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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Roman Collector, post: 3588255, member: 75937&quot;]There are four different denarii issued for Julia Domna -- produced by three different mints -- depicting VENVS FELIX (Happy Venus).</p><p><br /></p><p><i>Post anything you feel is relevant!</i></p><p><br /></p><p>The issue of the Rome mint is well-characterized. This is one of the most common denarii of Julia Domna found in British hoards.</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]958383[/ATTACH]</p><p>Julia Domna, AD 193-217.</p><p>Roman AR denarius, 2.37 g, 17.5 mm, 11 h.</p><p>Rome, AD 196-211.</p><p>Obv: IVLIA AVGVSTA, bare-headed and draped bust, right.</p><p>Rev: Venus standing left, holding apple in right hand and drawing out fold of drapery with left hand.</p><p>Refs: RIC 580; BMCRE 85-89; Cohen/RSC 198; RCV --; Hill 379, 394; CRE 397; Sulzer 1866-67.</p><p><br /></p><p>The mint at Alexandria produced denarii with the same reverse design, but with two different obverse inscriptions:</p><p><br /></p><p>The British Museum acquired several examples of <a href="https://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details.aspx?objectId=3022620&amp;partId=1&amp;searchText=Domna+denarius+VENVS+FELIX+Alexandria&amp;page=1" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details.aspx?objectId=3022620&amp;partId=1&amp;searchText=Domna+denarius+VENVS+FELIX+Alexandria&amp;page=1" rel="nofollow">this coin</a> in 1997, which bear Julia&#039;s earliest obverse inscription: IVLIA DO-MNA AVG. It is dated to AD 193-198 and attributed to Alexandria on the basis of style. It is not listed in the standard references. I do not have an example in my own collection.</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]958387[/ATTACH]</p><p><i>Photo of one of the specimens in the British Museum.</i></p><p><br /></p><p>The second struck in Alexandria differs in style from the Rome mint example above (RIC 580), but otherwise bears the same inscriptions and reverse design. The Alexandrian coinage of Julia Domna can be recognized by her bug-eyed portrait and differences in the style of the lettering. [USER=19463]@dougsmit[/USER] has a couple of pages explaining <a href="http://www.forumancientcoins.com/dougsmith/jdalex.html" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://www.forumancientcoins.com/dougsmith/jdalex.html" rel="nofollow">these stylistic features</a> and <a href="http://www.forumancientcoins.com/dougsmith/feac3.html" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://www.forumancientcoins.com/dougsmith/feac3.html" rel="nofollow">how they came to be attributed to the mint at Alexandria</a>. They are not referenced in RIC, BMCRE5, Cohen, or Sear, though the British Museum has a <a href="https://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details.aspx?objectId=3022632&amp;partId=1&amp;searchText=Domna+denarius+VENVS+FELIX+Alexandria&amp;page=1" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details.aspx?objectId=3022632&amp;partId=1&amp;searchText=Domna+denarius+VENVS+FELIX+Alexandria&amp;page=1" rel="nofollow">few examples</a>. Here is the example in my collection:</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]958392[/ATTACH]</p><p>Julia Domna, AD 193-217.</p><p>Roman AR denarius, 2.53 g, 19.2 mm, 6 h.</p><p>Alexandria, AD 193-198.</p><p>Obv: IVLIA AVGVSTA, bare-headed and draped bust, right.</p><p>Rev: Venus standing left, holding apple in right hand and drawing out fold of drapery with left hand.</p><p>Refs: Bickford-Smith pl. 1, 10; RIC --; BMCRE --; RCV --; CRE 398.</p><p><br /></p><p>My coin is an obverse die-match to the <a href="https://artgallery.yale.edu/collections/objects/124629" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://artgallery.yale.edu/collections/objects/124629" rel="nofollow">specimen in the Yale University Art Gallery</a>, which was formerly owned by [USER=79368]@Barry Murphy[/USER]. This makes me confident I have properly attributed it:</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]958398[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>Lastly, an unknown eastern mint (formerly attributed to Laodicea by RIC and BMCRE and now to Antioch by the British Museum) issued a coin bearing the VENVS FELIX reverse legend, but with a different reverse type -- Venus holds a scepter in addition to an apple. The typical &quot;Laodicea&quot; style is evident, with the characteristic loop coming up from the drapery at her shoulder. It is a recent addition to my collection:</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]958401[/ATTACH]</p><p>Julia Domna, AD 193-217.</p><p>Roman AR denarius, 3.67 g, 18 mm, 1 h.</p><p>Unknown eastern mint (Laodicea? Antioch?), AD 196-202.</p><p>Obv: IVLIA AVGVSTA, bare-headed and draped bust, right.</p><p>Rev: Venus standing left, holding apple and scepter.</p><p>Refs: RIC 646; BMCRE 619-621; Cohen/RSC 197; RCV 6609; CRE 400.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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