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Salonina, mother of christianity? A curious coin & christian cross coincidence
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<p>[QUOTE="Ryro, post: 8168834, member: 91461"]A rare and possibly unique coin of Salonina found in Belgrade, minted 50 years before the Edict of Milan and just a few years after, her husband, Gallienus (whoes father Valerian was very well known for gleefully persecuting Christians ((and being a human foot stool)) Edict of religious toleration.</p><p>Sounds too wild to believe! But sure enough as I'm reading through my present from [USER=87454]@galba68[/USER] I came a-<i>cross </i>this entry:</p><p>[ATTACH=full]1426725[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=full]1426724[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>As you may have noted, I have a very similar type that I've put in the page next to the plates.</p><p>One of the first things that struck me was the thought, don't I have one of those. Nope. </p><p>Mine is a strange one as it fits the bill for VESTA (that does not look like an apple in her hand), but sure appears to be saying VENUS:</p><p>[ATTACH=full]1426726[/ATTACH]</p><p>Salonina</p><p>(253-268 AD). AR Antoninianus (22 mm, 3.07 g), Colonia Agrippinensis (Köln), 257-260 AD.</p><p>Obv. SALONINA AVG, draped bust right on crescent.</p><p>Rev. VESTA Vesta seated left on throne, holding palladium in her right hand and transverse scepter in her left. Cohen 142. MIR 900c. RIC 70 var. (Victory instead of Palladium).</p><p>Or</p><p>Rev. VENVS FELIX, Venus seated left, holding apple and sceptre; cupid at feet.</p><p>MIR 898c.</p><p><br /></p><p>Could this type be a celebration of different religions?</p><p>Was Salonina a closet Christian??</p><p>Or could a Christian die cuter have slipped one past the quality inspector???</p><p>[ATTACH=full]1426734[/ATTACH]</p><p>Here's a passage from a wonderful paper on the subject:</p><p><font size="6"><b>Coinage of Empress Salonina and The Philosophy of Plotinus</b></font></p><p><font size="6"><b>By Adam Crnobrnja</b></font></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1426712[/ATTACH]</p><p>Reverse: VESTA, Vesta is sitting on a high and wide back chair facing left. The top of the diadem is noticeable on the head, similar to the one on the obverse portrait of the empress (atypical appearance), which indicates the engraver's hidden intention to personify the personality of the empress herself through the play Vesta (Crnobrnja 1994: 36).</p><p><span style="color: rgb(20, 20, 20)">"On the right, outstretched hand, a cross shaped in the form of a vertical pillar with dots. In her left hand, Vesta (Empress) holds a scepter, long and slanted, which overhangs the back of the chair. The upper diopter is intersected by a thin line with dotted ends, so that the impression of a cross on a long stalk. This coin, far more than previously mentioned, indicates the Christian commitment of the Empress of Salonina, despite the fact that it was most likely made without her direct order or even her knowledge. For now, this is the only found copy of this type of money. On this occasion, we would like to point to this second copy, which conveys the Christian message explicitly, through two representations of the cross, depriving us of doubts about the correctness of the interpretation 1976: 155). In the works that presented this coin to the professional and scientific public, one can read a broader discussion about the very religious orientation of Empress Salonina (Crnobrnja 1994: 2001). However</span></p><p>, this latter copy can be considered a reliable source on the attitude of the royal family to pre-Christianity. In a broader sense, the appearance of the cross on money could be related to the already mentioned Edict of Gallienus from 261, because Christianity became one of the "recognized" or "official" religions. The appearance of the cross on this coin, so far the oldest appearance of Christian flags on an official document, still seems a little premature."</p><p><br /></p><p>Is this the first celebration of Christianity on empirical coinage? And why so rare?</p><p>Is anybody aware of any other examples ANYWHERE!?</p><p>Please post up your Salonina & Gallienus coins, your earliest Roman coins referencing Christ or Christianity. Thoughts or theories on this rare coin.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>
[QUOTE="Ryro, post: 8168834, member: 91461"]A rare and possibly unique coin of Salonina found in Belgrade, minted 50 years before the Edict of Milan and just a few years after, her husband, Gallienus (whoes father Valerian was very well known for gleefully persecuting Christians ((and being a human foot stool)) Edict of religious toleration. Sounds too wild to believe! But sure enough as I'm reading through my present from [USER=87454]@galba68[/USER] I came a-[I]cross [/I]this entry: [ATTACH=full]1426725[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=full]1426724[/ATTACH] As you may have noted, I have a very similar type that I've put in the page next to the plates. One of the first things that struck me was the thought, don't I have one of those. Nope. Mine is a strange one as it fits the bill for VESTA (that does not look like an apple in her hand), but sure appears to be saying VENUS: [ATTACH=full]1426726[/ATTACH] Salonina (253-268 AD). AR Antoninianus (22 mm, 3.07 g), Colonia Agrippinensis (Köln), 257-260 AD. Obv. SALONINA AVG, draped bust right on crescent. Rev. VESTA Vesta seated left on throne, holding palladium in her right hand and transverse scepter in her left. Cohen 142. MIR 900c. RIC 70 var. (Victory instead of Palladium). Or Rev. VENVS FELIX, Venus seated left, holding apple and sceptre; cupid at feet. MIR 898c. Could this type be a celebration of different religions? Was Salonina a closet Christian?? Or could a Christian die cuter have slipped one past the quality inspector??? [ATTACH=full]1426734[/ATTACH] Here's a passage from a wonderful paper on the subject: [SIZE=6][B]Coinage of Empress Salonina and The Philosophy of Plotinus[/B] [B]By Adam Crnobrnja[/B][/SIZE] [ATTACH=full]1426712[/ATTACH] Reverse: VESTA, Vesta is sitting on a high and wide back chair facing left. The top of the diadem is noticeable on the head, similar to the one on the obverse portrait of the empress (atypical appearance), which indicates the engraver's hidden intention to personify the personality of the empress herself through the play Vesta (Crnobrnja 1994: 36). [COLOR=rgb(20, 20, 20)]"On the right, outstretched hand, a cross shaped in the form of a vertical pillar with dots. In her left hand, Vesta (Empress) holds a scepter, long and slanted, which overhangs the back of the chair. The upper diopter is intersected by a thin line with dotted ends, so that the impression of a cross on a long stalk. This coin, far more than previously mentioned, indicates the Christian commitment of the Empress of Salonina, despite the fact that it was most likely made without her direct order or even her knowledge. For now, this is the only found copy of this type of money. On this occasion, we would like to point to this second copy, which conveys the Christian message explicitly, through two representations of the cross, depriving us of doubts about the correctness of the interpretation 1976: 155). In the works that presented this coin to the professional and scientific public, one can read a broader discussion about the very religious orientation of Empress Salonina (Crnobrnja 1994: 2001). However[/COLOR] , this latter copy can be considered a reliable source on the attitude of the royal family to pre-Christianity. In a broader sense, the appearance of the cross on money could be related to the already mentioned Edict of Gallienus from 261, because Christianity became one of the "recognized" or "official" religions. The appearance of the cross on this coin, so far the oldest appearance of Christian flags on an official document, still seems a little premature." Is this the first celebration of Christianity on empirical coinage? And why so rare? Is anybody aware of any other examples ANYWHERE!? Please post up your Salonina & Gallienus coins, your earliest Roman coins referencing Christ or Christianity. Thoughts or theories on this rare coin.[/QUOTE]
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