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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;gsimonel, post: 2859661, member: 82549&quot;]A couple final thoughts and then I&#039;ll give it a rest:</p><p><br /></p><p>1) There are 4 indistinct letters on the left side of the obverse, which strongly suggests an VRBS ROMA obverse legend, but doesn&#039;t confirm it. It could also be SPES ROMA or VIRT ROMA, to cite just two alternate possibilities.</p><p><br /></p><p>2) The reverse legend, PIETA-S REIP, does not appear on any known official bronze issues of the 4th or 5th centuries. </p><p><br /></p><p>Occam&#039;s Razor certainly suggests that Valentinian&#039;s interpretation is the correct one. Yet I still have a couple of nagging, unanswered questions. Although the reverse legend is unique, its meaning--Duty to the Republic--makes sense. So whoever wrote it knew Latin and, in my opinion, chose those words deliberately.</p><p><br /></p><p>Perhaps the most interesting proposed explanation for this coin that I&#039;ve heard is that it was a donative issued to soldiers to inspire them to valor right before an important battle made by a mint traveling with the troops. The reverse legend would fit this purpose, yet I would expect a more military image if this were the case. Why a woman or goddess nursing her infant? Mars or Virtus would seem more appropriate.</p><p><br /></p><p>So here&#039;s what I&#039;m wondering right now. Could this be an unofficial issue, that is, not intended for circulation, from an official mint? Might this be a local, tiny commemorative made to celebrate the healthy birth of a male child to an empress, possibly from Constantinople or whichever city the Empress was in when she gave birth? Perhaps it&#039;s not really a coin but just a little medal or token?</p><p><br /></p><p>I don&#039;t think I can take this on right now, but maybe when I retire I&#039;ll have the time to match the piece up stylistically with a specific mint. If I can do that, then maybe I can do a little research on which empress gave birth to her first male child while in office and in which city.</p><p><br /></p><p>Any thoughts?[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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