Alphabet game GAME OVER

[kapphnwn]

Ar Denarius of Gordian III as Caesar 238 AD Obv Bust right bare draped and cuirassed. Rv Priestly implements  RIC 1 3.05 grms 18 mm Photo by W. HansenI always like the fact that Gordy always seems to have a bit of a smile

[kirispupis]

Galatia

Kings of Galatia. Deiotaros
62-40 BCE
Bronze 27 mm, 11,75 g
Ex Savoca

[Qcumbor]

Oh Man !

I've turned my head and we're already at G !

G for galley

Q

[Qcumbor]

G for Germanicus

 

Q

[Qcumbor]

G for Gothicus

 

Q

[Qcumbor]

G for Constantine the Great, and Sol holding a Globe

 

Q

 

[Qcumbor]

And G for Gratian

 

Q

[Phil Davis]

G is for Gorgon:

or anguipede Giant:

[Octavius]

 RR denarii of Gargulius...

[shanxi]

Gaius Caesar

Mysia, Pergamon
grammateus Kephalion
Æ 19, struck 1 AD
Obv.: ΓAION KEΦAΛIΩN, Bare head of Gaius
Rev.: ΛЄYKION, Bare head of Lucius
Æ, 19mm, 2.84g
Ref.: RPC 2363

 

[shanxi]

Germanicus

Germanicus
Lydia, Sardeis
AE 16
Obv.: [ΓEΡM]ANIK[OΣ] KAIΣ[AΡ], Bare head left
Rev.: ΣΑΡΔΙΑΝΩΝ / ΜΝΑ−ΣΕΑΣ, Athena standing left, holding phiale
AE, 3.33g, 16 mm
Ref.: RPC 2993

[Spaniard]

Gratian...

Gratian. 375-383 AD. AE Centenionalis (1.59 gm, 20mm). Antioch mint. Struck 378-383 AD.
Obv.: DN GRATIANVS PF AVG, pearl diademed, draped, cuirassed bust right.
Rev.: VIRTVS ROMANORVM, Roma seated facing, head left, holding globe and spear, Θ in left field, Φ in right field. ANTΔ. LRBC 2674; RIC IX Antioch 50b. Slightly double struck, gVF.

[Deinomenid]

Gelon the Second, also called Gelo.

Son of Hieron II, and son-in-law of Pyrrhus.

Cataloguers  tie themselves in  knots about whether he was a king (he died before his father) but Archimedes himself   addressed him as such  in the Sand Reckoner (how many grains of sand are there in the universe) so that plus the BA on this coin seal it for me.

His coins are unusual in that they "merge" with Ptolemaic and Roman weights -

"The diademed portrait of Gelon II appears on the obverse of silver 8- and 4-litra coins, paired with either the usual Nike in chariot reverse (4 litrai) or an eagle standing on a thunderbolt. The latter is very similar to the standard reverse type employed on Ptolemaic silver coins. This, combined with metrological considerations has led to the suggestion that the 8-litra piece may have circulated as a light Ptolemaic didrachm and the 4-litra as a drachm. It has also been pointed out that the larger denomination could have passed at the weight of a Roman quadrigatus didrachm (struck c. 225–211 BC) with the smaller serving as a drachm."

His coins are also unusual as they identify “King Gelon” (abbreviated as BA) as the issuing authority BUT ALSO  also name “the Syracusans,” usually in the nominative case.

 

................................................

SICILY, Syracuse. Gelon, son of Hieron II. 275-215 BC. AR 4 Litrai – Drachm (16.5mm, 3.35 g, 11h). Struck circa 218/7-215 BC. Diademed head left / Eagle standing right on thunderbolt; K to left, BA (FOR  KING) to right. CCO 288 (D4/R3); BAR Issue 67; HGC 2, 1563; SNG Fitzwilliam 1411 (same dies); BMC 535 (same dies); Kampmann p. 31 (this coin).

 

 

 

 

 

 

[DonnaML]

I entirely missed F, but G is for Galba:

Galba AR Denarius, Aug-Oct 68 AD Rome Mint. Obv. Bare head right, IMP SER GALBA AVG / Rev. S P Q R/ O • B/ C S [OB CS = OB CIVES SERVATOS (For Saving the Citizens)] in three lines within oak wreath. RIC I 167, RSC II 287, Sear RCV I 2109 (ill.). 18.33 mm., 3.29 g.

Galba Billon Tetradrachm, Year 1 (AD 68), Alexandria, Egypt Mint. Obv. Laureate head right, ΛΟΥΚ ΛΙΒ ΣΟΥΛΠ ΓΑΛΒΑ ΚΑΙΣ ΣΕΒ ΑΥΤ (beginning at 7:00); LA (Year 1) in lower right field / Rev. Bust of Roma right, wearing crested helmet and cuirass, with spear held obliquely in front of chest and shield held behind left shoulder; ΡΩ-ΜΗ [ROMA] (beginning at 9:00). 25 mm., 13.43 g., 1 h. Emmett 174.1, RPC [Roman Provincial Coinage] Vol. I 5330 (1992); RPC I Online at  https://rpc.ashmus.ox.ac.uk/coins/1/5330; Milne 319 at p. 9 (Legend A3, ending in “AYT”); K & G 17.6; BMC 16 Alexandria 197 (at p. 24); SNG France 4, Alexandrie I 631-632. Purchased at CNG [Classical Numismatic Group, LLC] E-Auction 512, 23 March 2022, Lot 433.

G is also for the two Roman Republican moneyers bearing the name Sulpicius Galba:

Roman Republic, C. Sulpicius C.f. Galba, AR Serrate Denarius, 106 BCE, Rome Mint. Obv. Jugate heads of Dei Penates left, D•P•P [Dei Penates Publici]  beneath heads / Rev. Two soldiers facing each other, holding spears and pointing at sow lying down between them; S above; in exergue: C•SVL•ICI•C•F. [Indication of undertype on right of reverse, causing loss of detail.]  RSC I Sulpicia 1, Crawford 312/1, Sydenham 572, BMCRR Rome 1324, Sear RCV I 189 (ill.)  18.12 mm., 3.83 g. [See Sear RCV I at p. 108: “Crawford’s interpretation of this interesting type seems the most convincing: it refers to Aeneas’ [landing at and founding of] Lavinium (home of the Sulpicia gens) with the Penates, and the subsequent miracle of the great white sow [giving birth to 30 piglets], which foretold the founding of Alba Longa,” where the soil was more fertile, 30 years later.] (Ex. Madroosi Collection [Joe Blazick]).

Roman Republic, P. [Publius] Sulpicius Galba, AR Denarius, 69 BCE. Obv. Veiled head of Vesta right, S•C• [Senatus consulto] downwards behind / Rev. Sacrificial implements (Long knife [secespita], short-handled simpulum or culullus,* and single-bladed axe [securis] ornamented with lion’s head, left to right), AE in left field, CVR in right field [together = Aedilis Curulis]; in exergue, P•GALB.** Crawford 406/1, RSC I [Babelon] Sulpicia 7, Sear RCV I 345, BMCRR 3517, Harlan, RRM I Ch. 28 at pp. 160-163 [Harlan, Michael, Roman Republican Moneyers and their Coins, 81 BCE-64 BCE (2012)], Sydenham 839, RBW Collection 1454.*** 18 mm., 3.97 g. Purchased from Kölner Münzkabinett, April 2021; ex. Fritz Rudolf Künker GmbH & Co. KG, Auction 347, Lot 918, March 22, 2021. (With 19^th-Century handwritten French-language coin ticket, citing Babelon Sulpicia 6[bearing the reverse legend AED-CVR] on one side, and Babelon Sulpicia 7[this coin-type, bearing the reverse legend AE-CVR] on the other.)[Double die match to http://numismatics.org/archives/ark:/53695/schaefer.rrdp.b06#schaefer.rrdp.b06_0214 , Binder 06, p. 165.1, Col. 3, Row 4, No. 444.]

 

* “Culullus: The Culullus is a horn-shaped vessel like the rhython held aloft by the Penates, holding milk or wine. This was an emblem of the Vestales Virgines as well as of the pontifices.” https://www.forumancientcoins.com/numiswiki/view.asp?key=Culullus. But see Jones, John Melville, A Dictionary of Ancient Roman Coins (Seaby, London 1990) (entry for “Culillus or culullus” at pp. 78-79): “This is said to have been the name of a drinking cup used in religious ceremonies by the Roman pontifices and Vestal Virgins. For this reason the digger or scoop which appears on the reverse of a denarius of P. Sulpicius Galba issued in 69 BC, with a head of Vesta on the obverse, has been identified as a culillus. It seems, however, to be only a simpulum, perhaps with a slightly shorter handle than usual.” See also Jones, entry for “Simpulum” at p. 290: “the name for a ladle made of earthenware which was one of the traditional implements of the pontifices at Rome. It should be distinguished from a culullus, which was a drinking vessel.” 

**The moneyer is known to have been “appointed one of the judges in the trial against Verres in B.C. 70 [for extortion and corruption as provincial governor of Sicily, prosecuted by Cicero; see https://www.famous-trials.com/gaius-verres] but was rejected by Verres on account of his reputation for severity. He was an unsuccessful candidate for the consulship in B.C. 63, and he is mentioned as pontifex in B.C. 57, and augur in B.C. 49.” (BMCRR Vol. I at p. 433 n. 1.) See also Harlan, RRM I at 160 (quoting Cicero’s characterization of Sulpicius Galba, in a letter to his brother Atticus in July 65 BCE, as “sobrius et sanctus”).  Crawford states at Vol. I p. 418 that the moneyer was already a pontifex (i.e., a member of the senior college of priests) at the time of his term as moneyer in 69 BCE -- as is demonstrated by the head of Vesta on the obverse of this coin (given that the pontiffs had oversight of the ceremonies of Vesta; see Harlan, RRM I at p. 161), as well as the depiction of sacrificial implements on the reverse. 

The moneyer’s position as curule aedile in 69 BCE, expressly mentioned in the coin’s reverse legend (AE - CVR), was separate from his status as a pontifex.  There were two curule aediles -- i.e., patrician aediles entitled to use the sella curulis (curule chair) -- at any given time in Rome. They were the magistrates charged with “the general administration of the city and its buildings and the organizing of public games and spectacles.” (See Dictionary of Ancient Roman Coins, supra, entry for “Aedile” at p. 5.) See also the NumisWiki entry for “Aediles Curules,” from Stevenson’s A Dictionary of Roman Coins (1889), at https://www.forumancientcoins.com/numiswiki/view.asp?key=Aediles%20Curules: “To the curule ediles were entrusted the care of the sacred edifices (especially the temple of Jupiter), the tribunals of justice, the city walls, and the theatres; in short, all that was essential to the religion, defence, and embellishment of the city, came under their cognizance.”  According to Harlan (RRM I at p. 163), this coin represents “the first time under the Sullan constitution that an aedile minted” as moneyer. The specific special purpose for the Senate’s authorization of this issue (as signified by the “S•C” on the obverse) is unknown, although Harlan suggests (id.) that the purpose may have been related to the need to purchase extra grain from Sicily to alleviate the severe grain shortages during that period, exacerbated by Verres’s peculations as provincial governor. Cf. the Stevenson entry on Aediles Curules quoted in NumisWiki at the link above, citing various coin issues expressly depicting corn ears, and noting that “[t]he addition of EX. S. C. denotes that those Curule Ediles purchased wheat for the supply of the Roman population, with the public money, by authority of the Senate.” 

***The coin pictured as RBW Collection 1454 (at p. 301 of the book) is actually the same type as this coin ([RSC I] Babelon Sulpicia 7, bearing the reverse legend AE - CVR), even though the book’s text (at p. 300) erroneously identifies it as [RSC I] Babelon Sulpicia 6, mistakenly characterizing it as bearing the reverse legend AED-CVR. (Both types have the same Crawford number, namely 406/1.)  The RBW Collection coin was sold by Numismatic Ars Classica (NAC) with that erroneous identification on May 17, 2012. Interestingly, NAC proceeded to sell at least two other Sulpicius Galba AE-CVR examples in 2015, and another in 2016, all with the exact same erroneous identification as purportedly bearing the AED-CVR legend.

Edited September 16, 2022 by DonnaML

[DonnaML]

G is for the 10 coins I have from the Gallienus Zoo Series (out of the 32 different reverse types in the series; see https://www.numisforums.com/topic/891-new-gallienus-animal-coins-from-zoo-series-and-legionary-series-plus-new-antioch-lion-coin/ ).

Note that the third coin also qualifies because G is for Gryphon or Griffin.

Gallienus, Billon Antoninianus, 267-268 AD, Rome Mint (7th Officina). Obv. Radiate head right, GALLIENVS AVG / Rev. Centaur walking right, holding bow with right hand and drawing arrow and bowstring with left hand, left front leg lifted, APOLLINI CONS AVG; Z [Zeta = 7th Officina] in exergue.  RIC V-1 163, RSC IV 72, Sear RCV III 10177, Wolkow 2a7 (ill. p. 41), Göbl MIR Band 36, No. 735b [ill. at http://www258.pair.com/denarius/coinage.htm (Ed Flinn's site) & in Reinhardt at p. 131, no. 4].  20 mm., 2.96 g. Purchased Jan. 2022 from Ingemar Wallin Utveckling AB, Uppsala, Sweden. 

Gallienus, Billon Antoninianus, 267-268 AD, Rome Mint, 8th Officina, 10th emission (Göbl and Reinhardt). Obv. Radiate head right, GALLIENVS AVG / Rev. Centaur walking left holding a globe in extended right hand and a reversed rudder in left hand, with right front leg lifted, APOLLINI CONS AVG; H [Eta = 8th Officina] in exergue.  RIC V-1 164, RSC IV 73 (ill.), Sear RCV III 10178, Wolkow 1a8, Göbl MIR  Band 36, No. 738b [ill. at http://www258.pair.com/denarius/coinage.htm (Ed Flinn's site) & in Reinhardt at p. 133, no. 2]. 20 mm., 3.42 g., 12 h. 

Gallienus, Billon Antoninianus, 267-268 AD, Rome Mint, 4th Officina, 10th emission (Göbl and Reinhardt). Obv. Radiate head right, GALLIENVS AVG / Rev. Gryphon walking left, APOLLINI CONS AVG; Δ [Delta = 4th Officina] in exergue. RIC V-1 166, RSC IV 76, Sear RCV III 10180, Wolkow 4a4, Göbl MIR Band 36, No. 718b  [ill. at http://www258.pair.com/denarius/coinage.htm (Ed Flinn's site); not ill. in Reinhardt w/radiate head right & this obv. legend]. 20.5 mm., 3.29 g., 6 h. 

Gallienus, Billon Antoninianus, 267-268 AD, Rome Mint, 3rd Officina, 10th emission (Göbl and Reinhardt). Obv. Radiate head right, GALLIENVS AVG / Rev. Antelope walking left, DIANAE CONS AVG; Γ [Gamma = 3rd Officina] in exergue. RIC V-1 181 [p. 146, Obverse 8K], RSC IV 165, Sear RCV III 10200, Wolkow 7a3, Göbl MIR Band 36, No. 716b [ill. at http://www258.pair.com/denarius/coinage.htm (Ed Flinn's site) & in Reinhardt at p. 123, no. 1]. 20 mm., 3.59 g., 7 h.  

Gallienus, Billon Antoninianus, 267-268 AD, Rome Mint, 5th Officina, 10th emission (Göbl & Reinhardt). Obv. Radiate head right, GALLIENVS AVG / Rev. Doe walking right, head turned back looking left, DIANAE CONS AVG; Є [Epsilon = 5th Officina] in exergue. RIC V-1 177, RSC IV 154, Wolkow 10a5, Sear RCV III 10199 (same reverse & obverse portrait; different obv. legend), Göbl MIR Band 36, No. 728b [ill. at http://www258.pair.com/denarius/coinage.htm (Ed Flinn's site); not ill. in Reinhardt w/radiate head right & this obv. legend]. 21 mm., 2.72 g., 6 h. 

Gallienus, Billon Antoninianus, 267-268 AD, Rome Mint, 11th Officina, 10th emission (Göbl & Reinhardt). Obv. Radiate head right, GALLIENVS AVG /Rev. Gazelle* walking right, DIANAE CONS AVG; XI in exergue. RIC V-1181, RSC IV 157, Wolkow 14a11,, Cunetio 1401, Sear RCV III 10201, Göbl MIR Band 36, No. 747b [ill. at http://www258.pair.com/denarius/coinage.htm (Ed Flinn's site) & in Reinhardt at p. 139, no. 1]. 21 mm., 3.24 g., 6 h.

* See the following identifying animal as gazelle: Wolkow p. 64; http://www.fredericweber.com/GALLIEN/emission_du_bestiaire/page2.htm; Jim Phelps, The Coins of Gallienus ' "Zoo" Collection (http://www.forumancientcoins.com/numiswiki/view.asp?key=Gallienus%20Zoo); Ed Flinn's site. Incorrectly identified as a deer in Reinhardt. 

Gallienus, Billon Antoninianus, 267-268 AD, Rome Mint, 2nd Officina, 10th emission  (Göbl & Reinhardt). Obv. Radiate head right, GALLIENVS AVG /Rev. Tigress walking left, LIBERO P • CONS AVG; B in exergue. RIC V-1 230, RSC IV 586, Wolkow 19a2, Sear RCV III 10281, Göbl MIR  Band 36, No. 713b [ill. at http://www258.pair.com/denarius/coinage.htm (Ed Flinn's site) & in Reinhardt at p. 121, no. 1]. [Tigress variety of these catalogue numbers: see http://www.forumancientcoins.com/numiswiki/view.asp?key=Liber Pater; see also description of type as tigress at Ed Flinn’s website, at http://www258.pair.com/denarius/coinage.htm .] 19 mm, 2.83 g., 6 h. 

Gallienus, Billon Antoninianus, 267-268 AD, Rome Mint, 9th Officina, 10th emission (Göbl & Reinhardt). Obv. Radiate cuirassed bust right, GALLIENVS AVG / Rev. Hippocamp swimming right, NEP-TVNO CONS AVG; in exergue, N [= Nu, for 9th Officina). RIC V-1 245, RSC IV 668 (ill.), Wolkow 23i9, Bust Type B3, Ribbons Type 3 (see p. 87), Sear RCV III 10292, Göbl MIR  Band 36, No. 743b [ill. at http://www258.pair.com/denarius/coinage.htm (Ed Flinn's site) & in Reinhardt at p. 136, no. 5]. 19 mm.,  g.  Purchased from Akropolis Ancient Coins, May 2021. 

Gallienus, Billon Antoninianus, 267-268 AD, Rome Mint, 1st Officina, 10th emission (Göbl & Reinhardt). Obv. Radiate head right, GALLIENVS AVG /Rev. Pegasus springing right, about to take flight. SOLI CONS AVG; A offset to right in exergue. RIC V-1 283 (p. 155), RSC IV 979, Sear RCV III 10362, Wolkow 26a1, Göbl MIR Band 36, No. 712b [ill. at http://www258.pair.com/denarius/coinage.htm & in Reinhardt at p. 120, no. 1]. 21 mm., 3.12 g, 11 h.  

Gallienus, Billon Antoninianus, 267-268 AD, Rome Mint, 11th Officina, 10th emission (Göbl & Reinhardt). Obv. Radiate head right, GALLIENVS AVG /Rev. Bull standing right, head three-quarters right, SOLI CONS AVG [off flan: XI in exergue, for 11th Officina]. RIC V-1 285, RSC IV 983, Sear RCV III 10363, Wolkow 28a11 [Cédric Wolkow, Catalogue des monnaies romaines - Gallien - L'émission dite "Du Bestiaire" - atelier de Rome (BNumis, édition 2019)], Göbl MIR [Moneta Imperii Romani] Band 36, No. 749b [ill. at http://www258.pair.com/denarius/coinage.htm (Ed Flinn’s site Coinage of Gallienus and Family) & in Reinhardt at p. 140, no. 1 (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 )]. 21 mm., 3.12 g, 11 h. Purchased from Leu Numismatik AG, Winterthur, Switzerland, Web Auction 21, 19 Jul 2022, Lot 4907.

Edited September 16, 2022 by DonnaML

[DonnaML]

G is also for my three coins from the Gallienus Legionary Series:

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. Capricorn springing right, LEG I ADI VI P VI F ( = Legio I Adiutrix [“Rescuer”], VI Pia, VI Fidelis [see fn.]). RIC V-1 315j [joint reign], RSC IV 447 (ill. p. 77), Sear RCV III 10252, Göbl MIR [Moneta Imperii Romani] Band 36, No. 982r [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. 180, no. 5 (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 4869; 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]; ex Jesus Vico Auction 133, 15 Nov. 2012, Lot 2549.* 

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]. 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] .*

*[This footnote applies to both of these legionary series coins.] A capricorn and a centaur were the emblems, respectively, of Leg. I Adiutrix and 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. I Adiutrix and Leg. II Parthica were primarily based, during the third century AD, at Brigetio in Pannonia (modern Szöny, northwest Hungary), and on the Alban mountain near Rome. (See the articles about these legions at https://www.livius.org/articles/legion/legio-i-adiutrix/ and 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, A Dictionary of Ancient Roman Coins , supra 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 above) 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 examples] 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. (But see the footnote to my Leg. VIII Augusta legionary series bull coin below for a citation to Jona Lendering’s article asserting that despite that legion’s traditional location in Argentoratum [Strasbourg] in Germania Superior, that legion actually supported Gallienus rather than Postumus.) 

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. 

 

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. Bull advancing right, bellowing with head raised and mouth open, LEG VIII AVG [Augusta] VI P [Pia] VI F [Fidelis].  RIC V-1 353j [joint reign] (p. 95), RSC IV 522, Sear RCV III 10268, Göbl MIR [Moneta Imperii Romani] Band 36, No. 1009h [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); bust type not. ill in Reinhardt]. 2.18 mm., 2.49 g.*

*See the footnote above to the capricorn and centaur legionary series coins, incorporated herein. A bull was the emblem of Leg. VIII Augusta, based at Argentoratum in Germania Superior (modern Strasbourg, France), on the Rhine. See the article on this legion at Jona Lendering’s site, at https://www.livius.org/articles/legion/legio-viii-augusta/. However, as Mattingly points out (RIC V-1 at p. 34), Germania Superior was controlled by Postumus beginning in 260; he uses that fact to argue (as quoted in the footnote above) that the legionary series must have been issued earlier, during Gallienus’s joint reign with his father, because the Rhine legions supported Postumus, and, therefore, Gallienus would never have honored them after the establishment of the Gallic Empire. But see Jona Lendering’s article on Leg. VIII Augusta, asserting that “in the conflict between the emperors Gallienus (of Italy) and Postumus (of Gaul), the legion seems to have supported the former, and it received honorific titles like V, VI, VII Pia fidelis (five times, six times, and seven times faithful and loyal).” The obvious implication -- if one accepts the modern view that the legionary series coins were issued after Gallienus’s sole reign began in 260 -- is that during the existence of the Gallic Empire, Leg. VIII Augusta’s base must have been moved elsewhere, outside Germania Superior, or Gallienus would not have honored it with the titles it was given on the legionary series coins.  

Edited September 16, 2022 by DonnaML

[DonnaML]

And, G is for my two different Gallienus lion coins from Antioch:

Gallienus, Billon Antoninianus, 264-265 AD, Antioch Mint, 12th emission (Göbl MIR and Reinhardt). Obv. Radiate, draped & cuirassed bust right, two ribbons behind, seen from behind, GALLIENVS AVG / Rev. Lion, radiate, advancing left, holding thunderbolt in his jaws, P M TR P XII; in exergue, C VI PP [CVI = COS VI]. RIC 601 var. (obv. bust left); RSC IV 842 var. (obv. bust left; palm branch in rev. exergue); Göbl MIR [Moneta Imperii Romani] Band 36, No. 1620i (not ill. at Ed Flinn’s site; this bust type not ill. in Reinhardt). Purchased from Leu Numismatik AG, Winterthur, Switzerland, Web Auction 21, 19 Jul 2022, Lot 4893; 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]. [Leu describes this variety of the type as “Very rare,” with three examples recorded in Göbl MIR; acsearch.com lists seven examples including this coin.]*

*See Woods, David, "From Caracalla to Carausius: The Radiate Lion with Thunderbolt in its Jaws," British Numismatic Journal 88 (British Numismatic Society 2018) at pp. 189-194, explaining that this type was “first used by the emperor Caracalla (211−17) in 215 and last used by the British usurper Carausius (286−93) and his continental contemporaries Diocletian (284−305) and Maximian (286−305).” According to the author, “the radiate lion with a thunderbolt in its jaws was a symbol of [imperial] courage. The fact that the emperor during whose reign this type was first used [Caracalla] was strongly interested in Alexander the Great encourages the belief that traditions concerning Alexander the Great may have influenced the design of this symbol. The match between the main elements of two ominous dreams experienced by the parents of Alexander before his birth and the main elements of this symbol, a lion and a thunderbolt, suggest a connection between the two. [See article for details on these dreams.] The fact that these dreams were understood as omens of how courageous Alexander would be confirms this connection.” Id. p. 193. The purpose of the crown on the lion’s head “may have been to denote royal or imperial status” (id. p. 191), reinforcing the reference to imperial courage.

 

Gallienus, Billon Antoninianus, 264-265 AD, Antioch Mint, 11th emission (Göbl MIR and Reinhardt).*  Obv. Radiate head left, two ribbons behind, GALLIENVS AVG / Rev. Lion walking left (not radiate), bucranium [bull’s head] in front of paws, P M TR P XIII; in exergue, C VI PP [CVI = COS VI], palm branch left below. RIC V-1 602 var. obv. [bust draped & cuirassed] & rev. [lion radiate]; RSC IV 847 var. rev. [lion radiate]; Sear RCV III 10327 var. rev. [lion radiate]; Göbl MIR [Moneta Imperii Romani] Band 36, No. 1622a [ill. at Ed Flinn’s site Coinage of Gallienus and Family, at http://www258.pair.com/denarius/coinage.htm, and at Reinhardt p. 340, no. 5 (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 )]. 21 mm., 4.05 g., 12 h.**

*See Euston, Charles, Gallienus to Antioch ? A new PROFECTIO type of antoninianus from the mint at Antioch, A.D. 264, in Bulletin du cercle d’études numismatiques [BCEN] 52/2 (2015), at p. 2: “Göbl’s 11th emission begins with another lion reverse; lion (not radiate), left with a bull’s head between its paws (MIR 1622). This reverse is also dated, but to Gallienus’ 13th tribunician power (TRP XIII). Interestingly, this type straddles both the 12th and the 11th emissions as it exists both with and without the palm frond as exergual marker. This mark in the exergue is, in fact, the primary indicator of the 11th emission.”
**See Manders, Erika (2012), Coining Images of Power: Patterns in the Representation of Roman Emperors on Imperial Coinage, A.D. 193–284. Impact of Empire (Roman Empire, c. 200 B.C.–A.D. 476), at pp. 296-297 [portions available on Google Books], stating that “[f]our coin types [of Gallienus] [NB: in fact, there were more than four] bear a legend consisting of standard imperial titalature and show a lion with a bull’s head between his paws or a radiate lion (sometimes with a bull’s head between his paws). . . . These types might refer to the victories of Odaenathus [of Palmyra], Rome’s ally, gained over the Persians, probably in 262-263 and 267. This hypothesis is strengthened by the thirteenth Sybilline Oracle’s description of the Persians as ‘venom spitting beasts’ who have been destroyed by Odaenathus, the ‘sun-sent, dreadful, fearful lion, breathing much fire.’” Other authorities have expressed skepticism regarding this interpretation.  See, e.g., Woods, David, "From Caracalla to Carausius: The Radiate Lion with Thunderbolt in its Jaws," British Numismatic Journal 88 (British Numismatic Society 2018) at pp. 189-194 (arguing at p. 193 that the Manders interpretation is unconvincing for various reasons, that the radiate lion with thunderbolt symbolizes imperial courage [see footnote to Gallienus coin depicting radiate lion with thunderbolt in its mouth], and that for emperors who issued both types [Probus and Gallienus], the iconographical differences between the two types were probably of no significance).

Edited September 16, 2022 by DonnaML

[Di Nomos]

The best I can do for G is a Griffin on the neck Guard of Athena on this dinomos from Thurium in Lucania c. 400 BC.

She also has a Graze on her cheek for an extra point.

 

[Broucheion]

Hi All,

This G is for Grypus. Cleopatra Thea tags along (till he terminates her ride).

CLEOPATRA THEA & ANTIOCHUS VIII GRYPUS (COREGENCY: 125-121 BCE)
UNCERTAIN MINT 115: PROB NORTHERN SYRIA: DAMASCUS? 122-121 BCE (?)

Æ Denomination B (Double), Royal bronze coinage
Size: 21 mm
Weight: 9.28 g
Die Axis: 12:30
Broucheion Collection S-2008-01-12.001  

Obv: Jugate busts facing right: Cleopatra Thea, vieled, diademmed and weearing stephane, with Antiochus VIII, diademmed. No legend. Dotted border.
Rev: Nike standing, facing left holding wreath. Legend in four lines: ΒΑΣΙΛΙΣΣΗΣ ΚΛΕΟΠΑΤΡΑΣ ΘΕΑΣ ΚΑΙ ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΑΝΤΙΟΧΟΥ. In lower left field: palm branch. Plain border.
Refs: SC-2265.2b; BMC.01.008 & BMC.04.086, 007 var; HGC 9, 1190; Sear-7138
Provenance: Ex-Arthur Houghton Collection sold directly by him via eBay.

Note 1:
An example of this type is known to have been overstruck by Tigranes II, whose overstrikes are mostly over issues of Damascus. Usual commercial sources are: Lebanon & Jerusalem.

Note 2 from CSE Coll A Houghton pt II:
"Cleopatra Thea initially seized power in her own name in 125, but later in the same year she raised her teenaged son Antiochus VIII to be her co-ruler after slaying Antiochus' elder brother Seleucus when he attempted to succeed Demetrius II as sole Seleucid monarch. With military support from Ptolemy VIII Euergetes, who had become disenchanted with his creature, Alexander II Zabinas, Cleopatra Thea and Antiochus VIII crushed the pretender in 122. This victory expanded their authority from their base at Ptolema'is (Ake) to include some parts of Phoenicia and Coele Syria, Syria Seleucis, and Cilicia. However, the relationship between mother and son was strained and ended in violence when Cleopatra was forced to drink poison. It is said that she had initially prepared the deadly cup for her son, but it is just as possible that Antiochus VIII killed her for reasons other than self-defence. He is known to have had a keen interest in poisons, which he occasionally expressed in poetry."

- Broucheion

Edited September 16, 2022 by Broucheion
updated provenance

[expat]

@DonnaML I would like to say that aside from your gorgeous coins, your footnotes are, for me, very interesting and informative. Thank you

[Spaniard]

G.......

Gallienus, Antoninianus, Minted AD 258-259 (Joint reign)
Obverse..GALLIENVS dot P dot F dot AVG Radiate, curaissed bust right
Reverse..GERMANICVS MAX V trophy between two seated and bound German captives
RIC VI#18 variant obv legend dots..Cologne

Gordian III AR Antoninianus 23mm/4.28gr Toned..
IMP GORDIANVS PIVS FEL AVG, radiate draped bust right / VIRTVTI AVGVSTI, Hercules standing right leaning on club set on stone and holding lion skin, (has just finished a naked solo on the clarinet with ladies/men throwing their underwear at him)....
Rome mint: AD 241-243 (9th, 10th, and 11th Issues, 4th Officina) RIC 95, RSC 404

 

 

 

Edited September 16, 2022 by Spaniard

[akeady]

G is for lots of Good things.

Gargilia - one the three moneyers of 86BC, the anonymous coins are more common, but this is one with the Gargilius name first (Cr. 350A/1a):

Gellia (Cnaes Gellius), 138 BC, Cr. 232/1:

A gryphon, ca. 169-158 BC, Cr. 182/1:

Gnaeus Pompey, 46-45 BC, Cr. 471/1:

Head of Gallia, 48 BC, Cr. 448/3:

Goat being riden by Cupid, 85 BC, Cr. 353/2:

Goatskin headdress, 64 BC, Cr. 412/1:

Gallic War Stater, ca. 58-55 BC, ABC 16var:

Gold, 323-315 BC, Le Rider 522:

Edward III Groat, ca. 1356-1361, Spink 1570:

Eileen Gray (https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2020/apr/29/most-expensive-22m-chair-eileen-gray-design-genius-scared-corbusier-naked) :

Germany:

etc.!

 

ATB,
Aidan.

Edited September 17, 2022 by akeady

[shanxi]

still some G emperors to post

 

GETA

Geta
AR Denar
Obv.: P SEPT GETA CAES PONT, Draped ans cuirassed bust right
Rev.: NOBI-LITAS, Nobilitas standing right holding sceptre and palladium
Ag, 3.20g, 18.9mm
Ref.: RIC 13a, RSC 90

 

GORDIANUS III

Gordian III
AR-Antoninianus
Obv.: IMP CAES M ANT GORDIANVS AVG, radiate, draped and cuirassed bust right
Rev.: PM TR P II COS P P, Victory advancing left, wreath in right and palm in left
Ag, 4.17g, 20.8mm
Ref.: RIC 19

 

GALLIENUS

Gallienus AD 253-268
Antoninianus, Mediolanum mint, AD 260-268
Obv.: GALLIENUS AVG, Radiate head right, light drapery on shoulder
Rev.: VIRTUS AVG, Soldier standing left, right hand resting on shield, left holding spear, S in ex
2.59g, 21.3mm
Ref.: RIC 534K var, Göbl 1150k

[shanxi]

and more G emperors

 

GALERIUS

Galerius (293-311)
Thessalonica mint
Obv: GAL VAL MAXIMIANVS NOB CAES, Head of Galerius, laureate, right
Rev: GENIO POPVLI ROMANI, Genius, wearing modius, nude, chlamys draped over left shoulder, standing left, pouring liquid from patera in right hand and holding cornucopiae in left hand
MintMark: -/-//TSA
AE, 9.97g, 25-28mm
RIC VI, p.512, 20b

 

GALERIA VALERIA

 

Galeria Valeria
Æ Follis, Heraclea, circa AD 308-310
Obv.: GAL VALERIA AVG, diademed and draped bust right.
Rev.: VENERI VICTRICI, Venus standing left, holding apple and raising drapery over shoulder; in ex HTB.
Æ, 5.88g, 25.9 mm
Ref.: RIC 43

 

GRATIAN

Gratianus (AD 367-383)
Siscia Mint
Obv: DN GRATIANVUS P F AVG, Bust of Gratian, pearl-diademed, draped and cuirassed, right
Rev: GLORIA ROMANORVUM, Emperor advancing right, dragging captive with right hand and holding labarum in left, M/(*/P)//ΓSISC
RIC 9, p.147, 14c / Kankelfitz 5

 

 

 

Edited September 17, 2022 by shanxi

[John Conduitt]

There are 6 Georges in the UK…here’s one of them.

George IV Farthing, 1821

London. Bronze, 22mm, 4.67g. Laureate head 1 left; GEORGIUS IIII DEI GRATIA. Britannia seated with shield right, holding trident and spray; date in exergue below; BRITANNIAR REX FID DEF (S 3822).