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<p>[QUOTE="Claudius_Gothicus, post: 8062785, member: 116315"]After a pretty long hiatus "T-Bone Tuesday" is finally back with a new installment, to everyone's delight, I'm sure <img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie7" alt=":p" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" />! Unfortunately the time between new entries is always going to be quite long from now on, due to the fact that there are very few types that haven't already been covered by [USER=75937]@Roman Collector[/USER], though, every now and then, one does come up for sale, and this coin is one of them. I had actually bought it all the way back in May of this year, but due to some customs shenanigans that I didn't fully understand I have received it only now:</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1397604[/ATTACH]</p><p>Roman Empire, Trebonianus Gallus (251-253), Antoninianus, Antioch mint.</p><p>Obverse: IMP C C VIB TREB GALLVS P F AVG, radiate and cuirassed bust right, seen from behind, IIV below;</p><p>Reverse: VICT-ORI-A AVG, Victory advancing left, holding wreath and palm, IIV between Victory's legs;</p><p>RIC IV 93;</p><p><br /></p><p>At first glance, this coin might seem nothing special: it has a pretty high silver content, which is nice to see, since Antioch issues were getting more and more debased with every following issue, but besides that, it suffers from a weak strike on the obverse and it has some annoying encrustations. There isn't much to say about the type, either: VICTORIA AVG was struck quite abundantly at Antioch for Gallus, in all three emissions, and it was also used for his predecessor Decius, so it most likely doesn't refer to any particular victory, especially since it doesn't appear this emperor engaged in any campaigns himself. It is worth mentioning, though, that two far rarer variants exist, one with Victory advancing right, and one with her standing on a globe; [USER=75937]@Roman Collector[/USER] owns both, though I don't.</p><p><br /></p><p>What's special about this coin, then? Well, the officina mark has two unusual characteristics: first of all, this variant is the <i><b>only one</b> </i>in all of the "original" issues of antoniniani struck at Antioch (I consider "original" the antoniniani struck at Antioch before the brief interruption caused by the Sassanid seizure of the city in 253, as when the production resumed under Valerian & Gallienus the portraits, the reverses and the officina marks were quite different) where the officina mark on the reverse is <i><b>not </b></i>located in the exergue, but rather in the field, between Victory's legs. It appears to have been a quirk of a single engraver, as the only other example I know of this variant, struck only during the second emission, which was in the Beale collection, is a double die match:</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1397624[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>The other unusual fact is that the Roman numeral VII is written backwards as IIV, an error that seems to have been quite common at Antioch in that period; while I do not own any other coins with this officina mark (the seventh officina seems to have been one of the most prolific at issuing antoniniani for this ruler), I'd be curious to see yours ([USER=75937]@Roman Collector[/USER] definitely has a few <img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie1" alt=":)" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" />). In the late Empire, however, there were also occasions where other unusual mintmarks were used, and some of the most extravagant ones include captives, animals like lions or dolphins, and even wreaths combined with letters to form secret wordplays! If you recognize the types I'm mentioning, and happen to own them, feel free to show them!</p><p><br /></p><p>That's all for now; post your Antiochene coins of T-Bone, your VICTORIA coins, any kind of unusual officina or mintmark you own, 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: 8062785, member: 116315"]After a pretty long hiatus "T-Bone Tuesday" is finally back with a new installment, to everyone's delight, I'm sure :p! Unfortunately the time between new entries is always going to be quite long from now on, due to the fact that there are very few types that haven't already been covered by [USER=75937]@Roman Collector[/USER], though, every now and then, one does come up for sale, and this coin is one of them. I had actually bought it all the way back in May of this year, but due to some customs shenanigans that I didn't fully understand I have received it only now: [ATTACH=full]1397604[/ATTACH] Roman Empire, Trebonianus Gallus (251-253), Antoninianus, Antioch mint. Obverse: IMP C C VIB TREB GALLVS P F AVG, radiate and cuirassed bust right, seen from behind, IIV below; Reverse: VICT-ORI-A AVG, Victory advancing left, holding wreath and palm, IIV between Victory's legs; RIC IV 93; At first glance, this coin might seem nothing special: it has a pretty high silver content, which is nice to see, since Antioch issues were getting more and more debased with every following issue, but besides that, it suffers from a weak strike on the obverse and it has some annoying encrustations. There isn't much to say about the type, either: VICTORIA AVG was struck quite abundantly at Antioch for Gallus, in all three emissions, and it was also used for his predecessor Decius, so it most likely doesn't refer to any particular victory, especially since it doesn't appear this emperor engaged in any campaigns himself. It is worth mentioning, though, that two far rarer variants exist, one with Victory advancing right, and one with her standing on a globe; [USER=75937]@Roman Collector[/USER] owns both, though I don't. What's special about this coin, then? Well, the officina mark has two unusual characteristics: first of all, this variant is the [I][B]only one[/B] [/I]in all of the "original" issues of antoniniani struck at Antioch (I consider "original" the antoniniani struck at Antioch before the brief interruption caused by the Sassanid seizure of the city in 253, as when the production resumed under Valerian & Gallienus the portraits, the reverses and the officina marks were quite different) where the officina mark on the reverse is [I][B]not [/B][/I]located in the exergue, but rather in the field, between Victory's legs. It appears to have been a quirk of a single engraver, as the only other example I know of this variant, struck only during the second emission, which was in the Beale collection, is a double die match: [ATTACH=full]1397624[/ATTACH] The other unusual fact is that the Roman numeral VII is written backwards as IIV, an error that seems to have been quite common at Antioch in that period; while I do not own any other coins with this officina mark (the seventh officina seems to have been one of the most prolific at issuing antoniniani for this ruler), I'd be curious to see yours ([USER=75937]@Roman Collector[/USER] definitely has a few :)). In the late Empire, however, there were also occasions where other unusual mintmarks were used, and some of the most extravagant ones include captives, animals like lions or dolphins, and even wreaths combined with letters to form secret wordplays! If you recognize the types I'm mentioning, and happen to own them, feel free to show them! That's all for now; post your Antiochene coins of T-Bone, your VICTORIA coins, any kind of unusual officina or mintmark you own, 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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