Attribution help with a Gallienus? (& Diadumenian, Herennius Etruscus, Crispina)

lordmarcovan

AE silvered (AR?) antoninianus. Really nice- brighter than the dull scan indicates. I'd almost swear it was good silver instead of silvered bronze, but from what I've read, there isn't supposed to be any good silver from Gallienus, just AE antoninianii?

Obv.- IMP GALLIENVS PF AVG, radiate draped bust right. Rev- LETITIA AVG G (sic), Laetitia standing left holding wreath and anchor.

Note the unusual spelling of Laetitia's name, though I found it occurs elsewhere (noted on a barbarous radiate of Tetricus I).

Ex-John C. Greener collection 08/1973, Don Rupp 05/2007.

I'm just learning to use Wildwinds to attribute my coins, but it's apparently no help on this one. I have one or two others that aren't listed, either.

lordmarcovan

Here's another I can't find (it will look familiar to one of you here!)



AE sestertius of Diadumenian (probably as Caesar)? Ca. 217-218 AD? 29 mm.

Obv.- little of legends visible, draped (& cuirassed?) bust right. Rev.- inscription missing, probably SPES PVBLICA, Spes standing left, holding flower & raising skirt.

Apparently unlisted on Wildwinds.com (?), but RIC-117 is a Diadumenian AR denarius with a similar design.



And another, which I bought fully attributed from a knowledgeable dealer, but I just want to confirm the attribution since I can't find it on Wildwinds either (obviously my reference library is slim, consisting of one old Sear book).





<< <i>HERENNIUS ETRUSCUS, as Caesar, AR silver antoninianus. Q HER ETR MES DECIVS NOB C, radiate draped bust right. Reverse - PRINC IVVENTVTIS, Apollo seated left with branch and lyre. RIC 145, RSC 22. 22mm, 2.6g. gVF/aVF. >>






And one more from the same source, just to confirm.





<< <i>CRISPINA AE sestertius. Struck at Rome, 180-183 AD. CRISPINA AVG IMP COMMODI AVG, draped bust right. Reverse - SALVS S-C, Salus seated left, feeding serpent coiled around altar from patera held in right hand. RIC (Commodus) 672b, RCV 6009, valued at $325 in VF. Rare obverse legend type. An interesting, extraordinarily long-necked bust of Crispina. >>



Apparently unlisted on Wildwinds.com (?), but RIC-672a/Sear-6010 is shown there (close, but different obverse legend).

I'm not in any way suggesting that Mr. McBride of Incitatus has misattributed these- I am just learning the ropes and have come up on some gaps in the few resources I have.

Sapyx

I've only got the millennium edition Sear books, so here's what they've got to say.

#1: no mention of a mis-spelled LETITIA. Sorry.

#2: not only is it listed in Sear, it's used as the showpiece coin to head the chapter. Sear #7454, attributed to Rome, 218 AD, RIC 219, BMC 155.

#3: not quite right on the attribution there, from what I can tell. You (and the dealer) have it down as an "abbreviated legend" type, PRINC IVVENTVTIS, while yours is clearly unabbreviated: PRINCIPI IVVENTVTIS. Sear lists this type as RIC 146, RSC 24a, with a note that "rarer varieties" have abbreviated legends.

#4: yep, looks good to me. "RCV" is the Sear millenium edition number. Sear illustrates #6010, exactly the same, but with simplified obverse legend CRISPINA AVGVSTA. Calling yours the "rare" obverse legend type is a bit of a stretch; the CVs are nearly identical (#6009: $130 in Fine, #6010 $120 in Fine).

lordmarcovan

Thanks very much.

I usually discount quite a bit of dealer hyperbole when it comes to "rare" in a description. Nonetheless, I've been happy with this dealer and bought from him many times, and what I buy, I buy because I like the looks of it, regardless.

The various editions of Sear and abbreviations like RIC and RCV and plain old Sear and then some of the others make my head spin sometimes.

It's beginning to come together, but only just. I do not physically own any of these books myself yet, except one old Sear, as mentioned. (Who can afford a complete set of RIC? Yikes! And why would I want to buy it piecemeal?) So it's pretty much Wildwinds for me, unless you have some other recommendations.

I'm intrigued by the odd spelling on the Gallienius/Letitia. Regardless of whether the odd spelling is rare or not, I really like the coin. It's sharp looking, like so many of that old Greener collection were. (Many are a bit overshiny, perhaps, but as ajaan will attest, it was a remarkable collection that he was the consignee of).

ajaan

Rob, I believe this dealer bought some of the 'Greener' collection coins.

covers

RS - I recently bought the RIC volumes as well as several other "standard" references on Roman coinage. The RIC will see little use I imagine and has already been relegated to reference shelf to be used when other books fail, or when additional info is required. Of the books I have now, the "Roman Coins and Their Values" pair by David Sear seem the most easily used by a novice like me. It doesn't list all of the varieties, and the prices may not be accurate, but it has well-written summaries and good info about important subjects such as coin denomination types, etc.

I actually hate the Seaby series (Roman Silver Coins) as it is set up like a catalog for idiots and is NOT in chronological order. May be easy to find something but all context is lost.

lordmarcovan

<< <i> Rob, I believe this dealer bought some of the 'Greener' collection coins. >>

He did indeed.

As did I.