Claudius_Gothicus Posted April 18 · Member Share Posted April 18 (edited) While scrolling through the new listings on Ebay I recently came across an unattributed antoninianus of Gallienus that immediately caught my attention, since it was a variant that I did not recognize; due to the very cheap asking price, I purchased it immediately and, now that I have it in hand, I must say that I am very pleased with it: Roman Imperial, Gallienus (253-268), Antoninianus, Mediolanum mint. Obverse: GALLIENVS AVG, radiate head right; Reverse: BONVS EVENTVS AVG, Bonus Eventus standing left, holding patera over lit altar in right hand and corn ears in left hand, MT in exergue; RIC V 470, MIR 1390a; What is more, my intuition proved to be correct, since thanks to @Harry G I discovered that this coin is actually an extremely rare variety of which only one example was known to Gobl; however, even if it had been the standard (still quite scarce) version with the shorter reverse legend, it would have still been interesting due to the personification shown on the reverse, Bonus Eventus, which is not frequently encountered on Roman coins: The standard, more common variant (Image courtesy of Nomos AG) First of all, Bonus Eventus stands out for being one of the few male Roman personifications to appear on Imperial coins, with the only other one that comes to my mind being Genius; moreover, it's also unusual that "Bonus" is an integral part of his name - this adjective is often found accompanying other personifications such as Spes or Fortuna, but while those are also encountered without it, that is not the case for him. The purpose of this personification appears to have been that of directly linking favourable outcomes to divine intervention, as can be seen from his attributes: the patera symbolizes religious piety, and the corn ears a bountiful harvest. The history of his numismatic appearances is also quite interesting: he is first shown on the obverse of some Republican denarii, while in the Imperial period he only appears on the reverse, with the exception of a rare denarius from the civil war of 68-69, which appears to have been inspired by the Republican issues: Image courtesy of CNG Image courtesy of CNG Bonus Eventus would then appear on the coinage of several emperors, where he appears to have been associated with a general sense of favourable hopes and good omens - this is particularly evident on a rare denarius of Vespasian, where he is accompanied by the legend EVENTVM PACIS, which literally means "the Event of Peace": Image courtesy of NAC From what I could tell, the penultimate appearance of this reverse (the last one being under Gallienus) was during Elagabalus' reign, on a rare Eastern denarius: Image courtesy of Fritz Rudolf Künker This means that, when Gallienus' type was struck in Mediolanum, almost half a century had passed since the last appearance of this personification of a coin, and I doubt that denarii of this type were still circulating, given the economic situation, which means that the engravers at the mint went out of their way to bring back this reverse: did it have a special meaning for them? Since this coin belongs to Mediolanum's last emission, dated to c.267, I think it's plausible to assume that the reverse was specifically meant to convey the hope that Gallienus' expedition against the Goths and other barbarians in the Balkans would be successful, as well as a more general message of peace and prosperity in those hard times. Anyway, that's all for now - post your coins with Bonus Eventus, or anything else you feel like might be relevant! Edited April 18 by Claudius_Gothicus 19 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jims,Coins Posted April 18 · Member Share Posted April 18 Silver coin (AR Denarius) minted at Rome during the reign of TITUS in 79 A.D. Obv. IMP.TITVS.CAES.VESPASIAN.AVG.P.M.: laur. hd. r. Rev. BONVS.EVENTVS.AVGVSTI.: Bonus Eventus stg. l., holding patera and grain stalks. RSCII #25 pg.54. RICII #31 pg.120. BMC #106. DVM #8. Pleasing F, nice smooth medium gray. 10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benefactor Ancient Coin Hunter Posted April 18 · Benefactor Benefactor Share Posted April 18 Great catch there @Claudius_Gothicus! A gem had for a low price presumably. Certainly a hopeful wish on the part of Gallienus who also struck those VBIQVE PAX aurei. "Peace Everywhere" which was a pipedream. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benefactor DonnaML Posted April 19 · Benefactor Benefactor Share Posted April 19 (edited) Great coins! Bonus Eventus, by the way, is not the only non-geographical male personification depicted on Roman Imperial coins (not counting the various Geniuses); the other one I know of is Honos. See this example: Marcus Aurelius Caesar (under Antoninus Pius) AR Denarius, 145-146 AD, Rome Mint. Obv: Bare head right, clean-shaven, AVRELIVS CAE-SVG PII F / Rev: Honos standing left, holding branch and cornucopiae, COS II. RIC III Antoninus Pius 429a, RSC II Marcus Aurelius 110 (p. 202), BMCRE IV Antoninus Pius 594 (p. 85), ERIC II 301, Sear RCV (1981 ed.) 1279; A. Pangerl, "Vier Jahrzente Portraits des Marcus Aurelius auf römischen Reichsmünzen," 500 Years of Roman Coin Portraits (2d ed. 2017), pp. 318-333 at p. 324 Tabelle 1 (No. 3.10) & p. 326 (No. 10) [dated to 145-146 AD and classified at p. 439 as “Type 3: long head shape of adolescent boy; beginning moustache, increasing but discrete side burns”] (noting at p. 324 that "RIC gibt keinen Barttyp an"). 18.2 mm, 3.3 g. According to OCRE, Honos is portrayed standing alone on Imperial reverses only under Hadrian and Antoninus Pius (including for Marcus Aurelius), and appears paired with Virtus only under Galba, Vitellius, and Vespasian. As for Bonus Eventus himself, all I have is one Roman Republican coin that may depict him on the obverse, but has also been interpreted as depicting the Genius Populi Romani: Roman Republic, Q. Cassius Longinus, AR Denarius, 55 BCE [Crawford] or 53 BCE [Harlan], Rome Mint. Obv. Young male head of Genius Populi Romani [Crawford & RCV] or Bonus Eventus [RSC & RRM II] right, with flowing hair, scepter behind, border of dots / Rev. Eagle, with wings spread, standing right on thunderbolt, lituus [curved augural staff used in reading auspices] to left and capis [jug used in same rituals] to right, border of dots; Q • CASSIVS in exergue. Crawford 428/3, RSC I Cassia 7 (ill.), Sydenham 916, Sear RCV I 391 (ill.), Harlan, RRM II Ch. 23 at pp. 180-187, BMCRR Rome 3868. 19 mm., 3.77 g., 6 h.* * Harlan argues that the auspicial symbols on the reverse signal Bonus Eventus rather than Apollo. According to Crawford (Vol. I at p. 452), the eagle, lituus, and capis together symbolized imperium. He suggests that they refer to the Lex Cassia of 104 BCE, introduced by L. Cassius Longinus, under which individuals who had been deprived of imperium by popular vote, or had been convicted of a crime in a popular assembly, were excluded from the Senate. This coin is also discussed in Roberta Stewart, The Jug and Lituus on Roman Republican Coin Types: Ritual Symbols and Political Power, in Phoenix Vol. 51, No. 2 (Summer, 1997), pp. 170-189 at pp. 181-182 (DOI: 10.2307/1088493, https://www.jstor.org/stable/1088493). The author notes that the eagle and thunderbolt were “auspicial signs associated with Jupiter, the god of the auspices,” and that both moneyers in 55 BCE were adherents of Pompey, “whose position in 56-55 was problematical.” Thus, the coin’s allusion to these traditional symbols of political power -- reading auspices was a predicate to the conduct of public business -- “identif[ied] Pompey’s desire for political and military prestige with the political and religious values of Rome.” Edited April 19 by DonnaML 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ocatarinetabellatchitchix Posted April 19 · Member Share Posted April 19 Hello my young Italian friend. This is a very interesting discovery; even the famous Gallienus’ collector Frank Reinhardt didn’t have one in his collection ! Please take a look here: https://www.academia.edu/71026138/GALLI 7 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roman Collector Posted April 19 · Patron Share Posted April 19 What a score, @Claudius_Gothicus! Congratulations on the new addition to your collection. Entertaining and informative write-up, too! I have only one Bonus Eventus coin in my collection, a denarius of Julia Domna. However, it features a female deity with the attributes of Fides, not Bonus Eventus himself. Julia Domna, 193-211 CE. Roman AR Denarius, 2.52 g, 16.2 mm, 1 h. Uncertain eastern mint (Cappadocia?) formerly attributed to Emesa, 193-196 CE. Obv: IVLIA DOMNA AVG, bare-headed and draped bust right. Rev: BONI EVENTVS, Fides (?) standing left, holding basket of fruit and corn ears. Refs: RIC 616; BMC --; Cohen 10; RCV --; CRE 328. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marsyas Mike Posted April 19 · Member Share Posted April 19 Interesting post - and good eye picking up that variant @Claudius_Gothicus. I've got what I think is one of the common ones (my attribution on Gallienus and family are usually uncertain): Gallienus Antoninianus (264-265 A.D.) Mediolanum Mint GALLIENVS AVG, radiate head right / BON EVEN AVG, Bonus Eventus standing facing, head left, by altar, holding patera and ears of corn, [MT in exergue]. RIC 470k (var. legend? See note) Göbl 1391a. (3.11 grams / 20 x 18 mm) eBay June 2018 Lot @ $5.43 Attribution Note: OCRE fails to provide reverse legends; gallienus.net notes BON EVEN as a variation: "RIC 470 lists only BON EVENT or BONVS EVENTVS AVG as reverse legend" 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maridvnvm Posted April 19 · Member Share Posted April 19 The Bonus Eventus / Fides (possibly more accurately Fides Publica, or Bona Fides?) combination in the eastern mints in the eastern mints during the early Severan issues is widespread. It occurs in the earlier issues (from the start of the mints under Septimius Severus) through to either their closure (Alexandria and COS issues (from AVG through to COS II) or conversion to branch mints of Rome (IMP issues, IMP II and Early IMP VIII). Here is a sample of what I mean. Alexandria:- Septimius Severus Obv:- IMP CAE L SEP SEV PERT AVG, Laureate head right Rev:- BONI EVENTVS, Fides (referred to as Bonus Eventus in RIC) standing left holding basket of fruit and corn ears Minted in Alexandria, A.D. 194 References:- RIC 347, BMCRE 321, RSC 66 There is also a single reverse die where Fides faces the opposite direction. Obv:- IMP CAE L SEP SEV PERT AVG, Laureate head right Rev:- BONI EVENTVS, Fides (referred to as Bonus Eventus in RIC) standing right holding basket of fruit and corn ears Minted in Alexandria. A.D. 194 Ref:- BMCRE -. RIC -. RSC -. (Not listed with Fides right) 2.72g. 17.10mm. 0o Additional information from Curtis Clay "Not previously known for Septimius Severus but a reverse die match with a Julia Domna in Vienna" Julia Domna Obv:– IVLIA DOMNA AVG, Draped bust right Rev:– BONI EVENTVS, Fides (referred to as Bonus Eventus in RIC) standing left, holding basket of fruit and corn-ears Minted in Alexandria Reference:– RIC IV 608. RSC 10 7 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maridvnvm Posted April 19 · Member Share Posted April 19 COS issues:- IMP CAE L SEP SEV PERT AVG Obv:– IMP CAE L SEP SEV PERT AVG, Laureate head right Rev:– BONI EVENTVS, Fides standing left holding basket of fruits in right hand, grain ears in left. Minted in "Emesa". A.D. 194 Ref:– RIC 352 (Scarce). RSC 66 3.03g, 17.99mm, 0o Obv:– IMP CAE L SEP SEV PERT AVG, Laureate head right Rev:– BONI EVENTVS II COS, Fides standing left holding plate of fruit and two wheat ears Minted in "Emesa". A.D. 193 Reference:– BMCRE -. RIC -. RSC -. Between AVG and COS II Obv:– IMP CE L SEP SEV PERT AVG CO, Laureate head right Rev:– BONI EVENTVC, Fides (sometimes referred to as Bonus Eventus) standing left holding basket of fruit and corn ears. Minted in Emesa, Late A.D. 193 or Early A.D. 194 References:– RIC -, RSC -, BMCRE -. 2.47g, 18.29mm, 0o Same obverse die Reference– BMCRE -. RIC IV -. RSC - One other example known - ANS Obv:– IMP CAE L SEP SEV PERT AVG II CO, laureate head right Rev:– BONI EVENTVC, Fides standing left holding basket of fruit and corn ears Minted in Emesa. A.D. 194 Reference:– BMCRE -. RIC -. RSC -. Two double die match examples Obv:– IMP CAE L SEP SE-V PERT AVG II C, laureate head right Rev:– BONI EVENTVS, Fides (Bonus Eventus) standing left holding basket of fruits in right hand, grain ears in left Minted in Emesa. A.D. 194 - 195 Reference:– BMCRE -. RIC IV -. RSC -. Two double die match examples Odd Short COS II legends Obv:– IMP CA L SEP SEV - PER AVG COS II, Laureate head right Rev:– BONI EVENTVS, Fides (Bonus Eventus - RIC) standing left, basket of fruit in right, two heads of grain in left Minted in Emesa. A.D. 194 – A.D. 195 Reference:– BMCRE -. RIC - (369 var.). RSC 68 var. I have 3 double die match examples Obv:– IMP CA L SE SEV PEVR (sic) AVG COS I-I, Laureate head right Rev:– BONI ENTVS (sic), Fides standing left holding basket of fruit and corn ears Minted in Emesa, A.D. 194 References:– RIC -, RSC - Obv:– IMP CAE L SEP SEV PERT AVG COS II, Laureate head right Rev: – BONI E-V-ENTVC, Fides standing left holding basket of fruits in right hand, grain ears in left Minted in Emesa, A.D. 194 - 195 References:– BMCRE 343 Note, RIC 369 (citing Third Dura hoard - Numismatic Notes and Monographs 55, page 44, number 203.), RSC 65c Obv:– IMP CAE L SEP SEV PERT AVG COS II, Laureate head right Rev:– BONI EV-ENTVS, Fides standing left holding basket of fruits in right hand, grain ears in left Minted in Emesa. A.D. 194 - 195 Reference:– BMCRE 343. RIC IV 369. RSC 68 6 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maridvnvm Posted April 20 · Member Share Posted April 20 Eastern IMP II Obv:– L SEPT SEV P-ERET AVG IMP II, Laureate head right Rev:– BONI E-V-ENTVS, Fides standing left holding basket of fruits in right hand, grain ears in left Minted in Laodicea-ad-Mare. A.D. 194 Reference(s) – BMCRE 427 (Appears to be the same obverse die, different reverse legend break). RIC 447 var (PERT rather than PERET). RSC 67c Obv:– L SEPT SEV P-ERET AVG IMP - II, Laureate head right Rev:– BONI EVENTV, Fides standing left holding basket of fruits in right hand, grain ears in left Minted in Laodicea-ad-Mare. A.D. 195 Reference(s) – BMCRE -. RIC IV -. RSC -. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maridvnvm Posted April 20 · Member Share Posted April 20 Early Eastern IMP VIII Obv:– L SEPT SEV PERT AVG IMP VIII, Laureate head right Rev:– BON EVENT, Fides standing left holding basket of fruits in right hand, grain ears in left Minted in Laodicea-ad-Mare. A.D. 196 - 197 Reference:– BMCRE 440 Note corr. (BON EVENT not BONI). RIC 467 corr. (S) (467 is IMP VII). Cohen 63 (citing Paris). Evidently no examples of this reverse legend variety were seen by the authors of RIC or BMCRE as they both note the coin but cite Cohen 63 which evidently cites a misread obverse legend of VII likely being VII-I from Paris. Obv:– L SEPT SEV PERT AVG IMP VIII, Laureate head right Rev:– BONI EVENTVS, Fides standing left holding basket of fruits in right hand, grain ears in left Minted in Laodicea-ad-Mare, A.D. 196-197 References:– RIC 474 (scarce). BMCRE p. 111, 440; RSC 67b. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maridvnvm Posted April 20 · Member Share Posted April 20 Julia Domna Eastern Issues Obv:– IVLIA DO-MNA AVG, Draped bust right, hair tied in bun behind Rev:– BONI EV-ENTVS, Bonus Eventus standing left, holding plate of fruit in right hand, grain ears in left Minted in Emesa. A.D. 194-194 Reference:– RIC 616 (R) ; BMCRE 328B; RSC 10 Obv:– IVLIA DO-MNA AVG, Draped bust right, hair tied in bun behind Rev:– BONI EV-ENTVS (S modified from C), Fides standing left, holding plate of fruit in right hand, grain ears in left Minted in Emesa. A.D. 194-195 Reference(s) – RIC Emesa 616 (Rare); BMCRE 328B; RSC 10. S modified from C not noted in references. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Furryfrog02 Posted April 20 · Supporter Share Posted April 20 Interesting pick up @Claudius_Gothicus! I also picked up a cheap unattributed Gallienus from ebay with a Bonus Eventus reverse. Sadly, mine is the more common reverse. Still an interesting coin! 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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