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<p>[QUOTE="Marsyas Mike, post: 7510556, member: 85693"]You're right about the trophy on OCRE. This puzzled me, so I dug through my records (whenever I attribute something, I save the sources I find to pdf.). I don't remember my thought process, but I found this note in Beast Coins:</p><p><br /></p><p>"Note: RIC describes the centaur holding a trophy, but it appears to me to be a rudder"</p><p><br /></p><p>This site (in French) calls it a rudder: <a href="http://www.fredericweber.com/GALLIEN/emission_du_bestiaire/page3.htm" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://www.fredericweber.com/GALLIEN/emission_du_bestiaire/page3.htm" rel="nofollow">http://www.fredericweber.com/GALLIEN/emission_du_bestiaire/page3.htm</a></p><p><br /></p><p>Also, a nice little article by Jim Phelps on "The Centaur's Burden" argues convincingly for the rudder rather than the trophy. This is probably why I went with the rudder rather than the trophy. But in the end, I don't think anybody knows for sure:</p><p><br /></p><p><font size="5"><b>The Centaur 's Burden</b></font></p><p><b>By <a href="https://www.forumancientcoins.com/numiswiki/view.asp?key=Jim%20Phelps" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.forumancientcoins.com/numiswiki/view.asp?key=Jim%20Phelps" rel="nofollow">Jim Phelps</a></b></p><p><br /></p><p><font size="4"><b>What is this centaur carrying?</b></font></p><p style="text-align: left"><img src="https://www.forumancientcoins.com/numiswiki/images/Gallien-85-rsm.jpg" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /></p><p>The "APOLLINI <a href="https://www.forumancientcoins.com/numiswiki/view.asp?key=CONS" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.forumancientcoins.com/numiswiki/view.asp?key=CONS" rel="nofollow">CONS</a> AVG" coins from <a href="https://www.forumancientcoins.com/numiswiki/view.asp?key=Officina" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.forumancientcoins.com/numiswiki/view.asp?key=Officina" rel="nofollow">officina</a> "<b>H</b>" of the <a href="https://www.forumancientcoins.com/numiswiki/view.asp?key=Gallienus%20Zoo" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.forumancientcoins.com/numiswiki/view.asp?key=Gallienus%20Zoo" rel="nofollow">Gallienus Zoo</a> series show a centaur on the <a href="https://www.forumancientcoins.com/numiswiki/view.asp?key=Reverse" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.forumancientcoins.com/numiswiki/view.asp?key=Reverse" rel="nofollow">reverse</a>, facing left with (usually) one foreleg raised. In his outstretched right hand he holds a globe, and he cradles an object in his left arm. What is this object?</p><p>Almost every reference catalogue calls this a "trophy", a rather vague term which probably meant that they weren 't quite sure what it was. This is unsurprising - due to the high inflation rate at the time, the mints were pumping out huge quantities of coins. As a result, the coins are often on poor-quality flans, plus the dies (particularly the <a href="https://www.forumancientcoins.com/numiswiki/view.asp?key=Reverse" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.forumancientcoins.com/numiswiki/view.asp?key=Reverse" rel="nofollow">reverse</a>) had a wide range of quality and were often used even after they had become heavily worn.<p style="text-align: right"><img src="https://www.forumancientcoins.com/numiswiki/images/Gallien-86-rsm.jpg" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /></p><p><br /></p><p>So what IS the object that the centaur is holding? Since a "trophy" makes no sense, we need to look closer at the item. There 's a central line, plus two inwardly-curved lines which either taper down or else flare back out, plus sometimes a line at the lower portion which extends at a right angle from the rest of the piece. The matches nicely with portrayals of a rudder from other coins of this period.</p><p><br /></p><p>Another bit of evidence is the other item the centaur holds - a globe. The globe and the rudder are commonly shown together on coins of <a href="https://www.forumancientcoins.com/numiswiki/view.asp?key=Fortuna" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.forumancientcoins.com/numiswiki/view.asp?key=Fortuna" rel="nofollow">Fortuna</a>, the Roman personification of luck. <a href="https://www.forumancientcoins.com/numiswiki/view.asp?key=Fortuna" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.forumancientcoins.com/numiswiki/view.asp?key=Fortuna" rel="nofollow">Fortuna</a> may have had her origins in <i>Nortia</i>, the Roman goddess of fertility and chance, but by this period the personification seems to have been limited to luck or <a href="https://www.forumancientcoins.com/numiswiki/view.asp?key=Good" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.forumancientcoins.com/numiswiki/view.asp?key=Good" rel="nofollow">good</a> fortune. While we aren 't clear on why the centaur would have been associated with luck, a very common <a href="https://www.forumancientcoins.com/numiswiki/view.asp?key=Reverse" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.forumancientcoins.com/numiswiki/view.asp?key=Reverse" rel="nofollow">reverse</a> <a href="https://www.forumancientcoins.com/numiswiki/view.asp?key=Inscription" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.forumancientcoins.com/numiswiki/view.asp?key=Inscription" rel="nofollow">inscription</a> on other coins of <a href="https://www.forumancientcoins.com/numiswiki/view.asp?key=Gallienus" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.forumancientcoins.com/numiswiki/view.asp?key=Gallienus" rel="nofollow">Gallienus</a> is "Fortuna Redux" - "To the fortunate return" (of the emperor). This attribute of <a href="https://www.forumancientcoins.com/numiswiki/view.asp?key=Fortuna" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.forumancientcoins.com/numiswiki/view.asp?key=Fortuna" rel="nofollow">Fortuna</a> watches over travelers, being quite well suited to <a href="https://www.forumancientcoins.com/numiswiki/view.asp?key=Gallienus" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.forumancientcoins.com/numiswiki/view.asp?key=Gallienus" rel="nofollow">Gallienus</a> since he was almost constantly crisscrossing his empire, fighting revolts and barbaric incursions.</p><p><br /></p><p><img src="https://www.forumancientcoins.com/numiswiki/images/Rudder-Gallienus.jpg" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /> <img src="https://www.forumancientcoins.com/numiswiki/images/Gallien-158-rsm.jpg" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /> <img src="https://www.forumancientcoins.com/numiswiki/images/FortunaGallienus.jpg" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /></p><p style="text-align: left"><img src="https://www.forumancientcoins.com/numiswiki/images/Gallien-146-rsm.jpg" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /></p><p>This particular coin might provide evidence that the rudder and it 's purpose were in the engraver 's mind as he was preparing this die. The wavy lines to the right of the rudder look like waves - though the rudder is in an upside-down position, it <a href="https://www.forumancientcoins.com/numiswiki/view.asp?key=Still" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.forumancientcoins.com/numiswiki/view.asp?key=Still" rel="nofollow">still</a> appears to be shown as if in use, passing through the water.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><a href="https://www.forumancientcoins.com/numiswiki/view.asp?key=centaur" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.forumancientcoins.com/numiswiki/view.asp?key=centaur" rel="nofollow">https://www.forumancientcoins.com/numiswiki/view.asp?key=centaur</a>[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>
[QUOTE="Marsyas Mike, post: 7510556, member: 85693"]You're right about the trophy on OCRE. This puzzled me, so I dug through my records (whenever I attribute something, I save the sources I find to pdf.). I don't remember my thought process, but I found this note in Beast Coins: "Note: RIC describes the centaur holding a trophy, but it appears to me to be a rudder" This site (in French) calls it a rudder: [URL]http://www.fredericweber.com/GALLIEN/emission_du_bestiaire/page3.htm[/URL] Also, a nice little article by Jim Phelps on "The Centaur's Burden" argues convincingly for the rudder rather than the trophy. This is probably why I went with the rudder rather than the trophy. But in the end, I don't think anybody knows for sure: [SIZE=5][B]The Centaur 's Burden[/B][/SIZE] [B]By [URL='https://www.forumancientcoins.com/numiswiki/view.asp?key=Jim%20Phelps']Jim Phelps[/URL][/B] [SIZE=4][B]What is this centaur carrying?[/B][/SIZE] [LEFT][IMG]https://www.forumancientcoins.com/numiswiki/images/Gallien-85-rsm.jpg[/IMG][/LEFT]The "APOLLINI [URL='https://www.forumancientcoins.com/numiswiki/view.asp?key=CONS']CONS[/URL] AVG" coins from [URL='https://www.forumancientcoins.com/numiswiki/view.asp?key=Officina']officina[/URL] "[B]H[/B]" of the [URL='https://www.forumancientcoins.com/numiswiki/view.asp?key=Gallienus%20Zoo']Gallienus Zoo[/URL] series show a centaur on the [URL='https://www.forumancientcoins.com/numiswiki/view.asp?key=Reverse']reverse[/URL], facing left with (usually) one foreleg raised. In his outstretched right hand he holds a globe, and he cradles an object in his left arm. What is this object? Almost every reference catalogue calls this a "trophy", a rather vague term which probably meant that they weren 't quite sure what it was. This is unsurprising - due to the high inflation rate at the time, the mints were pumping out huge quantities of coins. As a result, the coins are often on poor-quality flans, plus the dies (particularly the [URL='https://www.forumancientcoins.com/numiswiki/view.asp?key=Reverse']reverse[/URL]) had a wide range of quality and were often used even after they had become heavily worn.[RIGHT][IMG]https://www.forumancientcoins.com/numiswiki/images/Gallien-86-rsm.jpg[/IMG][/RIGHT] So what IS the object that the centaur is holding? Since a "trophy" makes no sense, we need to look closer at the item. There 's a central line, plus two inwardly-curved lines which either taper down or else flare back out, plus sometimes a line at the lower portion which extends at a right angle from the rest of the piece. The matches nicely with portrayals of a rudder from other coins of this period. Another bit of evidence is the other item the centaur holds - a globe. The globe and the rudder are commonly shown together on coins of [URL='https://www.forumancientcoins.com/numiswiki/view.asp?key=Fortuna']Fortuna[/URL], the Roman personification of luck. [URL='https://www.forumancientcoins.com/numiswiki/view.asp?key=Fortuna']Fortuna[/URL] may have had her origins in [I]Nortia[/I], the Roman goddess of fertility and chance, but by this period the personification seems to have been limited to luck or [URL='https://www.forumancientcoins.com/numiswiki/view.asp?key=Good']good[/URL] fortune. While we aren 't clear on why the centaur would have been associated with luck, a very common [URL='https://www.forumancientcoins.com/numiswiki/view.asp?key=Reverse']reverse[/URL] [URL='https://www.forumancientcoins.com/numiswiki/view.asp?key=Inscription']inscription[/URL] on other coins of [URL='https://www.forumancientcoins.com/numiswiki/view.asp?key=Gallienus']Gallienus[/URL] is "Fortuna Redux" - "To the fortunate return" (of the emperor). This attribute of [URL='https://www.forumancientcoins.com/numiswiki/view.asp?key=Fortuna']Fortuna[/URL] watches over travelers, being quite well suited to [URL='https://www.forumancientcoins.com/numiswiki/view.asp?key=Gallienus']Gallienus[/URL] since he was almost constantly crisscrossing his empire, fighting revolts and barbaric incursions. [IMG]https://www.forumancientcoins.com/numiswiki/images/Rudder-Gallienus.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]https://www.forumancientcoins.com/numiswiki/images/Gallien-158-rsm.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]https://www.forumancientcoins.com/numiswiki/images/FortunaGallienus.jpg[/IMG] [LEFT][IMG]https://www.forumancientcoins.com/numiswiki/images/Gallien-146-rsm.jpg[/IMG][/LEFT]This particular coin might provide evidence that the rudder and it 's purpose were in the engraver 's mind as he was preparing this die. The wavy lines to the right of the rudder look like waves - though the rudder is in an upside-down position, it [URL='https://www.forumancientcoins.com/numiswiki/view.asp?key=Still']still[/URL] appears to be shown as if in use, passing through the water. [URL]https://www.forumancientcoins.com/numiswiki/view.asp?key=centaur[/URL][/QUOTE]
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