Anyone up for a game of coin UNO?

[Edessa]

Link: Green patina, Macedon, Roman Provincial.

Macedon, Stobi. Julia Domna, Augusta, AD 193-217. Æ (22mm, 7.80g). Obv: IVLIA-AVGVS-TA; Draped bust right. Rev: MVNICI-STOB; Victory advancing left, holding wreath and palm. Ref: Varbanov 3891 (or thereabouts). About Very Fine, nice green patina. Don't have Varbanov and can't find the exact legend match online. It appears that there are many slight variations of the legend and legend placement. Waiting on RPC V.

[expat]

Green patina

Volume: I №: 3062
Reign: Claudius Persons: Claudius (Augustus) Magistrate: Artemas, son of Demetrios (stephanephoros)
City: Cadi  Region: Phrygia Province: Asia (conventus of Sardis)
Denomination: Brass AE 20
Obverse: ΚΛΑΥΔΙΟϹ ΚΑΙϹΑΡ; laureate head of Claudius, right
Reverse: ΕΠΙ ΑΡΤΕΜΑ ΔΗΜΗΤΡΙΟΥ ΚΑΔΟΗΝΩΝ, ϹΤΕΦΑΝ; Zeus standing, left, with eagle and sceptre. ΡTΛΩ monogram in left field.
Specimens: 33
RPC I 3062; SNG Copenhagen 246-7; SNG von Aulock 3685; BMC 18-19.

[Phil Anthos]

Green patina...

Taras, Calabria

276-272 BC AE 14 (13.5mm, 1.85g) O: Scallop shell with 11 teeth. R: Kithara with six strings; olive branch to left. D'Andrea 1309; Vlasto 1850; HN Italy 1092; SNG France- ---; McGill ---; Cote --- Very Rare ex Agora Auctions This very rare bronze is the last 'official' Tarentine coin listed in Vlasto's collection. The lyre is, of course, symbolic of Apollo, and while such a reference is not typically seen on the more common coins of Taras, the cult of Apollo Hyakanthus was strong in the city (as well as in the mother city of Sparta) and may be seen represented on the earliest (and very rare) incuse coinage struck here, as well as various gold issues. While not stunning in its beauty, I have only found two other specimens online, and so was very glad to find one for myself.

[expat]

Lyre and Apollo

[DonnaML]

Links: Gallienus, Mediolanum Mint.

Gallienus (son of Valerian I), Billon Antoninianus, 260-261 AD [Sear], 260 AD [Reinhardt], 258 AD [RIC], Mediolanum [Milan] Mint, 2nd emission (Göbl and Reinhardt), Legionary Issue. Obv. Radiate and cuirassed bust right, two ribbons behind, GALLIENVS AVG / Rev. Centaur with beard galloping right, raising his right hand in salute and holding club in left hand, LEG II PART VI P VI F ( = Legio II Parthica, VI Pia, VI Fidelis [see fn.]). RIC V-1 336j [joint reign], RSC IV 483, Sear RCV III 10262 (ill. p. 294), Göbl MIR [Moneta Imperii Romani] Band 36, No. 997r [ill. with other legionary series coins at http://www258.pair.com/denarius/cgi-bin/erfind.pl?sstring=legio+milan (Ed Flinn’s site Coinage of Gallienus and Family), and at Reinhardt p. 187, no. 6 (Frank Reinhardt, José de Sousa, & Heidemarie Bieker, Gallienvs Antoninianii, The Antoninianii Collection of Gallienus by Frank Reinhardt (Eng. trans. 2022), available at https://www.academia.edu/77282280/GALLIENUS_ANTONINIANII_English_version_PDF )]. 22 mm., 2.8 g, 12 h.  Purchased from Leu Numismatik AG, Winterthur, Switzerland, Web Auction 21, 19 Jul 2022, Lot 4872; ex Collection of Dipl.-Ing. [ = Engineering Master’s Degree] Adrian Lang, b. Germany 1956 [see https://leunumismatik.com/source/images/auction/36/pdf/b2acb9be-1e8d-4395-a863-6c5c7c37ed4b.pdf for biography]. 

* A centaur was the emblem of Leg. II Parthica -- just as the animals or other figures shown on the reverses of the other coins of the Gallienus legionary series served as the emblems or badges of those legions. See Jones, John Melville, A Dictionary of Ancient Roman Coins (London, Seaby, 1999) at p. 166 [entry for Legio]); RIC V-1 at p. 34. See also the list of the legions and their emblems depicted in the Gallienus legionary series at http://www258.pair.com/denarius/cgi-bin/erfind.pl?sstring=legio+milan (Ed Flinn’s site). Note that if this theory is correct, then several animals served as the emblem of more than one legion -- e.g., the bull for three legions [VII, VIII, and X].

Leg. II Parthica was primarily based, during the third century AD, on the Alban mountain near Rome. (See the article at https://www.livius.org/articles/legion/legio-ii-parthica/, a website on ancient history written and maintained by the Dutch historian Jona Lendering. For an index to articles about other legions, see https://www.livius.org/articles/legion .)

The general consensus is that the P and F stood for Pia Fidelis.

See Jones, John Melville, A Dictionary of Ancient Roman Coins (London, Seaby, 1999) at p. 166 [entry for Legio] (“the correct explanation seems to be that the legions were being commended for the virtues of piety and fidelity”). Note that “P F” can also stand for Pius Felix (see RIC V-1 at p. 32), but that term is usually associated with the emperor himself, and “faithfulness” seems a more appropriate appellation for the legions than “happiness.” 

There is also controversy about the year(s) of issue of the legionary series, relating to the meaning of the Roman numeral VI preceding both the P and the F in the reverse legend (as well as concerning the meaning, in various other examples of the legionary series, of the numerals V or VII instead of VI preceding P and F).  In RIC V-1 at p. 34 (published in 1927), the editor Harold Mattingly cited the work of Sir Charles Oman supporting the theory that the Roman numerals refer to the regnal years of Gallienus’s joint reign with his father in which the coins were issued -- i.e., years V-VII, or 157-159 AD -- despite the fact that “the obverse inscription is usually GALLIENVS AVG, a form of legend which does not generally appear until 260.”  According to Mattingly, Oman “conclusively points out that Gallienus would, at no date after 259, have celebrated the piety and loyalty of the Rhine legions [several of which, such as Leg VIII Augusta, are included in the legionary series], which had assisted the rebel Postumus to overthrow his authority in Gaul and to slay his son” (Saloninus). Jones agrees, stating in his Dictionary at p. 166 that “the numbers indicated the years of the emperor’s reign.”

However, the more modern authorities all seem to disagree with this interpretation, and place the legionary series near the beginning of Gallienus’s sole reign. See Sear RCV III at p. 293, where David Sear states in a note to No. 10252 (the Legio I Adiutrix capricorn coin) that the legionary series of Gallienus “was issued early in his sole reign [i.e., after Valerian I’s capture by the Persians in 260] at Milan [Mediolanum], the base of the recently established field army commanded by Aureolus. The units honoured were the Praetorian Cohort and the seventeen legions which had furnished detachments for the field army. The numerals ‘VI’ and ‘VII’ appearing in the reverse legends [VI for my example] may refer to the victories achieved by Aureolus over the usurpers Ingenuus and Regalian.”  See also Zach Beasley’s article on this subject at  http://beastcoins.com/RomanImperial/V-I/Gallienus/Gallienus.htm  (“In 260, following the defeats of the revolts, Gallienus produced Antoniniani at Milan, honoring his different legions.  Each legion or cohort is featured through the legionary badge on the reverse, along with the victory number and P F for Pia Fidelis.  One coin type was issued for each of the three battles in which the unit participated.  Victory V was against the Alemanni, VI was against Ingenuus and VII was against Regalianus”).  Neither Sear nor Beasley provides any source for the theory that the three Roman numerals can be tied to specific victories.  Nor do they address Mattingly’s argument (derived from Charles Oman) that Gallienus would not have honored and praised the Rhine legions after the usurpation of Postumus in the summer of 260. 

The historian Jona Lendering offers a different interpretation. At https://www.livius.org/articles/legion/legio-ii-parthica/, in the article on Legio II Parthica, named on my “centaur with club” coin (as well as in other articles about other legions), the author implicitly rejects both the view that the Roman numerals V, VI, and VII represent regnal years, and the view that they refer to specific victories, asserting instead that legends such as “VI Pia VI Fidelis” simply honor a given legion for having been faithful and loyal on the specified number of occasions: “it is certain that in the conflict between the emperor Gallienus and his rival Postumus (260-268), the Second Parthian legion supported the first-mentioned, for which it was rewarded with surnames like Pia V Fidelis V (‘five times faithful and loyal’), Pia VI Fidelis VI, and finally Pia VII Fidelis VII.”

In short, even assuming that the modern authorities are correct that the legionary series was issued after the commencement of Gallienus’s sole reign, there is no generally-agreed answer to the questions of precisely what the V, VI, or VII on these coins signify – i.e., whether they refer to specific victories (numbered in an unknown fashion), or simply to the number of times a given legion proved itself to be faithful and loyal.

[expat]

Gallienus AE Antoninianus. Sole reign 260-268AD.

GALLIENVS AVG, radiate head right / APOLLINI CONS AVG, Centaur walking left, holding globe and trophy. Mintmark H in exergue. RIC 164a, Cohen 74, RSC 74. Sear 10177.

[Roman Collector]

Link: Neck beard.

Tacitus, AD 275-276.
Roman billon antoninianus, 3.57 g, 22.1 mm, 12 h.
Ticinum, AD 275-276, issue 2.
Obv: IMP C CL TACITVS AVG, radiate, draped and cuirassed bust, right.
Rev: ANNONA AVGVSTI, Annona standing left, holding ears of corn over modius and cornucopiae; T (third officina) in exergue.
Refs: MER/RIC temp #3647; RIC 123; Cohen --; Estiot 2149.56; RCV 11767; La Venera hoard 1673.

 

 

[expat]

Neck beard

TACITUS Antoninianus. Ticinum mint.
Obverse: IMP C M CL TACITVS AVG. Radiate, draped, and cuirassed bust right.
Reverse: PAX AVGVSTI. Pax standing left, holding olive branch and transverse sceptre; P in exergue.
 
RIC 150, Cohen 72.  Ticinum mint, early-June 276.  3,5 g - 22,5 mm

[DonnaML]

Links: Tacitus & neck beard.

Tacitus, silvered billon Antoninianus, Lugdunum [Lyons] Mint, First Officina, 275-276 AD. Obv. Radiate, draped and cuirassed bust right, IMP C L TACITVS AVG / Rev. Felicitas standing left, holding long caduceus upright in left hand and cornucopiae in right hand, TEMPORVM FELICITAS, A [First Officina] in left field, star [*] in right field. RIC V-1 65, Sear RCV III 11817 (ill.), Cohen 144. 23 mm., 3.4 g.

[ambr0zie]

Julia Maesa. Augusta 218-222. AR denarius. Rome. IVLIA MAESA AVG, draped bust right / SAECVLI FELICITAS, Felicitas standing to left, holding long caduceus and sacrificing over lighted altar; in left field, star. RIC IV 272 (Elagabalus); BMCRE 81-82 (Elagabalus); RSC 45b.

[Roman Collector]

Link: Maesa.

Julia Maesa, Augusta 218-225 CE.
Roman Orichalcum Sestertius, 21.28 gm, 29.2 mm.
Rome mint, 218-220 CE.
Obv: IVLIA MAESA AVGVSTA, diademed and draped bust, right.
Rev: PIETAS AVG SC, Pietas standing left, sacrificing over altar and holding incense box.
Refs: RIC 414; Cohen 31; BMCRE 389; Sear 7763; Thirion 408.

[ambr0zie]

Pietas:

19 mm, 2,68 g.
Trajan 98-117 AD. AR denarius. Rome. 112-114. IMP TRAIANO AVG GER DAC P M TR P COS VI P P, laureate bust right, slight drapery on far shoulder / SPQR OPTIMO PRINCIPI, Pietas standing left, sprinkling incense over lighted altar to left and holding sceptre.
RIC 262; BMCRE 481; RSC 201.

[DonnaML]

Link: Pietas.

Roman Republic, Q. Caecilius Metellus Pius, AR Denarius, 81 BCE. Obv. Head of Pietas right, wearing diadem; below chin, stork standing right / Rev. Elephant standing left, wearing bell around neck; in exergue, Q•C•M•P•I [Q. Caecilius Metellus Imperator]. Crawford 374/1, RSC I Caecilia 43, Sear RCV I 301 (ill.), Sydenham 750, BMCRR Spain 43. 18 mm., 3.9 g.*

*See Sear RCV I at p. 128: “The issuer strikes as imperator in Northern Italy where he was campaigning on behalf of Sulla. The following year he was to be the dictator’s colleague in the consulship.” See also Crawford Vol. I p. 390: “This issue was produced by Q. Caecilius Metellus Pius, serving as a Sullan commander in the fight against Carrinas, Norbanus and Carbo. The obverse type [of Pietas] . . . alludes to his cognomen, acquired for his part in securing the restoration from exile of his father Q. Caecilius Metellus Numidicus.” The stork depicted in front of Pietas “is an emblem of family piety and an occasional adjunct of the goddess.” Jones, John Melville, A Dictionary of Ancient Roman Coins (London, Seaby, 1990) p. 243, under entry for Pietas.  (Apparently, the Romans believed that the stork demonstrated family loyalty by returning to the same nest every year, and that it took care of its parents in old age.)  
Crawford also states at Vol. I p. 390 that “[t]he reverse type of an elephant recalls the capture of Hasdrubal’s elephants by L. Caecilius Metellus in 251 [BCE]” (also commemorated by an elephant denarius of C. Caecilius Metellus Caprarius in 125 BCE; Crawford 269/1, RSC I Caecilia 14) (see the elephant denarius of Q. Caecilius Metellus Pius Scipio issued in 47-46 BCE; Crawford 459/1, RSC I Caecilia 47). The family was known for its opposition to Caesar.

[Roman Collector]

Link: Elephant

Faustina I, 138-140 CE.
Roman orichalcum sestertius, 25.47 g, 32.2 mm, 6 h.
Rome, 150 CE.
Obv: DIVA FAVSTINA, bare-headed and draped bust, right.
Rev: AETERNITAS, Faustina I, veiled and draped, seated left, holding corn ears and scepter, in carpentum drawn left by two elephants with riders; S C in exergue.
Refs: RIC 1113; BMC 1502-1504; Cohen 57; Strack 1256; RCV 4611.
Notes: Ex- Münzb. Karlsruhe, Dr. Becht, 25 Feb 1996; Gilles Blançon Oct 1991, lot 562; Auktion-Basel Nov 1967, lot 1314. This reverse die is unique for the issue in that it depicts Faustina holding corn ears and scepter; the typical depiction is holding a vertical torch (or scepter) in right hand and resting left hand on knee. Reverse die match to: Mazzini 2, pl. 86, 57; Gerhard Hirsch Nachfolger (Auction 279), 8.2.2012, lot 2469; and Auktionshaus H. D. Rauch GmbH (Summer Auction 2013), 18.9.2013, lot 661; and Roma Numismatics Limited (E-Sale 62), 17.10.2019, lot 901. Dinsdale assigns this reverse die a separate listing, no. 017830, because the empress has different attributes.

[Phil Anthos]

Elephant...

Seleukid Kingdom, Reign of Antiochos IV (Epiphanes)

175-173/2 BC AE16 (16mm, 3.55g) O: Veiled bust of Laodike IV, within dotted border. R: Elephant's head left, tripod behind; BAΣIΛEΩΣ - ANTIOXOY above and below, [ΘE]K ex. Antioch mint Sear 1691v ex Marc Breitsprecher Numismatics

[Edessa]

Link: Elephant skin headdress.

Roman Egypt, Alexandria. Nero, AD 54-68. Billon Tetradrachm (24mm, 13.93g, 12h). Dated RY 12 (AD 65/66). Obv: NЄPΩ KΛAY KAIΣ ΣЄB ΓЄP; Radiate bust right, wearing Aegis. Rev: AYTO-KPA; Draped bust of Alexandria right, wearing elephant's skin headdress; L-IB (date) to right. Ref: Köln 172-4; Dattari (Savio) 204; K&G 14.88; RPC I 5289; Emmett 109.12 (R1). Very Fine, nice gunmetal patina. Ex WCNC, Jan 2005.

[ambr0zie]

Alexandria

24 mm, 11,94 g.
Egypt, Alexandria. Galba 68-69 AD. Billon tetradrachm. Dated RY 1 (9th of June – 28th of August 68 AD).
[ΛΟΥΚ ΛΙΒ ΣΟΥΛΠ] ΓΑΛΒΑ Κ[ΑΙΣ ΣΕΒ ΑΥ(Τ)], LΑ, laureate head of Galba, right / [ΕΙΡΗ]ΝΗ, veiled bust of Eirene wearing olive wreath, with caduceus over shoulder, right.
Köln 219; Dattari 302; Milne 309; Emmett 171; RPC I 5328.

[Roman Collector]

Link: Deity holding a caduceus.

Volusian as Augustus, 251-253 CE.
Roman orichalcum sestertius, 17.26 g, 27. 4 mm 10 h.
Rome, 252 CE.
Obv: IMP CAE C VIB VOLVSIANO AVG, laureate, draped and cuirassed bust, right.
Rev: FELICITAS PVBLICA S C, Felicitas standing left, leaning on column, holding caduceus in right hand and transverse scepter in left hand.
Refs: RIC 251a; Cohen 35; RCV 9786; Hunter 39.

[expat]

Felicitas with caduceus

Trajan 109 AD Rome .
IMP TRAIANO AVG GER DAC PM TRP, laureate bust right, draped left shoulder / COS V PP SPQR OPTIMO PRINC, Felicitas standing left, holding caduceus and leaning on column. RIC 120s, RSC 81b. Woytek 286a.
AR Denarius, 3.61gr, 19mm.

[ambr0zie]

Trajan 

18 mm, 3,91 g.
Lydia, Thyateira. Trajan AD 98-117. Ӕ.
ΑΥ ΝΕΡ ΤΡΑΙΑΝΟΝ, laureate head of Trajan, r. / ΘΥΑΤΕΙΡΗΝΩΝ, Tyche standing facing, head l., holding rudder in r. hand, cornucopia in l.
RPC III, 1826; BMC 75.

[Phil Anthos]

Severus Alexander / Hekate

Thyatira, Lydia
223-235 AD
AE25 (7.36g)
O: Laureate, draped and cuirassed bust right;
R: Hekate Selene, head facing left, wearing a short chiton and holding two torches, full moon around shoulders (billowing veil?); ΘV - ATEI - P - HNΩN.
SNG Fitzwilliam 1374
ex Ancient Imports

When at thy coming my father has given thee the deadly teeth from the dragon's jaws for sowing, then watch for the time when the night is parted in twain, then bathe in the stream of the tireless river, and alone, apart from others, clad in dusky raiment, dig a rounded pit; and therein slay a ewe, and sacrifice it whole, heaping high the pyre on the very edge of the pit. And propitiate only-begotten Hekate, daughter of Perses, pouring from a goblet the hive-stored labour of bees. And then, when thou hast heedfully sought the grace of the goddess, retreat from the pyre; and let neither the sound of feet drive thee to turn back, nor the baying of hounds, lest haply thou shouldst maim all the rites and thyself fail to return duly to thy comrades.
~ Apollonius of Rhodes (Argonautica 3,1028-1051)

[expat]

RPC Volume: VI №: 6807 (temporary)
Reign: Severus Alexander Persons: Severus Alexander (Augustus)
City: Caesarea  Region: Cappadocia Province: Cappadocia
Denomination: Æ (20 mm) Average weight: 6.45 g. Issue: ƐΤ Ɛ = 5 (225/6)
Obverse: ΑΥ Κ ϹΕ(ΟΥ) ΑΛΕΞΑ(Ν)(Δ); laureate head of Severus Alexander, right
Reverse: ΜΗΤΡ(Ο)(Π)(Ο) ΚΑΙ(Ϲ)(Α)(Ρ) ΕΤ Ε (or Ε ΕΤ); three corn-ears tied together
Reference: S 563, 563 a-b; SM 563, 563f-g; Ganschow 797 Specimens: 21

[Ursus]

Link: Cappadocia

Kingdom of Cappadocia, under Archelaus, Æ18, 25/24 BC, Eusebeia mint. Obv: head of Cybele, turreted, r.. Rev: EVΣΕ – ΒΕΙΑΣ; cornucopiae and monogram. 18mm, 5.02g. Ref: RPC I, 3609.

[Phil Anthos]

Cornucopia...

Taras, Calabria

272-240/35 BC (Period VIII - The Roman Alliance I) AR Didrachm (19mm, 6.47g) Agatharkos magistrate. O: Nude youth on horseback right, placing wreath on horse's head; ΑΓΑΘ-A / PXΟΣ (magistrate) in two lines below. R: Phalanthos riding dolphin left, holding cornucopia in left hand and [kantharos] in extended right hand; lighted torch behind, TAPAΣ below. D'Andrea XLIV, 1368; Vlasto 852-54; SNG France 2011; Evans VIII, B1; McGill II, 96-98; SNG ANS 1179-80; HN Italy 1028 ex Goduto Giuseppe This coin attracted me, even though some reverse elements are slightly off center. However most didrachms of this late period are very 'mushy', particularly the magistrates name and ethnic, so the scarcity of such a well struck specimen was too alluring to pass up.

[Shea19]

Link:  Animal whose head didn’t quite fit on the left side of the reverse

Sicily, Syracuse, circa 275-269 BC, (AE 20mm., 5.45g.), Wreathed head of Persephone (Kore) to left,/ Rev. Bull butting left; above, club above T; IE in exergue. Calciati 191.