Gallienus - Common coin with an uncommonly nice face

Discussion in 'Ancient Coins' started by Finn235, Oct 16, 2020.

  1. +VGO.DVCKS

    +VGO.DVCKS Well-Known Member

    @Clavdivs, what leaps out at me from this is the rendering of 'A' as 'H,' as in, 'VICTORIH HVG.' I've never seen that on a Roman inscription before, from any time, or in any medium. Do you, or, Thank you, Anyone know of any precedent?
    This is compelling from here because it evokes similar lettering conventions in medieval coins, esp. c. 11th-12th centuries. Specifically for the legends, were the engravers already using punches, as they notoriously did later? ...Hypothetically, that could cover some distance in accounting for the phenomenon.
     
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  3. singig

    singig Well-Known Member

    I have a HBVNDANTIA AVG :)
    gal-33.jpg
     
  4. Clavdivs

    Clavdivs Well-Known Member

    Yes it is interesting, however I have nothing to add to it from my limited experience.
    There is another, lesser offering at the same auction, estimated at a mere 15,000 GBP, in which the engraver uses similar strokes but the angle gives us more of what we would expect. This minted in Siscia, the former in Rome.
    Perhaps someone more experienced has an opinion?


    upload_2020-10-16_21-59-38.png
    https://www.biddr.com/auctions/romanumismatics/browse?a=1300&l=1377409
     
  5. Alegandron

    Alegandron "ΤΩΙ ΚΡΑΤΙΣΤΩΙ..." ΜΕΓΑΣ ΑΛΕΞΑΝΔΡΟΣ, June 323 BCE

    Gallienus

    [​IMG]
    RI Gallienus 253-268 CE Ant Abundantia S-secunda
     
  6. hotwheelsearl

    hotwheelsearl Well-Known Member

    I’ve seen it a lot in later (dominate) period coins
     
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  7. +VGO.DVCKS

    +VGO.DVCKS Well-Known Member

    ...And @hotwheelsearl and @singig, it's sounding as if this could easily be reducible to different, as @Clavdivs notes, regional engraving styles, rather than a major shift in the technology per se. ...Hmmm... some stuff here to chew on, until someone tells us more.
     
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  8. hotwheelsearl

    hotwheelsearl Well-Known Member

    Here’s some “H” looking A‘s:

    cyzicus:
    291B68AD-77F5-4E4E-A67E-9CB8E18656F5.jpeg

    Thessalonica:
    77FC1021-7B51-4AA7-B6E7-C27A83E87FF1.jpeg
    22B8BA17-4E23-41CE-B831-68DE3A3FF631.jpeg

    antioch??
    0C5272C5-5BC6-4916-B098-9D2B6CC1DDC8.jpeg

    heraclea:
    A700B436-1759-4A20-AF3C-6239EFA3DC6F.jpeg

    I do not know whether this is an eastern thing, or a contemporary stylistic thing
     
  9. Orange Julius

    Orange Julius Well-Known Member

    Here's one. The alternating bright silvering and dark bronze make this one a monster to photograph (I had to revert to the seller's photo as mine was so bad).

    Although from Gallienus' sole reign... and not itself a nice coin, it does have a nice depiction of him for the time.

    I've had this coin since 2017 but have yet to figure out if it's one of 3 similar coins minted in Rome, Milan or Siscia... so this one is to me unattributed.

    GallienusPAXAVGUnattributed.jpg
    GallienusCloseUp.jpg
     
    Last edited: Oct 17, 2020
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