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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Curtis, post: 24771323, member: 26430&quot;]Some new captives &amp; related coin types. If there are any corrections or anything I should know, please don’t hesitate!</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH]1584757[/ATTACH][ATTACH]1584756[/ATTACH] [ATTACH]1584753[/ATTACH] [ATTACH]1584754[/ATTACH][ATTACH]1584752[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>I&#039;m up to around 50 reigns with at least one captives/barbarians/enemies type (incl. Moneyers &amp; Imperators). It would be impossible to ever get one of every type, but my ultimate goal is at least one type from as many reigns as possible (Zeno is the last), and as many major types as possible.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><b>Antoninus Pius Britannia. </b>(Ex&nbsp; “Mentor Collection” [George Müller, Spink’s dir. of ancients, 1953-1982])</p><p>[ATTACH=full]1584757[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><blockquote><p><font size="4"><b>Antoninus Pius</b> Æ As (25mm, 9.83 g), Rome (?), 154/5 CE.</font></p><p><font size="4"><b>Obv</b>: ANTONINVS AVG PIVS P M TR P XVIII. Laureate head r. </font></p><p><font size="4"><b>Rev</b>: BRITANNIA COS III / S C. Britannia seated l. in attitude of mourning on rock, surrounded by round shield and vexillum.</font></p><p><font size="4"><b>Ref</b>: RIC 934; C 117. </font></p><p><font size="4"><b>Prov</b>: Ex Naville Numismatics, “Mentor Collection” (estate of George Müller [Spink’s director of ancient coins, 1953-1982], most apparently acq. 1940s-1970s).</font></p></blockquote><p><br /></p><p>Strictly speaking, this Britannia isn’t a proper “captive,” but in the same tradition. She’s shown as a personification seated in a mourning pose, much like Caesar’s Gallia, Vespasian’s Judaea, and Domitian’s Germania.</p><p><br /></p><p>Antoninus Pius’ first Britannia coinage (c. 143/4 CE) was struck shortly after Urbicus had repressed a rebellion in the North and construction had begun on the Antonine Wall (some miles north of Hadrian’s Wall). The present coin is from a second series a decade later, shortly after construction was completed on the Antonine Wall, during a period of renewed unrest. (A few years later, the Romans would retreat to Hadrian’s Wall.)</p><p><br /></p><p>These types are found almost exclusively in Britain. There is a long-running debate about whether they were struck in Britannia (no mint is known), perhaps from Roman dies, or struck in Rome for British circulation. (The latter sounds more convincing to me.)</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><b>Vetranio</b>. Scarce type w/ distinctive legend &amp; design. Ex A. Lang.</p><p>[ATTACH=full]1584756[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><blockquote><p><font size="4"><b>Vetranio</b>. Æ Follis (17mm, 2.43 g, 5h), Siscia, 350 CE.</font></p><p><font size="4"><b>Obv</b>: DN VETRANIO P F AVG. Laureate, draped and cuirassed bust right.</font></p><p><font size="4"><b>Rev</b>: VIRTVS AVGVSTORVM / ЄSIS. Vetranio advancing right, holding spear and globe, trampling on captive. </font></p><p><font size="4"><b>Ref</b>: RIC VIII 296; LRBC 1182. </font></p><p><font size="4"><b>Prov</b>: Adrian Lang Collection (<a href="https://www.acsearch.info/search.html?id=9739320" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.acsearch.info/search.html?id=9739320" rel="nofollow">Leu WA 21 [19 Jul 2022], 5513</a>), since cleaned; Ex DFA Collection (<a href="https://www.cngcoins.com/Lot.aspx?LOT_ID=108376" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.cngcoins.com/Lot.aspx?LOT_ID=108376" rel="nofollow">Electronic Auction 548, Lot 641</a>).</font></p></blockquote><p><br /></p><blockquote><p><i><b>Lost &amp; found provenance:</b></i> CNG failed to mention it was also Ex Collection of Dipl.-Ing. Adrian Lang, since cleaned (where it sold for &gt; 2.5X more than last week&#039;s e-auction!).</p></blockquote><p><br /></p><p>Vetranio’s reign is a brief but fascinating one, albeit muddled by conflicting contemporary accounts. A few things are sure: He was Emperor for only nine months, March to December 350, reigning over the Danubian Provinces. The much-hated Constans had just died and Constantius II was embroiled in war in Persia. Magnentius had taken the opportunity to usurp control of the Western Empire.</p><p><br /></p><p>Somehow Vetranio ended up as Emperor over several Provinces (Illyricum, Macedon, and Dacia, I believe). One version is that he was acting in support of Constantius II all along, and only temporarily took the purple to protect his region from Magnentius (though Magnentius hoped to gain formal acknowledgement as co-ruler). Vetranio&#039;s wife Constantia (sister of Constantius) is often given a prominent role in the telling.</p><p><br /></p><p>Another version is that he was acting on behalf of Magnentius (at some point), and yet another that he was acting entirely on his own. (For an interesting summary, incl. summary of the literature: <a href="https://publications.dainst.org/journals/chiron/article/view/221/4846" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://publications.dainst.org/journals/chiron/article/view/221/4846" rel="nofollow">Drinkwater 2000: pp. 146ff</a>.)</p><p><br /></p><p>In any case, he appears to have temporarily allied with Magnentius against Constantius II. He famously begged for Constantius II’s forgiveness publicly and was pardoned on the spot. Vetranio was allowed to abdicate and retire to Bithynia, where he lived a few more years and – highly unusual for a Roman Emperor – died peacefully on his estate.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><b>Constantius II “Large AE2” Maiorina. Thessalonica, 350-355. Emperor spurning <i>one </i>captive.</b></p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1584753[/ATTACH]</p><blockquote><p><b>Constantius II AE2 Maiorina</b> (23mm, 5.55g, 12h), Thessalonica 350-5 CE.</p><p><b>Obv</b>: D N CONSTANTIVS P F AVG, Pearl-diademed, draped, and cuirassed bust right.</p><p><b>Rev</b>: FEL TEMP REPARATIO / Γ/✷/✷TSΔ•, Constantius II advancing left, holding Victory on globe and labarum, foot on captive seated left, head right.</p><p><b>Ref</b>: RIC VIII 178; LRBC 1674.</p><p><br /></p></blockquote><p><br /></p><p>This type with only one captive (<a href="http://augustuscoins.com/ed/ConstantiusII/Cs2images.html#F425" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://augustuscoins.com/ed/ConstantiusII/Cs2images.html#F425" rel="nofollow">Esty F245</a>) — and the Emperor holding Victory on a globe in addition to the labarum — is considerably rarer than the type with two bound captives. According to [USER=44316]@Valentinian[/USER] there is a single rarer FEL TEMP REPARATIO reverse: “Horseman rides down two foes” (<a href="https://augustuscoins.com/ed/ConstantiusII/Cs2images.html#F412" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://augustuscoins.com/ed/ConstantiusII/Cs2images.html#F412" rel="nofollow">Eesty F412</a>).</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><b>Postumus. </b>Ex Bill Welch</p><p>[ATTACH=full]1584754[/ATTACH]</p><blockquote><p><font size="4"><b>Postumus AR Antoninianus</b> (4.0g, 23mm), Treveri, 260/1 CE. </font></p><p><font size="4"><b>Obv</b>: IMP C POSTVMVS P F AVG. Radiate, draped and cuirassed bust right.</font></p><p><font size="4"><b>Rev: </b>VICTORIA AVG. Victory advancing left, holding out a wreath in her right hand in front, palm frond over her left shoulder; bound captive left seated at her feet.</font></p><p><font size="4"><b>Ref: </b>Sear RCV (III) 10996; RIC V (II) 89.</font></p><p><font size="4"><b>Prov</b>: Ex Bill Welch (AKA moremoth/moonmoth), prev. acq. from <a href="https://www.acsearch.info/search.html?id=8392901" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.acsearch.info/search.html?id=8392901" rel="nofollow">Numismatic Naumann 106 (8 Jan 2021), 1099 (part of 22)</a> </font></p><p><br /></p></blockquote><p><br /></p><p>Three hundred years after a Julius Caesar Denarius depicted Gallic captives conquered by Rome, the breakaway Roman-Gallic kingdom produced its own Roman-style captives coinage.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><b>Theodosius AE4</b>. NOT YET ARRIVED (need better photos!)…</p><p>[ATTACH=full]1584752[/ATTACH]</p><blockquote><p><b>Theodosius I AE4 Nummus</b> (12mm), Cyzicus, 388-392 CE.</p><p><b>Obv</b>: DN THEODOSIVS PF AVG. Pearl-diademed, draped and cuirassed bust of Theodosius I to right.</p><p><b>Rev</b>: SALVS REIPVBLICAE / SMKB in exergue. Victory advancing left, holding trophy over her right shoulder and dragging bound captive behind her with her left hand; Chi-rho to left.</p><p><b>Ref</b>: RIC 26b.</p><p><b>Prov</b>: Old collection from New Jersey.</p><p><br /></p></blockquote><p><br /></p><p>I’ve got more of these, but it’s nice to see different engravers’ versions of the same scene.</p><p><br /></p><p>There are a couple distinctive things about the ones from the Cyzicus mint:</p><p><br /></p><p>(1) Most interesting to me, the captives are always (?) kneeling, sometimes apparently with their legs crossed. (At the other mints the captive is standing or crouching.) They also tend to have some of harness on their torso with vertical bindings.</p><p><br /></p><p>(2) MacIsaac’s (1975) theory that the object over Victory’s shoulder is not a trophy but Hand of God (<i>Manus Dei</i>). As he acknowledges, the point is not widely accepted. But, looking at some specimens, I see why he thinks so. I’m agnostic on the point.</p><p><br /></p><p>See pp. 326-327 (incl. note 22) in: MacIsaac, John D. 1975. “’The Hand of God’: A Numismatic Study.” <i>Traditio</i> Vol. 31: 322-328. <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/27830993" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/27830993" rel="nofollow">https://www.jstor.org/stable/27830993</a>[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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