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<p>[QUOTE="Roman Collector, post: 4283081, member: 75937"]If one studies the coinage of Trebonianus Gallus and Volusian, it becomes apparent that certain issues of the Rome mint feature reverse types with and without a star in the field. This phenomenon appears to be limited to the Rome mint and such varieties are not to be found on the issues for the branch mint (traditionally attributed to Mediolanum) or for Antioch. Three reverse types issued for Gallus and three for Volusian feature stars. Those for Gallus are: FELICITAS PVBLICA, LIBERTAS AVG, and PIETAS AVGG. For Volusian, these are: CONCORDIA AVGG, PAX AVGG, and VIRTVS AVGG. This thread only deals with those of Gallus; my collection of Volusian issues remains much too incomplete to illustrate them.</p><p><br /></p><p>In an analysis of the Dorchester hoard,* Mattingly notes that the issues with the star (71 examples for Gallus, 83 for Volusian) are uniformly underrepresented compared to those without the star (200 for Gallus, 195 for Volusian) by about 2-1/2 to 1. On the basis of the portraiture and other factors, he tentatively assigns the following dates to the issues.</p><p><br /></p><p>With star: Mid-August to mid-November, AD 251 (3 months).</p><p>Without star: mid-November, AD 251 to mid-July, AD 252 (8 months).</p><p><br /></p><p>The meaning of the star is unclear. Mattingly muses on this issue, stating, "The star is a symbol of happy omen, but its exact significance here is uncertain," and then reports a thought-provoking postulate by Dr. Sutherland: "can it perhaps suggest the divinity of the dead Emperors, Decius, Etruscus, and Hostilian?" We shall never know.</p><p><br /></p><p><i>Please feel free to post any examples of Gallus or Volusian with stars or anything you feel is relevant! </i></p><p><br /></p><p>Here are examples from my collection.</p><p><br /></p><p>FELICITAS PVBLICA:</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1089820[/ATTACH]</p><p>[ATTACH=full]1089819[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>LIBERTAS AVGG:</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1089821[/ATTACH]</p><p>[ATTACH=full]1093501[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>PIETAS AVGG:</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1089823[/ATTACH]</p><p>[ATTACH=full]1089824[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>~~~</p><p><br /></p><p>*Harold Mattingly, "The Reigns of Trebonianus Gallus and Volusian and of Aemilian." <i>The Numismatic Chronicle and Journal of the Royal Numismatic Society</i> Sixth Series, Vol. 6, No. 1/2 (1946), pp. 36-46 (particularly pp. 39-41).[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>
[QUOTE="Roman Collector, post: 4283081, member: 75937"]If one studies the coinage of Trebonianus Gallus and Volusian, it becomes apparent that certain issues of the Rome mint feature reverse types with and without a star in the field. This phenomenon appears to be limited to the Rome mint and such varieties are not to be found on the issues for the branch mint (traditionally attributed to Mediolanum) or for Antioch. Three reverse types issued for Gallus and three for Volusian feature stars. Those for Gallus are: FELICITAS PVBLICA, LIBERTAS AVG, and PIETAS AVGG. For Volusian, these are: CONCORDIA AVGG, PAX AVGG, and VIRTVS AVGG. This thread only deals with those of Gallus; my collection of Volusian issues remains much too incomplete to illustrate them. In an analysis of the Dorchester hoard,* Mattingly notes that the issues with the star (71 examples for Gallus, 83 for Volusian) are uniformly underrepresented compared to those without the star (200 for Gallus, 195 for Volusian) by about 2-1/2 to 1. On the basis of the portraiture and other factors, he tentatively assigns the following dates to the issues. With star: Mid-August to mid-November, AD 251 (3 months). Without star: mid-November, AD 251 to mid-July, AD 252 (8 months). The meaning of the star is unclear. Mattingly muses on this issue, stating, "The star is a symbol of happy omen, but its exact significance here is uncertain," and then reports a thought-provoking postulate by Dr. Sutherland: "can it perhaps suggest the divinity of the dead Emperors, Decius, Etruscus, and Hostilian?" We shall never know. [I]Please feel free to post any examples of Gallus or Volusian with stars or anything you feel is relevant! [/I] Here are examples from my collection. FELICITAS PVBLICA: [ATTACH=full]1089820[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=full]1089819[/ATTACH] LIBERTAS AVGG: [ATTACH=full]1089821[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=full]1093501[/ATTACH] PIETAS AVGG: [ATTACH=full]1089823[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=full]1089824[/ATTACH] ~~~ *Harold Mattingly, "The Reigns of Trebonianus Gallus and Volusian and of Aemilian." [I]The Numismatic Chronicle and Journal of the Royal Numismatic Society[/I] Sixth Series, Vol. 6, No. 1/2 (1946), pp. 36-46 (particularly pp. 39-41).[/QUOTE]
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