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<p>[QUOTE="Claudius_Gothicus, post: 7887397, member: 116315"]By now, it seems like most of Gallus' reverse types have been covered by [USER=75937]@Roman Collector[/USER] in his excellent "T-Bone Tuesday" series, and as a result there hasn't been a new entry in quite a while; however, he has told me to continue the series were I to obtain coins that haven't been featured yet, and that's exactly what I've just received:</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1360610[/ATTACH]</p><p>Gallus (251-253), Antoninianus, Antioch mint.</p><p>Obverse: IMP C C VIB TREB GALLVS P F AVG, radiate, draped and cuirassed bust right, seen from behind;</p><p>Reverse: FELICITAS AVG, Felicitas standing left, holding caduceus and cornucopia;</p><p>RIC IV - (c.f. RIC IV 82), AHG 7</p><p><br /></p><p>This coin wasn't cheap, and it's not particularly attractive or well preserved, so for someone uninstered in the Antiochene emissions of antoniniani it would be very easy, at a first glance, to attribute this coin as the very abundant RIC IV 82; that coin is probably the most common one from Gallus and Volusian's final emission from Antioch (though I am unfortunately still missing an example), and, alongside RIC IV 84 (MARTEM PROPVGNATOREM), it's also the only one to be exclusive to it, as no examples of these types from the first two emissions have been found so far. Their appearance in this final issue might not be casual, though, as the poor quality of the engraving and of the flans, as well as the lowered silver content, makes it clear that it was produced in large numbers for military purposes, the most likely cause being Shapur's invasion of Syria and the subsequent Roman defeat at Barbalissos. Considering the context, it makes sense to have introduced coins featuring Felicitas Publica, to reassure the population that they're being protected, and Mars Propugnator, to promise to push back the invaders that threaten the stability of the borders. Besides that, though, there's nothing else to add about the common variant, as the depiction of Felicitas is the usual one, standing left with caduceus and cornucopia, symbolizing peace and prosperity. Here's a very nice example from CNG, since I lack one myself:</p><p><br /></p><p><img src="https://www.cngcoins.com/photos/enlarged/2700338.jpg" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /></p><p><i>(Photo courtesy of CNG)</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p>However, my coin is not a FELICITAS PVBL, but a far rarer variant unlisted in RIC, FELICITAS AVG! This type is only listed for Volusian (RIC IV 216), and it is very rare for him as well. My example appears to be the only one in the sales records, and despite a very thorough search through the relevant websites and reference books, I have managed to find only five other examples:</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1360632[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>1 & 2) Two examples were found in the portion of the Gibraltar Hoard examined by Gallwey and published in the 1962 edition of "The Numismatic Chronicle and Journal of the Royal Numismatic Society" (<a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/42662653?seq=1#metadata_info_tab_contents" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/42662653?seq=1#metadata_info_tab_contents" rel="nofollow">"A HOARD OF THIRD-CENTURY ANTONINIANI FROM SOUTHERN SPAIN", by H.D. Gallwey</a>); unfortunately, only one of them was illustrated in the plates, and even then only the obverse was shown; however, it is clearly a die match to my example. As for the other one, since it was not shown, there's the possibility that it could be my example or one of the other two confirmed in private hands and shown later;</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1360660[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>3) Another example was part of the so called "Antioch Hoard of Gallienus", which was published in 1992 by Alex G. Malloy (<a href="https://www.forumancientcoins.com/numiswiki/view.asp?key=antioch%20hoard%20of%20gallienus" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.forumancientcoins.com/numiswiki/view.asp?key=antioch%20hoard%20of%20gallienus" rel="nofollow">"The Antioch hoard of Gallienus"</a>) and then dispersed in trade; this example appears to be a double die match to mine, too;</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1360665[/ATTACH]</p><p>[ATTACH=full]1360668[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>4 & 5) Two examples are shown on Richard Beale's "Four Bad Years" website, with one being in his collection and the other in the hands of Rupert Pflaum; despite the first one being in very rough shape and apparently with a very low silver content, it must still be an official product of the mint, as it is a reverse die match to the only example of Volusian's RIC IV 216 that I've found on the internet, also from the Beale collection:</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1360669[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>Finally, as far as provenances go, it's worth mentioning that my coin is actually a Wildwinds plate coin, though its upload date is not present and neither is any further provenance, unfortunately:</p><p><br /></p><p><img src="https://www.wildwinds.com/coins/ric/trebonianus_gallus/RIC_0033_var.jpg" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /></p><p><br /></p><p>These rare coins are certainly an interesting issue, as the Gallus version was apparently struck with two obverse dies and two reverse ones, one of which shared with Volusian, too; I wonder if this means that this isn't simply an engraver's error, but a conscious decision to introduce a new legend. Did it have any special connotations for the public that spent these coins, when compared to its standard PVBL counterpart? I guess these are questions that will always be unanswered.</p><p><br /></p><p>That's all for now; post your Antiochene coins of T-Bone, your Felicitas coins, your rare variants of common coins, or anything else you feel like might be relevant <img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie1" alt=":)" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" />!</p><p><br /></p><p>Sources:</p><p>- <a href="https://www.forumancientcoins.com/numiswiki/view.asp?key=antioch%20hoard%20of%20gallienus" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.forumancientcoins.com/numiswiki/view.asp?key=antioch%20hoard%20of%20gallienus" rel="nofollow">"The Antioch hoard of Gallienus"</a>, Alex G. Malloy, 1992;</p><p>- <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/42662653?seq=1#metadata_info_tab_contents" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/42662653?seq=1#metadata_info_tab_contents" rel="nofollow">"A hoard of third-century antoniniani from southern Spain"</a>, H.D. Gallwey, The Numismatic Chronicle and Journal of the Royal Numismatic Society, Volume 2 (1962);</p><p>- <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/43573549?seq=1#metadata_info_tab_contents" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/43573549?seq=1#metadata_info_tab_contents" rel="nofollow">"The Antioch hoard of antoniniani and the eastern coinage of Trebonianus Gallus and Volusian"</a>, William E. Metcalf, Museum Notes (American Numismatic Society), Volume 22 (1977);</p><p>- <a href="http://sonic.net/~marius1/mysite/" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://sonic.net/~marius1/mysite/" rel="nofollow">"Four Bad Years"</a> by Richard Beale;[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>
[QUOTE="Claudius_Gothicus, post: 7887397, member: 116315"]By now, it seems like most of Gallus' reverse types have been covered by [USER=75937]@Roman Collector[/USER] in his excellent "T-Bone Tuesday" series, and as a result there hasn't been a new entry in quite a while; however, he has told me to continue the series were I to obtain coins that haven't been featured yet, and that's exactly what I've just received: [ATTACH=full]1360610[/ATTACH] Gallus (251-253), Antoninianus, Antioch mint. Obverse: IMP C C VIB TREB GALLVS P F AVG, radiate, draped and cuirassed bust right, seen from behind; Reverse: FELICITAS AVG, Felicitas standing left, holding caduceus and cornucopia; RIC IV - (c.f. RIC IV 82), AHG 7 This coin wasn't cheap, and it's not particularly attractive or well preserved, so for someone uninstered in the Antiochene emissions of antoniniani it would be very easy, at a first glance, to attribute this coin as the very abundant RIC IV 82; that coin is probably the most common one from Gallus and Volusian's final emission from Antioch (though I am unfortunately still missing an example), and, alongside RIC IV 84 (MARTEM PROPVGNATOREM), it's also the only one to be exclusive to it, as no examples of these types from the first two emissions have been found so far. Their appearance in this final issue might not be casual, though, as the poor quality of the engraving and of the flans, as well as the lowered silver content, makes it clear that it was produced in large numbers for military purposes, the most likely cause being Shapur's invasion of Syria and the subsequent Roman defeat at Barbalissos. Considering the context, it makes sense to have introduced coins featuring Felicitas Publica, to reassure the population that they're being protected, and Mars Propugnator, to promise to push back the invaders that threaten the stability of the borders. Besides that, though, there's nothing else to add about the common variant, as the depiction of Felicitas is the usual one, standing left with caduceus and cornucopia, symbolizing peace and prosperity. Here's a very nice example from CNG, since I lack one myself: [IMG]https://www.cngcoins.com/photos/enlarged/2700338.jpg[/IMG] [I](Photo courtesy of CNG) [/I] However, my coin is not a FELICITAS PVBL, but a far rarer variant unlisted in RIC, FELICITAS AVG! This type is only listed for Volusian (RIC IV 216), and it is very rare for him as well. My example appears to be the only one in the sales records, and despite a very thorough search through the relevant websites and reference books, I have managed to find only five other examples: [ATTACH=full]1360632[/ATTACH] 1 & 2) Two examples were found in the portion of the Gibraltar Hoard examined by Gallwey and published in the 1962 edition of "The Numismatic Chronicle and Journal of the Royal Numismatic Society" ([URL='https://www.jstor.org/stable/42662653?seq=1#metadata_info_tab_contents']"A HOARD OF THIRD-CENTURY ANTONINIANI FROM SOUTHERN SPAIN", by H.D. Gallwey[/URL]); unfortunately, only one of them was illustrated in the plates, and even then only the obverse was shown; however, it is clearly a die match to my example. As for the other one, since it was not shown, there's the possibility that it could be my example or one of the other two confirmed in private hands and shown later; [ATTACH=full]1360660[/ATTACH] 3) Another example was part of the so called "Antioch Hoard of Gallienus", which was published in 1992 by Alex G. Malloy ([URL='https://www.forumancientcoins.com/numiswiki/view.asp?key=antioch%20hoard%20of%20gallienus']"The Antioch hoard of Gallienus"[/URL]) and then dispersed in trade; this example appears to be a double die match to mine, too; [ATTACH=full]1360665[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=full]1360668[/ATTACH] 4 & 5) Two examples are shown on Richard Beale's "Four Bad Years" website, with one being in his collection and the other in the hands of Rupert Pflaum; despite the first one being in very rough shape and apparently with a very low silver content, it must still be an official product of the mint, as it is a reverse die match to the only example of Volusian's RIC IV 216 that I've found on the internet, also from the Beale collection: [ATTACH=full]1360669[/ATTACH] Finally, as far as provenances go, it's worth mentioning that my coin is actually a Wildwinds plate coin, though its upload date is not present and neither is any further provenance, unfortunately: [IMG]https://www.wildwinds.com/coins/ric/trebonianus_gallus/RIC_0033_var.jpg[/IMG] These rare coins are certainly an interesting issue, as the Gallus version was apparently struck with two obverse dies and two reverse ones, one of which shared with Volusian, too; I wonder if this means that this isn't simply an engraver's error, but a conscious decision to introduce a new legend. Did it have any special connotations for the public that spent these coins, when compared to its standard PVBL counterpart? I guess these are questions that will always be unanswered. That's all for now; post your Antiochene coins of T-Bone, your Felicitas coins, your rare variants of common coins, or anything else you feel like might be relevant :)! Sources: - [URL='https://www.forumancientcoins.com/numiswiki/view.asp?key=antioch%20hoard%20of%20gallienus']"The Antioch hoard of Gallienus"[/URL], Alex G. Malloy, 1992; - [URL='https://www.jstor.org/stable/42662653?seq=1#metadata_info_tab_contents']"A hoard of third-century antoniniani from southern Spain"[/URL], H.D. Gallwey, The Numismatic Chronicle and Journal of the Royal Numismatic Society, Volume 2 (1962); - [URL='https://www.jstor.org/stable/43573549?seq=1#metadata_info_tab_contents']"The Antioch hoard of antoniniani and the eastern coinage of Trebonianus Gallus and Volusian"[/URL], William E. Metcalf, Museum Notes (American Numismatic Society), Volume 22 (1977); - [URL='http://sonic.net/~marius1/mysite/']"Four Bad Years"[/URL] by Richard Beale;[/QUOTE]
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