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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Bart9349, post: 1259875, member: 5682&quot;]While doing research for a non-numismatic site about Carausius, the unsuccessful usurper who declared himself emperor in Britain and Northern Gaul in AD 286, I came across an interesting bit of numismatic trivia.</p><p><br /></p><p><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carausius" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carausius" rel="nofollow">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carausius</a></p><p><br /></p><p>Many of Crausius&#039;s coins have RSR in the exergue.</p><p>There were many ideas about the significance of RSR. </p><p><br /></p><p>These were thought initially to represent the mintmark Rutupiae (the modern town of Richborough). Another thought was that the letters RSR represented Rationalis Summae Rei (or financial minister).</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH]136225.vB[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>Here&#039;s an <u>incorrect</u> description of the significance of RSR in the exergue on the above coin from an auction in 2002:</p><p><br /></p><p><a href="http://www.acsearch.info/record.html?id=1265" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://www.acsearch.info/record.html?id=1265" rel="nofollow">http://www.acsearch.info/record.html?id=1265</a></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>&nbsp;The significance of the letter &quot;RSR&quot; wasn&#039;t clear until 1998.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>This time, however, I&#039;m pretty sure Wikipedia got it right:</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>I found that interesting.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>guy</p><p><br /></p><p>Addendum:</p><p><br /></p><p>Additional information:</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH]136238.vB[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH]136239.vB[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH]136241.vB[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>Above: Unique bronze medallion of Carausius, datable to circa AD 289</p><p>commemorating a victory, presumably the one over Maximian&#039;s fleet</p><p>Reverse: <b>VICTORIA CARAVSI AVG with I.N.P.C.D.A</b> in exergue</p><p>This medallion is now in the British Museum</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><a href="http://www.kenelks.co.uk/coins/carausius/carausius.htm" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://www.kenelks.co.uk/coins/carausius/carausius.htm" rel="nofollow">http://www.kenelks.co.uk/coins/carausius/carausius.htm</a></p><p><br /></p><p>Explanation of the RSR mark is not obvious and various suggestions have been made, including Rationalis Summae Rei (Aurelius Victor refers to Allectus as &quot;cum eius permissu summi rei&quot; ) or Rationalis Summarum Rationum (the title of an officer in charge of the mint). However, by far the most plausible (and now widely accepted) is that recently advanced by Guy de la Bedoyere who believes that it is a quote from Virgil&#039;s Fourth Eclogue, &quot;Redeunt Saturna Regna&quot; (&quot;The Saturnian Age returns&quot; - in other words a new Golden Age). If this seems far-fetched, he also points out that the letters in the exergue of the medal of Carausius shown above, I.N.P.C.D.A. are the initial letters of the very next line, &quot;Iam Nova Progenies Caelo Demittitur Alto&quot; (&quot;Now a new generation is let down from heaven above&quot;). Such sentiments would be totally in keeping with the aims of Carausius expressed elsewhere on the coins, for example ROMANO RENOV(at) (&quot;Rome Renewed&quot;).[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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