Buon giorno amici! And, no--- I'm not Italian. But I have a Roman emperor coin that shows a "Z" above the exergue between Carinus and Jupiter. Are these officinas? What do they mean? (I picked it up at the FUN show from a dealer I've dealt with before, so I'm sure it's genuine; it's just that I don't understand the different symbols. Oh, and plus: how can it be determined where the mint was (in this case Antioch); I don't see anything that would indicate the town, city, region, etc. of the mint. Anyway, thanks for looking people. I hope everyone is doing well and wish for a joyful and prosperous 2023! Oh, it seems that most of the reverses of this type that have the 3 G's at the side are of Carus; the ones that I've mostly seen of Carinus have only 2 G's; I did find one listed by the Civitas website, yet it sports a Delta symbol above the exergue. Again, all the best to everyone... Marchal p.s. should I make the pictures in thumbnails when posting or the full image?
Nice one. Carinus (283 - 285 A.D.) Æ(S) Antoninianus O: IMP CARINVS P F AVG, radiate, draped, cuirassed bust right. R: AETERNIT AVGG, Aeternitas standing left, holding phoenix on globe, lifting hem of robe with left hand. KAΓ in ex. Rome Mint. 284 - 285 A.D. 22 mm 3.8 g RIC 248 Reverse engraver's error, missing "I", " AETERN(I)T" Carinus (283-284 A.D.) EGYPT, Alexandria Tetradrachm Obv.: AKMAKA PINOCCEB; Laureate, cuirassed bust right. Rev: Elpis standing left, holding flower and clutching hem of robe; across fields L-B year 2, CE 283/4, Augustus 18 mm, 6.2 gm Ref: Emmett 4007.2, R1
I think it is because of the Z : 7th officina. In the late 3rd c. only Antioch had so many officinas numbered in Greek.
Thanks so much people--- I learn more all the time! Gino--- do you reckon the the mint was a rather large part of the economy back then? I was reading something that suggested the population was about 200,000 back then. At any rate, I suspect the mint was a real "money-maker"... HA HA HA!!!!! I'm sorry, I'll never do that again. Well, I hope not... Seriously though, I imagine the people doing the work made it run like a well-oiled machine so to speak; with repetition comes ideas for improvement. Anyway, I'll continue then to send full-size pix for everyone's ease. And for everyone's benefit I'll keep my stupid jokes to myself! Thanks for all the help fellas, Marchal
Yes it was. After all, Antioch has been the capital of the Near-East (capital of the Seleucid Kingdom, after this of the Roman Province of Syria) for a very long period. From the 1st to the 4th c. Antioch was the rear base of the Roman troops at war against the Parthians and later the Sassanid Persians. From Nero in the 1st to Trajan Decius in the mid-3rd c. (with an exception under Caracalla and Macrinus) its mint was the only one in the region that issued silver coins (tetradrachms) in massive quantities and on a regular basis to pay troops in Orient - and it was not a small army. Under Aurelian and Vabalathus (c. 270-272) this Antioch mint was divided in 8 officinas, numbered Α, Β, Γ, Δ, Є, S, Ζ and Η as we can see on antoniniani with a Vabalathus and an Aurelian bust. In the 4th c. this mint provided coins to the whole Middle east. In Hegra (Saudi Arabia, near al-Ula) the Roman coins of the 1st to the 4th c. AD that were found in the archaeological digs and surveys (and could be attributed) are mostly from the Antioch mint : 40 to 50% of the 1st to mid 3rd c. coins, 70% of the Late Roman coins (antoniniani, LRB). The mint of Antioch has a very long history of more than 1500 years from Antiochus I (BC 281-261) to Bohemond V (AD 1233-1251): Hellenistic, Early and Late Roman, Byzantine, Umayyad, Seljukid and Crusader. After Baybars took the city in 1268, Antioch (in Arabic Antakiyya) declined quickly while neighbouring Aleppo was becoming the regional trade centre, and was only a small town in the 19th c. I don't know if there were any coins minted there under the Mamluk and the Ottomans. One of the last coins minted in Antioch: Bohemond III (1149-1201) prince of Antioch. Billon denier, Antioch Obv.: + BOAMVNDVS, bust left wearing hauberk and cross-marked nasal helmet, between crescent and star Rev.: + ANTIOCHIA, large cross with crescent in 2nd quarter
