursula Kampmann (2009) in Coinsweekly (<a href="https://coinsweekly.com/a-temple-for-honos/" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://coinsweekly.com/a-temple-for-honos/" rel="nofollow">https://coinsweekly.com/a-temple-for-honos/</a>) identifies the temple as the temple of Honos. She theorizes that temple is shown on the coin because Trajan had received the title &#039;to the best of princes&#039; by the people of Rome and the Senate.</li> </ul><p>Many auction houses follow RIC and identify the temple as the temple of Pax, or leave the identification vague and merely mention a &#039;temple with &quot;<i>Kultbild</i>&quot;&#039;. </p><p><br /></p><p>Some question remain, however. For one, I don&#039;t understand why RIC differentiates between the temple of Pax for the AE As and the temple of Venus Genetrix for the Sestertius. Both statues look identical to me. Another issue is that Hill shows the sestertius in his book, mentions a &#039;large series of bronze&#039;, but does not mention the difference between the AE As and the sestertius as mentioned in RIC, and links the issue to the decennalia of Trajan (105 - 107 AD). Enough question remain to dive deeper into this coin, and other coins part of the series and the dating. If only I had more time .... </p><p><br /></p><p>Hoping to hear what other members of this board think! And please post your temple coins, your Trajan&#039;s or coins with a mystery! </p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><i>Books:</i></p><p><i>Sear, Roman coins and their values II, reprinted 2010.</i></p><p><i>Philip Hill, The monuments of Ancient Rome as Coin Types, 1989</i></p><p><i>Clive Foss, Roman Historical Coins, 1990</i></p><p><i>David van Meter, The handbook of Roman Imperial Coins, reprinted, 2000</i></p><p><i>Online:</i></p><p><i>Acsearch, wildwinds, coinweekly </i>[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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