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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;DonnaML, post: 7893904, member: 110350&quot;]I wouldn&#039;t call the Gallienus legionary series of emblems (mostly animals) rare, but it&#039;s certainly less common than most coins of the Zoo series. Here&#039;s my one example -- a terrible obverse, but I like the reverse:</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1362494[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>Gallienus (son of Valerian I), Billon Antoninianus, 258 AD [RIC] or 260-261 AD [Sear], Mediolanum [Milan] Mint, Legionary Issue. Obv. Radiate and cuirassed bust right, GALLIENVS AVG / Rev. Bull advancing right, bellowing with head raised and mouth open, LEG VIII AVG [<i>Augusta</i>] VI P [<i>Pia</i>] VI F [<i>Fidelis</i>].&nbsp; RIC V-1 353j [joint reign] (p. 95), RSC IV 522, Sear RCV III 10268, Göbl MIR [<i>Moneta Imperii Romani</i>] Band 36, No. 1009h. 18 mm., 2.49 g.*</p><p><br /></p><p>*A bull was the emblem of Leg. VIII Augusta, based in Strasbourg, France (then Argentoratum in Gaul) -- just as the animals or other figures shown on the reverses of the other coins of the Gallienus legionary series served as the emblems or badges of those legions. See Jones, John Melville, <i>A Dictionary of Ancient Roman Coins</i> (London, Seaby, 1999) at p. 166 [entry for Legio]); RIC V-1 at p. 34. See also the list of the legions and their emblems depicted in the legionary series, at <a href="http://www258.pair.com/denarius/cgi-bin/erfind.pl?sstring=legio+milan" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://www258.pair.com/denarius/cgi-bin/erfind.pl?sstring=legio+milan" rel="nofollow">http://www258.pair.com/denarius/cgi-bin/erfind.pl?sstring=legio+milan</a>. Note that if this theory is correct, then several animals served as the emblem of more than one legion -- e.g., the bull for three legions [VII, VIII, and X].</p><p><br /></p><p>The general consensus is that the P and F stood for <i>Pia Fidelis.</i></p><p><br /></p><p><i>See</i> Jones, John Melville, <i>A Dictionary of Ancient Roman Coins</i> (London, Seaby, 1999) at p. 166 [entry for Legio] (“the correct explanation seems to be that the legions were being commended for the virtues of piety and fidelity”). Note that “P F” can also stand for <i>Pius Felix </i>(see RIC V-1 at p. 32)<i>, </i>but that term is usually associated with the emperor himself, and “faithfulness” seems a more appropriate appellation for the legions than “happiness.”</p><p><br /></p><p>There is also controversy about the meaning of the Roman numeral VI preceding both the P and the F in the reverse legend (as well as concerning he meaning, in various other examples of the legionary series, of the numerals V or VII instead of VI preceding P and F).&nbsp; In RIC V-1 at p. 34, Harold Mattingly cites the work of Sir Charles Oman supporting the theory that the Roman numerals refer to the regnal years of Gallienus’s joint reign with his father in which the coins were issued -- i.e., years V-VII, or 157-159 AD -- despite the fact that “the obverse inscription is usually GALLIENVS AVG, a form of legend which does not generally appear until 260.”&nbsp; According to Mattingly, Oman “conclusively points out that Gallienus would, at no date after 259, have celebrated the piety and loyalty of the Rhine legions [such as Leg. VIII Augusta itself, based at Strasbourg, then Argentoratum], which had assisted the rebel Postumus to overthrow his authority in Gaul and to slay his son” (Saloninus). Jones agrees, stating in his <i>Dictionary</i> at p. 166 that “the numbers indicated the years of the emperor’s reign.”</p><p><br /></p><p>However, the more recent authorities seem to disagree. See Sear RCV III at p. 293, stating that the legionary series of Gallienus “was issued early in his sole reign [<i>i.e</i>., after Valerian I’s capture by the Persians in 260] at Milan, the base of the recently established field army commanded by Aureolus. The units honoured were the Praetorian Cohort and the seventeen legions which had furnished detachments for the field army. The numerals ‘VI’ and ‘VII’ appearing in the reverse legends may refer to the victories achieved by Aureolus over the usurpers Ingenuus and Regalian.”&nbsp; See also <a href="https://www.beastcoins.com/RomanImperial/V-I/Gallienus/Gallienus.htm" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.beastcoins.com/RomanImperial/V-I/Gallienus/Gallienus.htm" rel="nofollow">https://www.beastcoins.com/RomanImperial/V-I/Gallienus/Gallienus.htm</a>&nbsp; (“In 260, following the defeats of the revolts, Gallienus produced Antoniniani at Milan, honoring his different legions.&nbsp; Each legion or cohort is featured through the legionary badge on the reverse, along with the victory number and P F for Pia Fidelis.&nbsp; One coin type was issued for each of the three battles in which the unit participated.&nbsp; Victory V was against the Alemanni, VI was against Ingenuus and VII was against Regalianus.”)&nbsp; Neither Sear nor Beast Coins provides any source for the theory that the three Roman numerals can be tied to specific victories.&nbsp; Nor do they address Oman’s argument that Gallienus would not have honored and praised the Rhine legions after the usurpation of Postumus in the summer of 260.</p><p><br /></p><p>At <a href="https://www.livius.org/articles/legion/legio-viii-augusta/" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.livius.org/articles/legion/legio-viii-augusta/" rel="nofollow">https://www.livius.org/articles/legion/legio-viii-augusta/</a> , in the article on Legion VIII Augusta, named on this coin (as well as in other articles about other legions), the author implicitly rejects both the view that the Roman numerals V, VI, and VII represent regnal years, and the view that they refer to specific victories, asserting instead that legends such as “VI Pia VI Fidelis” simply honor the legion for having been “six [or five, or seven, depending upon the coin] times faithful, six times loyal”:</p><p><br /></p><p>“Between 250 and 260, however, Baden-Württemberg was seized by the Alamanni. This time, the Romans were unable to strike back and they gave up the country between Danube and Rhine. However, VIII Augusta still defended the Rhine frontier. In the conflict between the emperors Gallienus (of Italy) and Postumus (of Gaul), the legion seems to have supported the former, and it received honorific titles like V, VI, VII Pia fidelis (five times, six times, and seven times faithful and loyal). Yet, it seems certain that Postumus controlled Germania Superior, so we are left with a minor problem.” In short, there is no definitive answer to the questions of precisely what the V, VI, or VII on these coins signify, and when the coins were issued.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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