Message:

<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Roman Collector, post: 3202838, member: 75937&quot;]At first I thought this reverse inscription read LAETITIA AVGG (with two Gs) but, unsurprisingly, that reverse inscription only occurs with obverse legends used during Gallienus&#039;s joint reign with Valerian, such as IMP GALLIENVS AVG, IMP C P LIC GALLIENVS AVG and IMP C P LIC GALLIENVS P F AVG. Moreover, were it to read AVGG, the first of the two Gs would be very strangely rendered.</p><p><br /></p><p>No, the letter between the V and the G in AVG is an officina mark, V (upright), but placed very far in the right field to the right of Laetitia&#039;s hand such that it intrudes on the reverse legend.</p><p><br /></p><p>This would have never happened had the reverse legend been engraved before the officina mark was added; the engraver would have placed it above or below Laetitia&#039;s hand because the G in AVG would have been to the right of the goddess&#039;s hand.</p><p><br /></p><p>This demonstrates that the officina mark was added before the rest of the inscription. I think the sequence of engraving the die was as follows: The figure of Laetitia was engraved first, followed by the placement of the officina mark V in the right field, and lastly, the reverse inscription was added.</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]829331[/ATTACH]</p><p>Gallienus, AD 253-268.</p><p>Roman billon antoninianus, 3.20 g, 21.6 mm, 6 h.</p><p>Rome, AD 262-263.</p><p>Obv: GALLIENVS AVG, radiate and cuirassed bust, right.</p><p>Rev: LAETITIA AVG, Laetitia standing left, holding wreath and anchor, V in right field.</p><p>Refs: RIC 226F; Göbl 498q; Cohen/RSC 424; RCV 10250; Hunter 15.</p><p><br /></p><p>Here are a couple of more typical examples (from <a href="http://gallienus.net/" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://gallienus.net/" rel="nofollow">gallienus.net</a> and <a href="http://www258.pair.com/denarius/coinage.htm" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://www258.pair.com/denarius/coinage.htm" rel="nofollow">Gallienus and family</a>, respectively), where the die-engraver better anticipated the need for the reverse inscription:</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]829332[/ATTACH]</p><p>[ATTACH=full]829333[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>Again, I welcome any comments or observations. Please feel free to post anything you feel is relevant![/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