Could this technically be the "Clausentum" antoninianus of Carausius cited in RIC?

[Harry G]

Hi all,

I've had this coin for a while, but I've recently done some more research into it, and I just thought I'd share my findings.

It is a very unusual antoninianus of Carausius.

The coin has wolf suckling twins on the reverse, with some illegible letters in the exergue. The legend appears to read [...]ISIIIIC

 

I have found a very similar coin in the "Unattributed coins" section in RIC, which cites a coin having the save reverse image, with the legend PM COS IIII or PTI COS IIII, and CLA in exergue.

 

This coin is also cited in the introduction to coins of Carausius earlier in RIC. 

 

Finding a coin with CLA in the exergue could (or could not be) important in determining the location of the "C" mint of Carausius. The most likely locations seem to be Colchester, Cirencester or Clausentum, and finding this elusive coin could point towards Clausentum being the likely answer. I think Colechester is currently considered to be the most likely at the moment?

 

William Stukeley (1687 - 1765) alledgedly found this "CLA" coin, but unfortunately no examples can be found today. RIC also mentions that Stukeley was prone to errors, and often got "carried by his enthusiasm", so it is likely he was incorrect when attributing this CLA coin. However, the RIC listing mentions a plate of "Stukeley 2. XXIX", although I can't find this anywhere.

Is it possible that my coin is the same coin, or has been struck from the same dies?

If he had owned a worn example of this coin, could it have been interpreted as having CLA in the exergue? Also, if the last "C" in the legend was worn off as well, the last four letters of the legend could clearly read "IIII", with the 5th last possibly being an "S".

Unfortunately, the style of the coin is clearly barbarous, so it is unlikely it points to Clausentium being the correct C mint. However, is it possible this coin was struck from the same dies as the coin Stukeley wrote about in 1759?

Also, does anyone know where to access the plate? 

Thanks for reading!

Edited September 12, 2023 by Harry G

[John Conduitt]

3 hours ago, Harry G said:

The most likely locations seem to be Colchester, Cirencester or Clausentum, and finding this elusive coin could point towards Clausentum being the likely answer. I think Colechester is currently considered to be the most likely at the moment?

Colchester was the original theory, but no-one thinks that anymore because find spots don't support it. Not that there's much idea of where it was, if it even was a mint.

At the start of Carausius's reign a lot of coins were struck in all sorts of styles and quality. While some are obvious, for others it's very difficult to tell which are barbarous and which came from an official mint. The COS IIII coin is listed on Ocre as RIC V, 1091 but that doesn't mean much as they also list the Sponsian coin.

Whether yours is the same coin, I don't know. I wouldn't look at that mintmark and think it's CLA, and there's a C after IIII. But it does seem to be copying 'COS IIII', so maybe it's an imitation of that coin.

[Ocatarinetabellatchitchix]

Please @Mauseus HELP !

[Nerosmyfavorite68]

In 'Rebel Emperors of Britannia - Carausius & Allectus', by Sam Moorhead & Graham Baker, they postulate about the C mint on page 105, listing most of the theories.

There's one theory that it meant Comitatus, a mint at Carausius' court.

"There is no doubt that the coinage of C Mint is much more personal to Carausius with many more original and unusual designs; while London tends to produce vast quantities of coins of more standard types. "

Or, perhaps Glevum:

" Some of the C mint marks on coins are distinct G marks. In 1984, Andrew Burnett speculatively suggested that G mark could actually stand for Glevum. This theory would be supported by the CL mark being the first two letters of Glevum. "  They further added that some coins have G instead of C.