Message:

<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Tejas, post: 8204294, member: 84905&quot;]Thanks a lot!</p><p><br /></p><p>I found another example on acsearch, sold by Harlan J. Berk. Its condition is worse than mine, but it sold for USD 500 (some 10 times what I paid)!</p><p><br /></p><p><a href="https://www.acsearch.info/search.html?id=8554414" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.acsearch.info/search.html?id=8554414" rel="nofollow">https://www.acsearch.info/search.html?id=8554414</a></p><p><br /></p><p>The Harlan J. Berk cataloger wrote:</p><p><br /></p><p>&quot;<i>Though this interesting type was valued at only 4 francs by Cohen, was called &quot;common&quot; by RIC, and was priced very moderately by Sear-12673, it actually seems to be quite rare, since CoinArchives and the Berk photofile contain not a single specimen. Apart from ours, the only actual specimen we came across was in the Mazzini Collection, pl. LXXIII, 289. However according to Pink\&#039;s Gerin Catalogue of 1921, p. 212, n?. 41, the Gerin Collection contained specimens from three different officinae, not only officina G like ours but also officinae B and ?....</i>&quot;</p><p><br /></p><p>I don&#039;t think it is quite as rare as this entry suggest (3 pieces on Wildwinds), but it is certaintly scarce and mine is in the best condition of the four coins.</p><p><br /></p><p><u>The legend</u></p><p>The FVLGERATORI-legend is by far the rarest of the IOVI legends on Diocletian&#039;s coins. The most common being:</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p><b>IOVI CONSERVATORI</b> = Jupiter the preserver,&nbsp; and</p><p><b>IOVI TVTATORI </b>= Jupiter the guardian.</p><p><br /></p><p>The legend &quot;<b>IOVI FVLGERATORI</b>&quot; = &quot;Jupiter the hurler of thunderbolds&quot;, does seem to be a bit of a departure from this theme. I think it was only used by Diocletian to mark his special connection to Jupiter and his cult. Besides the Antoniniani, the legend was also used on Aurei.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>I think the legend is a reference to the earliest Jupiter cult, which stressed the amospheric quality of Jupiter as <b>Jupiter Tonans</b> (Jupiter the thunderer). The depiction of IOVI FVLGERATORI on Diocletian&#039;s aurei includes a person surrounded by snakes as target of Jupiter&#039;s thunderbold. I suppose this person symbolizes evil, making Jupiter the vanquisher of evil.</p><p><br /></p><p><a href="https://www.acsearch.info/search.html?id=6896845" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.acsearch.info/search.html?id=6896845" rel="nofollow">https://www.acsearch.info/search.html?id=6896845</a></p><p><br /></p><p><u>The mint</u></p><p>It looks like the type was only minted at Rome, perhaps in conjunction with festivities at the most important of all Jupiter temples on the Capitoline Hill.</p><p><br /></p><p>Harlan J. Berk&#039;s example has the mintmark gamma (3rd officina). The Wildwind exemplars have A, B and gamma. I&#039;m not entirely sure with the reading of the officina on my coin. It could be A or delta, I&#039;m leaing towards delta now, after closer inspection.</p><p><br /></p><p><u>The date</u></p><p>The Harlan Berk coin was dated to 289. One of the Wildwind exemplar&#039;s was dated to 290. The aureus is dated to 287. So I suppose anywhere between 287 and 290 is possible. The dating is important. I first thought, that the Fulgeratori-series may by linked to the Jupiter temple at Diocletian&#039;s resedence in Split. But this temple was only built between 295 and 305.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

Your name or email address:

Do you already have an account?

• No, create an account now.
• Yes, my password is:
• Forgot your password?

Stay logged in