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<p>[QUOTE="DonnaML, post: 7371910, member: 110350"]Some bulls, a couple of oxen, and a heifer (the animal portrayed on the A. Postumius A.f. Sp.n. Albinus denarius shown in the OP -- not actually an ox).</p><p><br /></p><p>Bull</p><p><br /></p><p>Roman Republic, L. Thorius Balbus, AR Denarius, 105 BCE. Obv. Head of Juno Sospita R., “ISMR” [<i>Iunonis Sospitae Magnae Reginae</i>]* / Rev. Bull Charging Right, A above, “L. THORIUS BALBUS.” RSC I Thoria 1, Crawford 316/1, Sear RCV I 192, BMCRR Rome 1615. 20.11 mm., 3.85 g. <i>David R. Sear Certificate of Authenticity, 11/16/2012, No. 690CY/RR/CO/C. </i>SB Binder 2 RRC 316/1 [pp. 50-51 for control mark “A”]</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1284299[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>* [USER=103869]@Scipio[/USER] gives a different meaning. But all the sources I look at seem to give my meaning. See, e.g., <a href="https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0104%3Aalphabetic+letter%3DB%3Aentry+group%3D2%3Aentry%3Dbalbus-bio-11" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0104%3Aalphabetic+letter%3DB%3Aentry+group%3D2%3Aentry%3Dbalbus-bio-11" rel="nofollow">https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.04.0104:alphabetic+letter=B:entry+group=2:entry=balbus-bio-11</a> (William Smith. <i>A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mytholog</i>y, entry for Balbus: "The annexed coin of L. Thorius Balbus contains on the obverse the head of Juno Sospita, whose worship was of great antiquity at Lanuvium, with the letters I. S. M. R. (that is, <i>Junonis Sospitae magnae reginae</i>)." See also the dictionary of Latin inscriptions at <a href="https://www.trismegistos.org/abb/abbreflist.php?combin_id=66298" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.trismegistos.org/abb/abbreflist.php?combin_id=66298" rel="nofollow">https://www.trismegistos.org/abb/abbreflist.php?combin_id=66298</a> (same meaning given).</p><p><br /></p><p>A pair of oxen:</p><p><br /></p><p>Roman Republic, C. [Gaius] Marius C.f. Capito, AR Serrate Denarius 81 BCE [Harlan: 81/80 BCE], Rome Mint. Obv. Draped bust of Ceres right, wearing earring, head bound with corn wreath, hair falling down neck; CAPIT• upwards behind, with legend followed by control number CI; control symbol (knife [Crawford, Table XXXIII at p. 395 ] or distaff [BMCRR p. 355]) to right of chin* / Rev. Husbandman/plowman left holding goad in right hand and plow in left, with yoke of two oxen plowing left with heads turned to face forward; horizontal test cut and control-number CI above; C•MARI•C•F / S•C [<i>Senatus consulto</i>] on two lines in exergue. Crawford 378/1c; RSC I Maria 9; Sear RCV I 300 (ill.); Sydenham 744b; BMCRR Vol. I 2855-2890 [<i>Control-number CI is no. 2873</i>]; Harlan, Michael, <i>Roman Republican Moneyers and their Coins</i>, 81 BCE-64 BCE (2012) [“RRM I”], Ch. 2 at pp. 8-13. 19 mm., 3.97 g., 10 hr. <i>Purchased Feb. 21, 2021 from Nomos AG, Obolos Auction 18, Lot 468.</i>**</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1284303[/ATTACH] </p><p><br /></p><p>*Crawford’s three sub-types of this issue (378/1a-1c) differ in the existence and placement of the control-symbols found on some of the coins in addition to the control-numerals found on all of them (with the obverse and reverse of a coin always bearing the same numeral except in the case of hybrids, which are almost uniformly fourrees). All three sub-types are numbered continuously: 1a bears the control-numerals from I to XXIII (with no control-symbols); 1b the numerals from XXVI to XXXII (with control-symbols in the exergue on the reverse) [examples of XXIV and XXV are not known]; and 1c the numerals from XXXIII to CLI (with control-symbols on the obverse beneath & to the right of Ceres’s chin). (See Crawford Vol. I p. 392; see also Table XXXIII, listing the known control-symbols at pp. 392-395.) Examples with 125 of the 151 conrol-numerals were known to Crawford, on 125 different obverse and reverse dies. Thus, no pair of control-numerals, or combination of control-numeral and control-symbol, has more than on pair of dies, and the seven other examples of Crawford 378/1c with the control-numeral CI found on acsearch are all double-die matches to my example. Since Crawford was published in 1974, at least one coin with a previously unknown control-numeral (LXXXII) has been found, in the Mesagne hoard, bearing a tripod as its control-symbol.</p><p><br /></p><p>** Regarding the general symbolism of a husbandman plowing with oxen, as depicted on the reverse of this coin, see Jones, John Melville, <i>A Dictionary of Ancient Roman Coins</i> (Seaby 1990) at pp. 121-122 (entry for “Founder”), explaining that the Romans “inherited a custom from the Etruscans of defining the boundaries of a new city by marking them with a plough,” so that certain coins showing plowing can be interpreted as a reference to the founding of colonies.</p><p><br /></p><p>Regarding this coin-type in particular, Grueber states at p. 353 n. 2 of BMCRR Vol. I that “[t]he type of the head of Ceres [the goddess of agriculture] and the husbandman refers to the foundation of a colony” by Sulla’s veterans. Crawford disagrees, stating at Vol. I p. 392 that “I do not believe that there is any reference to Sulla’s colonies” on these coins, and that the obverse and reverse images simply complement each other. Harlan (see RRM I Ch. 2 at pp. 10-12) disagrees with Crawford and prefers Grueber’s interpretation, stating at p. 12 that this type “not only depicts the expectations of the veterans who were to receive land, but also expounds the benefits to be found in the return to peace, masking in bucolic tranquility the terrible exactions that procured the soldiers’ rewards. Besides the land given to the veterans in those new colonies established among the Italians, Sulla also had to pay his troops their back wages and maintain them until they were discharged. This special S•C issue may well represent some of that money distributed to the soldiers and the design on the coin also may be heralding the expected grants of land.” See also Sear RCV I at p. 128 regarding the S•C in the exergue on the reverse of Crawford 378/1c: “It would seem that during his term of office this moneyer was authorized by the Senate to effect a substantial increase in the originally-produced volume of his coinage.” (The first series of this type [Crawford 378/1a] does not bear the S•C, the only case in the Roman Republican coinage of the S•C being added to a type in the course of production during a given year.)</p><p><br /></p><p>A heifer:</p><p><br /></p><p>Roman Republic, A. Postumius A.f. Sp.n. Albinus (Aulus Postumius Albinus, son of Aulus [mint magistrate ca. 96 BCE], and grandson of Spurius [Consul 110 BCE]), AR Serrate Denarius, 81 BCE. Obv. Draped bust of Diana right, with bow and quiver over shoulder, bucranium above [<i>off flan</i>] / Rev. Roman priest standing facing on rocky ground (on Aventine Hill), head left, with right arm extended holding aspergillum, sprinkling heifer [<i>Harlan, RRM I</i>*] which he is about to sacrifice, a lighted altar between them, A POST - AF - SN • ALBIN [<i>AL in monogram</i>] around. RSC I Postumia 7, Crawford 372/1, Sydenham 745, Sear RCV I 296 (ill.), Harlan, RRM I Ch. 1 at pp. 1-7, BMCRR 2836. 18.54 mm., 3.85 g. <i>Ex. Spink & Sons Ltd. </i>(<i>before 2000 because of address on Spink coin tag; probably before 1974 given citation to Sydenham but not Crawford.</i>) </p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1284304[/ATTACH] </p><p><br /></p><p> * See Michael Harlan, <i>Roman Republican Moneyers and their Coins</i>, 81 BCE-64 BCE (2012) (“RRM I”) (using this coin-type as the cover illustration for his book). At pp. 3-4, Harlan argues that in the legend which, as Crawford acknowledges, is the basis for the reverse of this coin -- namely, the sacrifice to Diana on the Aventine Hill founding her temple there ca. 500 BCE, establishing Rome as the <i>caput rerum</i> for all of Italy [and symbolizing the victory of Sulla over the rebel Italians in 82 BCE] -- <b>the sacrificed animal was a heifer with wondrous horns, not a bull or an ox.</b> <b>(Citing Livy, <i>The History of Rome</i>, Book 1, ch. 45 [available at <a href="http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.02.0145%3Abook%3D1%3Achapter%3D45" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.02.0145%3Abook%3D1%3Achapter%3D45" rel="nofollow">http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.02.0145:book=1:chapter=45</a>].) </b></p><p><br /></p><p>Another bull:</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>]. 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>[ATTACH=full]1284308[/ATTACH] </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). 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.” 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.” 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> (“In 260, following the defeats of the revolts, Gallienus produced Antoniniani at Milan, honoring his different legions. Each legion or cohort is featured through the legionary badge on the reverse, along with the victory number and P F for Pia Fidelis. One coin type was issued for each of the three battles in which the unit participated. Victory V was against the Alemanni, VI was against Ingenuus and VII was against Regalianus.”) Neither Sear nor Beast Coins provides any source for the theory that the three Roman numerals can be tied to specific victories. 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.</p><p><br /></p><p>Again another bull, this one in bronze:</p><p><br /></p><p>Julian II, AE Double Maiorina, 361-363 AD, Sirmium [Sremska Mitrovica, Serbia] Mint, 2nd Officina. Obv. Pearl-diademed, draped, and cuirassed bust right, FL CL IVLI-ANVS PF AVG / Bull standing right, two stars above, SECVRITAS REIPVB; in exergue: mintmark star-BSIRM-palm branch. RIC VIII Sirmium 107B (p. 392), Sear RCV V 19152 (ill.), Cohen 38. 28 mm., 8.48 g.</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1284309[/ATTACH] </p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>Finally, another bronze bull, this one a bit more three-dimensional: an ancient Egyptian bronze Apis bull, purchased from Hixenbaugh Ancient Art in March 2021.</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1284321[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>Photos after treatment for bronze disease:</p><p><br /></p><p><img src="https://www.cointalk.com/attachments/apis-bull-new-3-jpeg.1270995/" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /></p><p><br /></p><p><img src="https://www.cointalk.com/attachments/new-apis-bull-27-jpeg.1270991/" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /></p><p><br /></p><p><img src="https://www.cointalk.com/attachments/new-apis-bull-25-jpeg.1270992/" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" />[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>
[QUOTE="DonnaML, post: 7371910, member: 110350"]Some bulls, a couple of oxen, and a heifer (the animal portrayed on the A. Postumius A.f. Sp.n. Albinus denarius shown in the OP -- not actually an ox). Bull Roman Republic, L. Thorius Balbus, AR Denarius, 105 BCE. Obv. Head of Juno Sospita R., “ISMR” [[I]Iunonis Sospitae Magnae Reginae[/I]]* / Rev. Bull Charging Right, A above, “L. THORIUS BALBUS.” RSC I Thoria 1, Crawford 316/1, Sear RCV I 192, BMCRR Rome 1615. 20.11 mm., 3.85 g. [I]David R. Sear Certificate of Authenticity, 11/16/2012, No. 690CY/RR/CO/C. [/I]SB Binder 2 RRC 316/1 [pp. 50-51 for control mark “A”] [ATTACH=full]1284299[/ATTACH] * [USER=103869]@Scipio[/USER] gives a different meaning. But all the sources I look at seem to give my meaning. See, e.g., [URL]https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0104%3Aalphabetic+letter%3DB%3Aentry+group%3D2%3Aentry%3Dbalbus-bio-11[/URL] (William Smith. [I]A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mytholog[/I]y, entry for Balbus: "The annexed coin of L. Thorius Balbus contains on the obverse the head of Juno Sospita, whose worship was of great antiquity at Lanuvium, with the letters I. S. M. R. (that is, [I]Junonis Sospitae magnae reginae[/I])." See also the dictionary of Latin inscriptions at [URL]https://www.trismegistos.org/abb/abbreflist.php?combin_id=66298[/URL] (same meaning given). A pair of oxen: Roman Republic, C. [Gaius] Marius C.f. Capito, AR Serrate Denarius 81 BCE [Harlan: 81/80 BCE], Rome Mint. Obv. Draped bust of Ceres right, wearing earring, head bound with corn wreath, hair falling down neck; CAPIT• upwards behind, with legend followed by control number CI; control symbol (knife [Crawford, Table XXXIII at p. 395 ] or distaff [BMCRR p. 355]) to right of chin* / Rev. Husbandman/plowman left holding goad in right hand and plow in left, with yoke of two oxen plowing left with heads turned to face forward; horizontal test cut and control-number CI above; C•MARI•C•F / S•C [[I]Senatus consulto[/I]] on two lines in exergue. Crawford 378/1c; RSC I Maria 9; Sear RCV I 300 (ill.); Sydenham 744b; BMCRR Vol. I 2855-2890 [[I]Control-number CI is no. 2873[/I]]; Harlan, Michael, [I]Roman Republican Moneyers and their Coins[/I], 81 BCE-64 BCE (2012) [“RRM I”], Ch. 2 at pp. 8-13. 19 mm., 3.97 g., 10 hr. [I]Purchased Feb. 21, 2021 from Nomos AG, Obolos Auction 18, Lot 468.[/I]** [ATTACH=full]1284303[/ATTACH] *Crawford’s three sub-types of this issue (378/1a-1c) differ in the existence and placement of the control-symbols found on some of the coins in addition to the control-numerals found on all of them (with the obverse and reverse of a coin always bearing the same numeral except in the case of hybrids, which are almost uniformly fourrees). All three sub-types are numbered continuously: 1a bears the control-numerals from I to XXIII (with no control-symbols); 1b the numerals from XXVI to XXXII (with control-symbols in the exergue on the reverse) [examples of XXIV and XXV are not known]; and 1c the numerals from XXXIII to CLI (with control-symbols on the obverse beneath & to the right of Ceres’s chin). (See Crawford Vol. I p. 392; see also Table XXXIII, listing the known control-symbols at pp. 392-395.) Examples with 125 of the 151 conrol-numerals were known to Crawford, on 125 different obverse and reverse dies. Thus, no pair of control-numerals, or combination of control-numeral and control-symbol, has more than on pair of dies, and the seven other examples of Crawford 378/1c with the control-numeral CI found on acsearch are all double-die matches to my example. Since Crawford was published in 1974, at least one coin with a previously unknown control-numeral (LXXXII) has been found, in the Mesagne hoard, bearing a tripod as its control-symbol. ** Regarding the general symbolism of a husbandman plowing with oxen, as depicted on the reverse of this coin, see Jones, John Melville, [I]A Dictionary of Ancient Roman Coins[/I] (Seaby 1990) at pp. 121-122 (entry for “Founder”), explaining that the Romans “inherited a custom from the Etruscans of defining the boundaries of a new city by marking them with a plough,” so that certain coins showing plowing can be interpreted as a reference to the founding of colonies. Regarding this coin-type in particular, Grueber states at p. 353 n. 2 of BMCRR Vol. I that “[t]he type of the head of Ceres [the goddess of agriculture] and the husbandman refers to the foundation of a colony” by Sulla’s veterans. Crawford disagrees, stating at Vol. I p. 392 that “I do not believe that there is any reference to Sulla’s colonies” on these coins, and that the obverse and reverse images simply complement each other. Harlan (see RRM I Ch. 2 at pp. 10-12) disagrees with Crawford and prefers Grueber’s interpretation, stating at p. 12 that this type “not only depicts the expectations of the veterans who were to receive land, but also expounds the benefits to be found in the return to peace, masking in bucolic tranquility the terrible exactions that procured the soldiers’ rewards. Besides the land given to the veterans in those new colonies established among the Italians, Sulla also had to pay his troops their back wages and maintain them until they were discharged. This special S•C issue may well represent some of that money distributed to the soldiers and the design on the coin also may be heralding the expected grants of land.” See also Sear RCV I at p. 128 regarding the S•C in the exergue on the reverse of Crawford 378/1c: “It would seem that during his term of office this moneyer was authorized by the Senate to effect a substantial increase in the originally-produced volume of his coinage.” (The first series of this type [Crawford 378/1a] does not bear the S•C, the only case in the Roman Republican coinage of the S•C being added to a type in the course of production during a given year.) A heifer: Roman Republic, A. Postumius A.f. Sp.n. Albinus (Aulus Postumius Albinus, son of Aulus [mint magistrate ca. 96 BCE], and grandson of Spurius [Consul 110 BCE]), AR Serrate Denarius, 81 BCE. Obv. Draped bust of Diana right, with bow and quiver over shoulder, bucranium above [[I]off flan[/I]] / Rev. Roman priest standing facing on rocky ground (on Aventine Hill), head left, with right arm extended holding aspergillum, sprinkling heifer [[I]Harlan, RRM I[/I]*] which he is about to sacrifice, a lighted altar between them, A POST - AF - SN • ALBIN [[I]AL in monogram[/I]] around. RSC I Postumia 7, Crawford 372/1, Sydenham 745, Sear RCV I 296 (ill.), Harlan, RRM I Ch. 1 at pp. 1-7, BMCRR 2836. 18.54 mm., 3.85 g. [I]Ex. Spink & Sons Ltd. [/I]([I]before 2000 because of address on Spink coin tag; probably before 1974 given citation to Sydenham but not Crawford.[/I]) [ATTACH=full]1284304[/ATTACH] * See Michael Harlan, [I]Roman Republican Moneyers and their Coins[/I], 81 BCE-64 BCE (2012) (“RRM I”) (using this coin-type as the cover illustration for his book). At pp. 3-4, Harlan argues that in the legend which, as Crawford acknowledges, is the basis for the reverse of this coin -- namely, the sacrifice to Diana on the Aventine Hill founding her temple there ca. 500 BCE, establishing Rome as the [I]caput rerum[/I] for all of Italy [and symbolizing the victory of Sulla over the rebel Italians in 82 BCE] -- [B]the sacrificed animal was a heifer with wondrous horns, not a bull or an ox.[/B] [B](Citing Livy, [I]The History of Rome[/I], Book 1, ch. 45 [available at [URL]http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.02.0145%3Abook%3D1%3Achapter%3D45[/URL]].) [/B] Another bull: 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]]. 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.* [ATTACH=full]1284308[/ATTACH] *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 [URL]http://www258.pair.com/denarius/cgi-bin/erfind.pl?sstring=legio+milan[/URL]. 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]. The general consensus is that the P and F stood for [I]Pia Fidelis.[/I] [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.” 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). 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.” 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.” 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.” See also [URL]https://www.beastcoins.com/RomanImperial/V-I/Gallienus/Gallienus.htm[/URL] (“In 260, following the defeats of the revolts, Gallienus produced Antoniniani at Milan, honoring his different legions. Each legion or cohort is featured through the legionary badge on the reverse, along with the victory number and P F for Pia Fidelis. One coin type was issued for each of the three battles in which the unit participated. Victory V was against the Alemanni, VI was against Ingenuus and VII was against Regalianus.”) Neither Sear nor Beast Coins provides any source for the theory that the three Roman numerals can be tied to specific victories. 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. At [URL]https://www.livius.org/articles/legion/legio-viii-augusta/[/URL] , 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”: “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. Again another bull, this one in bronze: Julian II, AE Double Maiorina, 361-363 AD, Sirmium [Sremska Mitrovica, Serbia] Mint, 2nd Officina. Obv. Pearl-diademed, draped, and cuirassed bust right, FL CL IVLI-ANVS PF AVG / Bull standing right, two stars above, SECVRITAS REIPVB; in exergue: mintmark star-BSIRM-palm branch. RIC VIII Sirmium 107B (p. 392), Sear RCV V 19152 (ill.), Cohen 38. 28 mm., 8.48 g. [ATTACH=full]1284309[/ATTACH] Finally, another bronze bull, this one a bit more three-dimensional: an ancient Egyptian bronze Apis bull, purchased from Hixenbaugh Ancient Art in March 2021. [ATTACH=full]1284321[/ATTACH] Photos after treatment for bronze disease: [IMG]https://www.cointalk.com/attachments/apis-bull-new-3-jpeg.1270995/[/IMG] [IMG]https://www.cointalk.com/attachments/new-apis-bull-27-jpeg.1270991/[/IMG] [IMG]https://www.cointalk.com/attachments/new-apis-bull-25-jpeg.1270992/[/IMG][/QUOTE]
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