Featured Numbered Officinae on the Rome Mint Issues of Gallienus

During the reign of Gallienus, the Rome mint introduced a system of putting officina marks on coins. This may have been for purposes of quality control, helping to trace irregularities in coin weights and alloys.

Here are examples from each officina. Let's see your coins of Gallienus or Salonina with officina marks!

At first, the Rome mint used a letter abbreviation for the Latin number of the officina, such as P, S, T, or Q (prima, secunda, tertia, quarta) for the first four officinae, and the Roman numerals V and VI for the fifth and sixth. They could not use the letter abbreviation for "fifth," quinta, because it would have been indistinguishable from Q for quarta, or for "sixth," sexta, because it would have been indistinguishable from S for secunda.

P (=Prima, meaning "first"):


S (=Secunda, meaning "second"):


T (=Tertia, meaning "third"):


Q (=Quarta, meaning "fourth"):


V (="fifth"):


VI (="sixth):



But by late in the reign, the number of officinae was expanded to 12, necessitating a change in the numbering system. As Jim Phelps* explains, "officinae numbers 1-8 used Greek numerals, while 9 used Nu (N), which normally meant 50. The normal Greek letter for 9 was Theta (Θ), but this was also the first letter of the Greek word for death, Thanatos, and seems to have been considered unlucky. Officinae 10-12 went back to typical Roman numerals, providing a mixed and sometimes confusing pattern." I personally think Phelps errs in his explanation for the ninth officina; the most likely explanation for using N for nine is not that it is the Greek letter nu, but that it is an abbreviation for the Latin nona, meaning "ninth."

Phelps, discussing coins of the so-called "zoo series," explains that "each officina produced a different coin within the series, with some producing a second, less common type also." He provides this table, which makes this readily apparent:



A (Alpha, officina 1):


B (Beta, officina 2):


Γ (Gamma, officina 3):


~~~

* Jim Phelps, “NumisWiki - The Collaborative Numismatics Project - Thousands Of Online Numismatic Books, Articles And Pages. Gallienus+Zoo.” Forum Ancient Coins, www.forumancientcoins.com/numiswiki/view.asp?key=Gallienus%2BZoo.

 

Log in or Sign up to hide this ad.

Δ (Delta, officina 4):


Є (Epsilon, officina 5):


Ϛ (Stigma, officina 6; note the different shape from the S in the earlier secunda):


Z (Zeta, officina 7):


H (Eta, officina 8):


N (Nona, meaning "ninth"):


X (Officina 10):


XI (Officina 11):


XII (Officina 12):

 

Alpha.

 

So much love for Gallienus.
BETA


ZETA (Assumed)


QUARTA (Salonina)


Delta (Salonina)


STIGMA (Gallienus)

 

So does no officina mark mean it's an early strike from the Rome mint ?

 

GALLIENUS Officina / Et Al

Not my area, so I will need some help...


RI Gallienus 253-268 CE Ant Milan mint Laetitia
S -secunda



RI Gallienus 253-268 CE Ant Abundantia
S-secunda (or is that '8' for a Magic Eight-Ball?)



RI Gallienus Silvered Æ Ant CE 263-264 AVG rad cuiras R Hercules R lion skin club star RIC 673
STAR - Extraterrestrial - probly Alpha Centauri ?



RI Gallienus AE silvered Ant 21mm 2.7g Radiate CuirassedR - Jupiter L tbolt X RIC 214
Blobbus Minorus...?



RI Salonina wife of Gallienus 254-268 CE AE Ant 3.61g 20mm Rome mint 267-268 CE crescent Deer Walking delta RIC V 16
Delta / Quarta - Phelps Secondary Series - Doe/Elk/Capreolus - JUNO

 

When designing a coin to be officina numbered, should we try not to overlap the space used by the other legend? VI falls between V and G of AVG.

 

Same thing on this one!

 

A
B
Epsilon
T
Z

XI

 

Wow! Some wonderful coins and I’ve learned something new about a guy I’ve plenty of coins of. Thanks for this thread @Roman Collector!

So according to RC we’ve got Alpha (I’ve seen this type described as both panther and tiger. Anyone know which is correct?)
Prob Nona or maybe Zeta?

could be Nona looking at her in hand

Hmmm not seeing anything on this one
VI maybe?

Delta

An obverse officina of 1866

 

Thanks for posting this, along with the link to the list of Gallienus zoo coins and mintmarks. I had never seen such a list before, as opposed to the individual catalog entries in RCV.

The only one I have, which I've posted before, is the tigress coin; you can see what's left of the stripes that make it a tigress rather than a panther.* I'm finally persuaded that the mintmark is, in fact, a 2nd Officina "B" -- even though it looks like a "D," without any hint of the indentation that would make it a "B" -- now that I know that the series used a Greek Delta rather than a Latin "D" to signify the 4th officina.





I've often thought about buying other coins in the Gallienus zoo series. The problem is that most of the inexpensive examples don't look very good, whereas the few truly nice examples tend to sell for rather more than I really want to spend.

*Regarding @Ryro's "which is correct" question about panther vs. tigress, the answer is "both," even though the catalogs acknowledge only the panther and use the same catalog number for both types. See my post at https://www.cointalk.com/threads/ojs-big-cat-sanctuary.357879/#post-4313620, and @Roman Collector's post at https://www.cointalk.com/threads/ojs-big-cat-sanctuary.357879/#post-4313252, in the "OJ's Big Cat Sanctuary" thread from earlier this month, with @Roman Collector's link to Jim Phelps's NumisWiki article at http://www.forumancientcoins.com/numiswiki/view.asp?key=Liber Pater. The article demonstrates conclusively (in my opinion) the existence of the two different types.

 

Nice post @Roman Collector, here's another LIBERTAS AVG from officina 11:

Gallienus, AD 253-268, Rome, Æ Antoninianus
Obv: GALLIENVS AVG, radiate, and cuirassed bust right
Rev: LIBERTAS AVG, Libertas standing left, holding pileus and sceptre, XI to right

 

Thanks Donna! Now the question becomes, is mine a panther or a tigress?
Though, as mine is in the aforementioned "inexpensive examples don't look very good" category, we may never know.
The more I look at it the more I'm changing my mind. It's not an alpha it's a beta!
Anyway, indulge yourself and get some cheapies. Can't have that AMAZING tigress all by herself

 

I think this issue is from the "Asian mint" (apparently Antioch). The "Eastern" issues of Gallienus don't follow the same system of numbered officinae indicated on the coins.


Gallienus, Roman Empire, BI antoninian, 260–268 AD, Asian mint (Antioch?). Obv: GALLIENVS P F AVG; bust of Gallienus, cuirassed, radiate, r. Rev: VIRTVS AVGVSTI; Hercules, standing r., holding club in right hand and lion-skin in left hand (type of the Farnese Hercules). 21.5mm, 4.01g. Ref: RIC V Gallienus 672.

Unsurprisingly, Valerian's antoniniani from the Rome mint appear to follow the earlier numbering system, too. Here is a humble example with a "T" for the third ("tertia") officina.


Valerian I, Roman Empire, AE/BI antoninian, 256–257 AD, Rome mint. Obv: IMP C P LIC VAL[ERIANVS P F] AVG; bust of Valerian, radiate, draped, cuirassed, r. Rev: [P]AX AVG[G]; Pax standing l., holding olive-branch and sceptre; in l. field, T. 20mm, 2.09g. Ref: RIC V Valerian 109.

 

Confession: I just ordered a couple of them about an hour ago!

 

Orielensis, Many thanks for that info ! I added it to the slab insert so I don't forget.

 

The two coins I ordered arrived today, and here they are:

Gallienus, Billon Antoninianus, 267-268 AD, Rome Mint (5th Officina). Obv. Radiate head right, GALLIENVS AVG /Rev. Doe walking right, head turned back looking left, DIANAE CONS AVG; Ɛ in exergue. RIC V 177, RSC IV 154; cf. Sear RCV III 10199 (same reverse; different obverse legend). 21 mm., 2.72 g., 6 h.



Gallienus, Billon Antoninianus, 267-268 AD, Rome Mint (11th Officina). Obv. Radiate head right, GALLIENVS AVG /Rev. Gazelle* walking right, DIANAE CONS AVG; XI in exergue. RIC V 181, RSC IV 157, Wolkow 14a11**, Cunetio 1401, Sear RCV III 10201. 21 mm., 3.24 g., 6 h.

* See http://www.fredericweber.com/GALLIEN/emission_du_bestiaire/page2.htm; Jim Phelps, The Coins of Gallienus ' "Zoo" Collection
(http://www.forumancientcoins.com/numiswiki/view.asp?key=Gallienus Zoo).

** Cédric Wolkow, Catalogue des monnaies romaines - Gallien - L'émission dite "Du Bestiaire" - atelier de Rome (édition 2019)



My description of the animal on this coin as a gazelle -- rather than a "stag," which is what the seller called it, and what the animals on the Gallienus zoo coins issued by the 11th Officina are called in RIC V, RSC IV, and Sear RCV III -- requires some elaboration.

First and most obviously, the animal doesn't look anything at all like a stag. Stags have antlers, not unbranched horns like the ones on this animal -- let alone small ones, probably indicating that this animal is a female. Stags are male by definition (for anyone who might have been living under a rock somewhere), and they look like how they're depicted on this Philip I Saecvlares Avgg coin of mine, issued 20 years earlier:




In addition, all the more recent authorities state that the animal on the 11th Officina zoo coins of Gallienus (whether it faces right or left) is a gazelle. See http://www.fredericweber.com/GALLIEN/emission_du_bestiaire/page2.htm:


Gazelle right
GALLIENUS AVG
Rome
XI

The Jim Phelps article cited earlier in this thread agrees; see http://www.forumancientcoins.com/numiswiki/view.asp?key=Gallienus Zoo:

Officina/Primary Type:

XI 11 / Gazelle (Diana)

I believe that the Cedric Wolkow book reaches the same conclusion; I don't have it yet but have ordered a copy from cgb in Paris. (Hopefully I'll receive it one of these months!)

Finally, the animal on the 11th Officina Gallienus zoo coins has consistently been described as a gazelle rather than a stag in auctions in the last few years.

See this example of an Officina XI coin sold in a Numismatik Naumann auction in 2014, described in the sale as a gazelle (acsearch image no. 2008819)


The same is true of this coin sold in a Munzen & Medaillen auction in 2018 (acsearch image no. 4748396)


As well as of this coin sold as part of a lot of Gallienus zoo coins in a CNG e-auction in April 2019; see https://www.cngcoins.com/Coin.aspx?CoinID=379446:



All were described as gazelles, not stags. I think it's safe to say that mine shows a gazelle too.

In any event, the doe and the gazelle have joined the tigress in my Gallienus zoo. Not in the same enclosure, though.

 

The small book on the Gallienus zoo coins that I ordered from France about a week ago -- Cédric Wolkow, Catalogue des monnaies romaines - Gallien - L'émission dite "Du Bestiaire" - atelier de Rome (BNumis, édition 2019) -- arrived today, and it definitely looks like it was worth the €14.90 plus postage it cost, for anyone interested in this series. It's 4 1/2" x 7" and has 134 pp. plus 55 plates of black-and-white photos. Even if you don't read French, the tables and charts are simple enough to decipher, and there's also an English-language "Consultation Guide" near the beginning. See https://www.cgb.fr/catalogue-des-mo...-rome-edition-2019-wolkow-cedric,lc179,a.html for a description.

Here are images of the cover page, the title page, the table of contents, the first page of an 8-page section of drawings of obverse bust types, and the initial pages of the sections for the right-facing doe (with its head turned) and the right-facing gazelle, making clear that the two new coins I bought (described above) bear the Wolkow numbers 10a5 and 14a11, respectively. The book also provides the catalogue numbers for each zoo coin type from Göbl MIR [Moneta Imperii Romani] Band 36.













If anyone wants me to look up their particular example of a Gallienus zoo coin to see what its Wolkow number is, please let me know and I'll find the time to do it, in the reasonably near future!

 

That book looks great!

 

It's certainly comprehensive! The one odd thing is that for all the detail it has, it doesn't acknowledge that some of the panther coins are actually tigresses. The author must not have seen the relevant article by Jim Phelps on the forumancientcoins website.