Featured [ANCIENTS] TRAJAN DECIUS : THE DIVI SERIES

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Hi folks,

You all have had the opportunity to follow the semi final in the CIT 2018 that ended up in an obese, ridiculously fat, Zeus, squashing one of the most refined and revered philosopher of the antiquity, just as an elephant would a serpent :




Anyway, that was real fun and entertainment, congrats to @Severus Alexander for a well deserved victory and outstanding entry and writeup, and thanks to @Curtisimo !

As my entry was the 22nd and last in the Divi series, I felt I should add it here to complete the thread dedicated to the series, especially since it's featured.


D MARCO ANTONINO, Radiate head of Marcus Aurelius right
CONSECRATIO, Altar
23 mm - 3.84 gr
Ref : RIC IV # 92a, Cohen # 1058
In qblays catalog : MA08-P114
Same dies as the example in the Bibliotheque nationale de France

Antoninianii honoring Marcus Aurelius are among the rarest of the Divi series, together with Nerva, Hadrian and Septimius Severus. A quick search on acsearch showed up three examples with the DIVO MARCO obverse legend, and two only with the DIVO MARCO ANTONINO legend as my specimen.

Now, please, read what Harlan J. Berk wrote while selling a similar antoninianus in one of their Gemini auctions : “Joaquim Blay's online die catalogue of this coinage lists just five specimens of this particular type of Divus Marcus (RIC 92a), including our coin. It may therefore be considered to be the rarest regular type in the entire Divi series”

To finish with, here's a virtual tray of the whole series :

THE END​

Q

 

Congrats on an outstanding collection Q, the latest coins tone stands out in the pack is it a light brown tone?

 

Thanks AA
Yes the tone on the last one is slightly different, kind of brown-ish, a bit lighter in hand than on the picture though

Q

 

Oh !
And many thanks @Ancient Aussie, I seem to remember you attracted my attention on this last one coin when it came up at auction !

Q

 

The Plevna hoard gives the best indication for dating the Divi series. This did not contain any coins from the last issues of Trajan Decius except for two Divi coins. They are present in reasonable numbers in hoards deposited at a later date. The extent to which production carried over into the reign of Trebonianus Gallus and Volusian is conjectural but if so, it could only have been a short time because it was quickly replaced by a substantive issue in all officinae for both of them very early in their brief reign.

My study of these coins, carried out at the same time as a more general look at the coinage of Trajan Decius and his family, showed extensive die links within the series, indicating that they were almost certainly the product of a single officina in the Rome mint.

Although the Divi series has long been associated with the attempts by Decius to restore former religious standards, for which he blamed the tribulations of Rome at that time (and hence his persecution of Christians), it seems most likely to me that there was another reason. It was during his reign that denarii of former emperors (notably those of the Severans) were being overstruck as antoniniani. Since this might have been considered as an insult to those emperors who had been voted divine status by the Senate.and the Divi coins were intended to appease that. In doing this he was also following in the footsteps of his inspiration, Trajan, because his restoration series had fulfilled a similar purpose as part of a coinage reform.

The fact that Gallus and Volusian continued to overstrike earky denarii would support the continuation of the Divi coins into their reign.

 

The Plevna hoard gives the best indication for dating the Divi series. This did not contain any coins from the last issues of Trajan Decius except for two Divi coins. They are present in reasonable numbers in hoards deposited at a later date. The extent to which production carried over into the reign of Trebonianus Gallus and Volusian is conjectural but if so, it could only have been a short time because it was quickly replaced by a substantive issue in all officinae for both of them very early in their brief reign.

My study of these coins, carried out at the same time as a more general look at the coinage of Trajan Decius and his family, showed extensive die links within the series, indicating that they were almost certainly the product of a single officina in the Rome mint.

Although the Divi series has long been associated with the attempts by Decius to restore former religious standards, for which he blamed the tribulations of Rome at that time (and hence his persecution of Christians), it seems most likely to me that there was another reason. It was during his reign that denarii of former emperors (notably those of the Severans) were being overstruck as antoniniani. Since this might have been considered as an insult to those emperors who had been voted divine status by the Senate.and the Divi coins were intended to appease that. In doing this he was also following in the footsteps of his inspiration, Trajan, because his restoration series had fulfilled a similar purpose as part of a coinage reform.

The fact that Gallus and Volusian continued to overstrike earky denarii would support the continuation of the Divi coins into their reign.

 

Thank you @Ken Elks for that clarification and added information. Sorry I see your comment just now...

From Joaquim Blay's die links studies I was thinking about a single officina for the whole series too

Best regards
Q