Just a small purchase I recently made. Didn't have a Germanicus or Drusus or anything from Carteia, and it wasn't going to break the bank, so I thought, why not? I have a bit of a soft spot for these Spanish provincials Germanicus and Drusus AE18 (14-37 AD, minted under Tiberius) Obv: GERMANICO ET DRVSO, turreted head of city goddess, bust right Rev: CART CAESARIBVS IIII VIR around rudder, Carteia RPC 123 Does anyone happen to know what the reverse legend means?
I think the suffix on CAESARIBUS indicates possession, as in "of the Caesars" - so perhaps "Carteia of the Ceasars" (?) Doing some reading, I find that Carteia was officially recognized as a Roman colony in 171 BC. Perhaps the IIII in the legend refers to the fourth installment of colony status? But that's a very inexperienced guess.
It's certainly better than anything I could have come up with (most I was able to figure out was CART for Carteia, CAESARIBVS being something Caesar-related, and IIII being 4). Thanks for your input John.
Along with the Visigothic nummus I also received my Germanicus and Drusus. Here it is in hand: It's as wide as a US penny.
Looks great. I'll add my Colonia Patricia Semis to this thread (even though I posted it yesterday), since it comes from the same neighborhood. Who knows, somebody could have had both of these coins in their pocket at one time in the distant past...
Jango => "turreted head of city goddess" (very cool) ... ... plus, the coin has great eye-appeal (nice colours)
Caesaribus translates into Caesars IIII translates into four Known: Carteia was a Colony Guesses: Reinstallment of Colonia Status. I would translate this into: Caesars Colony of Carteia, fourth installment of Colony (Colonia) Status Just my opinion, but This would make sense!
