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Message:: [QUOTE="Ocatarinetabellatchitchix, post: 7389845, member: 99554"]Salus was a minor goddess, the daughter of Aesculapius, the god of healing, whose staff, with a snake coiled round it, is symbolic of the practice of medicine. During the Empire, the Arval Brotherhood (a college of senior priests) used to make annual sacrifices for the welfare of the Emperor, to the Capitoline triad of major deities and also to Salus Publica. There was a statue to Salus in the temple of Concordia, according to Pliny; and she had an annual festival on March 30th. [ATTACH=full]1285976[/ATTACH] Nero is the first Emperor to use the goddess on his coinage. This tyrant made frequent vows for his own health, and also instituted certaminaon that account.  Indeed, the historian Tacitus records that, for his escape from a plot laid against him in, he erected a temple to Salus. But so little did he care about the health of others, that he made the same conspiracy against his life a pretext for sacrificing hundreds to his revenge. I believe the last ruler to use it was Allectus in 293-296 AD. But a reverse minted  in 326 for Fausta is described as "empress or Salus standing, cradling two infants in her arms". [ATTACH=full]1285980[/ATTACH] Many various depictions of Salus on the Imperial coinage over centuries:           * standing , holding patera & sceptre, feeding serpent           * standing, holding patera & rudder           * standing, holding cornucopia & feeding serpent           * standing, holding patera & feeding serpent in arms           * seated, holding patera & sceptre           * seated, holding patera           * seated, holding branch & poppies           * seated, holding ears of corn Let's talk about Victorinus now. Two different type featuring Salus can be found for this guy. The first one is from the Treveri mint, last issue (5th) from 271 AD. The goddess is standing, holding a patera and a sceptre, feeding a snake rising from altar. The snake lacks a head; and look at that extra-long finger placed delicately on the sceptre ! (Mairat 637). This reverse is new to the Gallic Empire and might be inspired by earlier coins of Claudius II. [ATTACH=full]1285981[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=full]1285978[/ATTACH]Salus with her extra long finger again... The second example (Mairat 644) is from the mint of Cologne, issue 2 from mid 269-early 270. It introduces a new reverse type for Victorinus: Salus is standing, holding a patera and feeding a serpent in arms. The design was used already under Postumus, and its meaning is probably very general, on the general welfare brought by Victorinus. [ATTACH=full]1285982[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=full]1285979[/ATTACH] Now I'm gonna show you my two weirdest Salus: Reverse brockage. My attempt of explaining what it is: an incuse coin has the same image twice: embossed on the side of one blank flan, and embossed on the other. This anomaly is the result of a precise accident, which occurred when a coin remained stuck or placed on one of the die, which gave the blanks their images. The next coin was then struck over the first. It took the image engraved in negative on one of the dies, but the coins left on the die imprinted the same pattern on it, pushing the blank into its thickness. [ATTACH=full]1285977[/ATTACH] Flip over, double struck. The coin was struck, flipped and restruck. Why ? I can't explain or understand...Please somebody give me your theory about this kind of "error" coin. By the way, this is a rare issue with the "dots" in the obverse legendVICTORINVS·P·F·AVG [ATTACH=full]1285975[/ATTACH] Please show me your Salus, Victorinus or even your weirdest coin ![/QUOTE]

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