Roman medallions / by Jocelyn M.C. Toynbee

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I O NS

TO Y N B E E

D . H I L . O X O N . , . S. A.

I E S

NNU M SMAT CSO C E T

C r e a

t i v e C o m m o n s A t t r i b u t i o n - N o n C o m m e r c i a l - S h a r e A l i k e

/ h t t p : / / w w w . h a t h i t r u s t . o r g / a c c e s s_ u s e # c c - b y - n c - s a - 4 . 0


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1 944

NNU M SMAT CSO C E T

N C R R I N T N GCO .

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mplies R omanmedallionsareessentiallyabranch

etasspecialpieces struckprimarily notforc irc ulation

tationasgifts theystand uitedistinc tlyapartf romthe

veseparatetreatmentontheirownmerits. ftheir

rt ofthedie-cutter theyarealsonearlyrelatedto the

thesculptorandthepainter andiftheirinterest ismainly

ewotherfields ofclassicalarchaeologyforwhichtheyare

R omanmedallionsconstitutedinthemselvesanew

w categoryofhistoricaldocuments offeringintheir

bothinstyleandincontent beyondtherangeofthecurrent

mthe attention notonlyofnumismatistsandarchae-

ofallstudents ofthelife thoughtandhistoryofimperial

estudy ofR omanmedallionssometwentyyearsago

generalproblemsofHadrianic art foritwasinHadrian s

ontinuousseriesofbron emedallionsproperwasreally

wseemstoberipe foranewinvestigationofthe sub ect.

tcontributionstoperiodicliteratureandencyclopaedias

part atleast ofsomeofthegreatpublic andprivate

d booksspeciallydevotedtomedallionshavebeenfew.

s m ed a il l on s d e V e m pi r e ro m ai n P a r is 1 7 ) h a s n e e d le s s to s a y

. Gnec chi smonumentalwork medaglioniromani

owhichallstudentsinthisf ieldoweadebtof thedeepestgratitude

rpus splendidly illustrated of thematerialavailabletohimat

onissomewhatslightandunsatisfactory andheleaves

hatofdef iningwhataRomanmedallionis unsolved. Muc h

udesin hisfirstandthird volumesdoesnot inthelight

fallw ithinthesc opeof thesub ec tatall. A gain sinc e

assof newmaterialhascometolightand ithasbeenpos-

nsofmanymedallionswhichhelisted butdidnotillus-

I X of thispresentwork representanattemptataphoto-

bulkof medalliontypesandvariants sofaraccessible

nownto ornotreproducedby Gnecc hi. amwellaware

tionsarepooror imperfect largelyasaresult oftheout-

studies hadreachedtheirclose.B utinthesetimes

icalmonumentshavebeenlostordestroyed theinterests

mandthesubordinationofaestheticconsiderationsto

ortheobvious butunavoidable gapsinmystudyof the

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ereadertothelistattheendof thebook . latesX L -X L I X

stratedinGnecchi splates.Theyaresupplementaryto

dtoprovideachronologicalvisualsurveyoftheiconographic

ofR omanmedallions anditis hopedthattheymaymake

etothe generalstudent.R eferencestotheplatesaregener-

and suchreferenceshavebeenemphasi ed forconven-

ofboldfacetype.

havetriedtoe amineafreshtheoutstandingproblems

theirdef inition theirrelationtothenormalc oinage their

theoccasionsforwhichtheywereissuedand thenature

vealsoattemptedadiscussionofthevaryingcharacter-

thethreemain phasesoftheirhistoryanda surveyof

ntsknowntome uptothepresent classifiedaccording

ented. inally haveaddedsomesuggestionsastothe

nthe political religiousandartisticlifeofthe R oman

tobeof ageneralandpreliminarycharacteronly. t

inabookof thissi etoworkoutthee ac tdate andeluci-

nce ofeachindividualtype.Thereversetypesofthe fourth

uiremoredetaileddiscussionandclassificationthanspace

havenotattackedthefascinatingtaskofattempting

rticularartistsandtoclassifymedalliontypesonthose

eservedforthe ne tundertakingwhich alreadyhave

hisbook is inpart meanttobeintroduc tory namelythe

nologicalcorpusofallknownmedalliontypesandtheir

orhelpandencouragementinproducingthisbookare

ow ledgedinfulldetail. B ut shouldliketoe pressmy

llow ing:—tothelate rofessor erc yGardnerofO x ford

stperusedthepagesofGnec c hi toMr. HaroldMattingly

epartmentofCoinsandMedals B ritishMuseum who

andmade manyimportantsuggestions tothelateMrs.

hergreatk indnessandinvaluableassistancetomewhile was

dtothekeepersandownersof thepublicandprivatecollec-

sfor studyandforfurnishingcasts inparticulartoMr.

rofCoinsandMedals B ritishMuseum M. eanB abelonof the

ibliothe ueNationale aris D r. iegleof the aiser-

e r l i n D r . . i n k of t h e u n st h is t or i sc h es M u se u m V i e n n a

oftheGabinettoNumismatico BibliotecaApostolica

S. . Cesanoof theMuseoNa ionaleR omanodelleTerme

cialpersonalfacilitiesforstudyingthe twogreatcollec-

omeonSeptember16 1943whilethis refacewasbeingwritten. shouldliketo

ytotheuni ueservicewhichherinspiration learninganddevotionhaverendered

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vecare Mr. S. . Noeof theMuseumoftheA meric an

ew ork whosuppliedmewithdetails photographsand

eintheU nitedStates MissA nneS. Robertsonof the

G l as g ow U n i v e rs i ty M r . H . . H a l l o f e n tr e he y li n H a l l

e s M . R . a m es o n of a r is a n d Si g no r G . Ma z i n i of T u ri n .

ueto theU niversityofCambridgeandtoNewnham

forgrantingmeleaveofabsencefrommy dutiesduringthe

, thusenablingmetotraveland studyontheContinentand

ternationalfriendshipandco-operationintheworldof

y interrupt butc annotdestroy to adyMargaretH all

gmetotheSusetteTaylorTravelling ellowshipfor1937-193 ; to

erhulmeResearch ellowshipsforawardingmearesearc h

od toNewnhamCollegeforelectingmeMaryB ateson

93 -1941 toMr. RaleighRadford Direc torof theB ritish

rofessorA lfoldiofB udapest andtoMissGraceB riggsof

mbridge andUniversityCollege ondon forvaluableas-

ibliography.

sthegreatestofall istothe AmericanNumismatic

foritsk indnessandgenerosity inundertak ing inthese

blic ationof thisbook which ow ingtowarc onditionsin

erwisehavehadlongtowait beforeitcouldseethelight of

rindeedthat shouldhavesharedinforgingonesmall

rshipwhichbindstheO ldW orldtotheNew.

inallhumilityandwith deepaffection tothebirth-

ons—theC ityofRome.

TO Y N B E E

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L I O NS AND M E R I A I F E

and olitic s193

nsandR eligion202

lionsandA rt212

eadMedallions231

ivateCollec tionsofR omanMedallions237

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E V I AT O NS

eiger.

urnal.

chenarchaologischen nstituts:AthenischeAbteilung.

mmission arc heologic ac omunalediR oma.

dtter.

MuseumCatalogueofCoinsof theRoman mpire.

eumCatalogueofGreekCoins.

n f r eu n de .

mQ uarterly .

onhistori uedesmonnaiesf rappeessousV empireromain ed. 2.

istory.

pt i on u m a t in a ru m .

e i tu n g.

gl i on i r om a ni 1 9 12 .

onsintheB ritishMuseum 1 74 .

nscriptiones atinaeSelectae.

esdeutsc henarc haologisc hen nstituts.

l e ni c S tu d ie s .

rnationald arc heologienumismati ue.

furpraehistorischeundethnographische unst.

m a n St u di e s.

terdmisc heMedaillonsderkaiserlic henMiin sammlunginWien 1909 .

c on s ta n li n ie n ne 1 9 0 ) , I 1 9 1 1 , I I 1 9 1 2 .

.

ony.

ndMonographs.

itschrift.

heB ritishSc hoolatRome.

wa R eal- nc yclopadiederc lassischenA ltertumsvnssenschaf t NeueB ear-

ue.

denham TheRoman mperialCoinage.

dinumismatica.

utschenarchaologischen nstituts:R dmischeAbteilung.

mati ue.

U ntersuc hungen urrSmisc henReic hspragungdes weiten ahrhunderts :

e i t d es T r ai a n I : R e i c h sp r ag u ng u r Z e i t d es H a d r i an I I : R e i c h s-

A n to n in u s i u s 1 9 31 1 9 3 3 1 93 ) .

kH rvatskogaarheo kogdruitvauZ agrebu.

mismatik.

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SAND CO I N S

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T O NO F TH E T R M R OMAN M D A L I O N

ryofancientR omecontainednoseparatewords

ernterms medal anditsaugmentative medallion. A s

of abookonR omanmedallions thisfactmightappear

ting. B utitc anbereadilye plained. nsofarasourterm

memorialpiec e struck toc ommemorateaneventoridea the

perialcoinagemaybedescribedasessentiallymedallicin

kofmoderncointypes conspicuousfortheirlackof

e ecution devoidofvitaltopicalinterestandrepeated

yoverlongconsecutiveperiodsoftime thecointypesof

esentacontrastwhichisno lessstrikingforbeingobvious

ghly familiar. romthemiddleof thef irstc enturyonwardsthe

appreciated asfewgovernmentshavedonebeforeorsince

nageas amirrorofcontemporarylife ofthepolitical

artistic aspirationsof theage butalsoitsimmenseanduni ue

nginstrumentofpropaganda.Modernmethodsofdis-

ernvehiclesofpropaganda frompostage-stampstobroad-

avetheircounterpartintheimperialcoinage whereyearly

ostsaydailynoveltiesandvariationsin typesrecordthese-

andreflecttheaimsand ideologiesofthosewhocontrolledthe

omanimperialcoinswhichcouldnot inthissenseof the

medals andfromthepurelyc ommemorativepointofv iew

oinandmedalwouldbeoneof degreeratherthanofkind.A

notmerelyc ommemorative. tisalsodonative intendedtoreac h

e communityandhencedeliberatelylimitedinthescopeof

ods forallitssuperf ic ialresemblanc etoac oin theprimary

circulationascurrencybutdistributionasa gift.B ut

ofR ome thereistheinf luenc eofdonativec oinstoberec k -

econgiariaandliberalitates distributionsofcoinsbythe

tothepoorofRome andthemilitary issueswhic h f rom

nturyonwards playedaroleso importantastoimprint

eneralcurrencyoftheR omanstate.1Suchissuesmay

asi ethemedallicfunctionsoftheR omancoinageasa

retheneedfor someseparatetermbywhichtodifferentiate

llyasindividualgiftsfromdonativecoinsissuedenmasse

dtroopsalike.Themore medallicthecoinage theless

ali edfunctionsof themedal. nthethirdplac e amodern

nguishablefromacoinbyits e ternalcharacteristics.

u i te c l as s i u e M a y 19 3 , p p . 15 f . C A H x i i p p . 2 21 f .

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ortraituredoesnotbelonge clusivelytothestate:follow-

esub ectsandideascommemoratedarenotconfinedto

r officialinterest andsofaras concernsthechoiceof

ofweightandsi e thereisnonec essaryc onnec tionor

alsandthecurrentcoinage.B utthroughoutthewhole

lissuessuchcompleteindependenceoftheordinaryofficial

msisaphenomenon uiteunknown.TheR omanworld

uaintedw iththemedalormedallioninthestric tmodernsenseof

ense then arewe ustifiedinusingtheterm R oman

hattheRomanmedal unlikeitsmodernc ounterpart

hard-and-fastsingledefinition.Thefrontierbetweencoin

edrawnwithabsoluteprecision andtherewillalways

fborder- linepiec eswhic hcan w ithalmoste ual ustice

e utthereare amongthevariedproduc tsof theRoman

uspieces fallingintocertainwell-definedcategories which

ernallytomanyofthegeneralrules governingtheordinary

standaboveandapartfromtheregularcurrencies pieces

ayade uatelyc overedbytheterm c oin andwhic h in

genciesfrommodernmedals filleda uitespecialand

e.TotheseR omanappro imationstothemodernmedal

ggeneraldef inition: theyare monetiform or c oin-

evercorrespondcompletelytoanyofthecoindenominations

heevidence e ternalandinternal provestohavebeen

orspecialorsolemncommemorationandtohavebeen

ntendedforpresentationordistributionasindividual

aoftheircirculationascurrencybeingeitherwhollyabsent

itesecondaryandsubordinate. A satisfactory label forsuch

eby. Medal isbestavoidedasc onveyingafalseim-

emoderncounterpart.Thetraditionalterm medallion

mas beingitselfsuggestiveofthemodernmedal whileas

ationitfails instrictlogic todo usticetothosesmaller

cterofwhichdoesnotdependonsi e.B utthereare

tionstouprootingatermwhichhas beenconsecratedby

aticworld:asingle wordwhichcouldbeusedasa con-

tuteisstill toseek andwhilewefranklyadmititto be

ntional wec anatleast ustify theretentionof theterm

yapplic abletothevery largepiec es whetherofgold silver

piec espare c ellenc e inwhichdif ferentiationf romthec urrent

yandconsciouslystressed.2

omanmedallionsoutlinedbyB . auminhisV berdasWesendesMun geldes 1930 ,

aum medallion wasincludedin moneta. B uttheterm moneta didnotin

mplysuitabilityforcirculation anditisunsuitabilityforcirculationwhichdis-

mcoins.

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CAT O NO F R O MANM D A L I O NS

efinitionanda commonnametocoverourvarious

nowproceedtotheirclassification.R omanmedallions

fallintothreemaincategories:—I .Medallionsproper

s I I . s e ud o m ed a ll i on s .

enseof thetermarethosebron epieceswhichare

mtheregularcurrencybycertainwell-definedfeaturesof

ntent.Mostimportantandcharacteristicarethelarge

yrecogni ablease c eedingtheordinarybron ec oinsof

hesestertii downtoGallienus—insi eofdiameter thic k-

ccasionallythespecificallymedalliccharacterofsucha

yapparenttotheeyeby theadditionofabroad rimor

esign.Suchrimsaredecoratedwithconcentricgrooves

ntalbordersofvaryingdegreesof elaboration. nsome

onesingle flan inotherstherim wasaddedtothecentral

ramed medallionsf irstocc urunderH adrian bec ome

Antoninus iusandcontinueundertheAntonineand

othereignofA le anderSeverus. 1Somepiec es again are

bevelledrims. 2 nthec aseofotherpiec es struckon

c eedinginareathespacere uiredfortheac tualtypes a

misformedroundthedesignsoneitherside.3 romA ntoninus

anandMa imiananotherfavouritedeviceforstressing

characterwasthatofstrikingapieceona disccomposedoftwo

ysisof f ramed medallionsknowntothepresentwriter inc ludingafewdoubtful

1 H a d r i an : 2 0 S a bi n a: 1 A el i us V e r u s : 1 A nt o ni n us i u s: 2 6 F a u st i na : 3 M a rc u s Au r el i us :

s an d u c iu s V e r u s: 1 a u st i na I : 2 u c iu s V e r u s: 6 u c il l a: 1 v e ry d o ub t fu l p r o b ab l y

7 A lbinus:1 SeptimiusSeverus:2 uliaDomna:1 Geta:3 lagabalus:1 lagabalusand

e anderSeverusand uliaMamaea:1. A few laterandmostly uiteabnormalpiec es

I I :2 1= profec tioavg:obverseandreverseareformedofthinplatesofsilver

eflan.2= victoriaavgandroundtemple:theobverseis madeofathinsilver

e nt r al b r on e f l an , h i li p , O t a c il i a an d h i li p I : 1 = e o r ac vl o a po l li n is a n d

dreverseareformedofthin silverplatesappliedtothe centralbron eflan theobverse

TrebonianusGallusandV otusianus:1 = si -horsec hariot:obverseandreverseare

sappliedtothec entralbron ef lan theobverseplatehav ingnowgone V alerian

dventvsavgg:normalpiece .

w. 39 n o. ; 4 2 n o . ; I I , t a w. 14 6 n os .3 ; 1 4 7 n o. 7 1 49 n o. 7.

w. 39 n os .7 9 4 0 n o. 3 5 2 n o .4 5 7 n o .4 6 1 n o .4 6 5 n o .6 6 7 n o .2 7 1 n o. 1 7 2

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Medallions

ya consciouslyfi edstandard:werethisso weshould

manypiec es atbothendsof thesc ale failingthusc on-

t. enner ssystemofmultiplesistooelaborate and

tiustheoryistoo simple tofitthefactsof theactualweights

c ontrary ac ompleteabsenc eofanyf i edsc hemeorstandard.

eriod w iththeinc reasingdisparity notinstruc tureonly

ent betweenthelargebron emedallionsandthelargest

ultipletheory isobv iouslyevenlesstenable.

aturesofthe largebron emedallionsproper—si e

tremevariabilityofweightinthecaseof allpiecesand

ndbi-metallicstrikinginspecialcases— combinetoestablish

ereneveroriginallyintendedtocirculateas coinofthe

onsmay ofcourse havecirculatedlaterascurrency

andthismight accountforthepoorconditioninwhich

downtous.B utcausesotherthancirculationcanob-

ear:even framed medallions wherec irc ulationwas

ion arenotwhollye emptf romit.

tructuretothesty leofourlargebron epiec eswe

ibitessentiallymedalliccharacteristics.Theobversedies

e q uisitefinish provideauni ueseriesof imperialpor-

storyof R omaniconography whilethereversedesigns

andbeautywhichisnormally uiteunparalleledonthe

emedallionsare beforeanythingelse worksofart and

encoinandmedallionispatentlynot oneofdegreeonly

o theartisticaspectofmedallionsisthe uestionof

choutstandingandoftensuperb productsofthe

oturnedoutinthemass. B ron emedallionsarec omparatively

hafewe c eptions rareindiv idually . tis uiteusualfora

yonee ample or atthemost byaveryfewe amples

erieshaveconfirmedtheopinione pressedbyGnecchiin

wmedallionf indtheoddsareinfavourofnewtypes oratany

nationsoftypes beingbroughttolight.9W hencon-

ecesdisplayingidenticalobverseor reversetypes itis

rlyperiod tofindthattheywerestruckfromidenticaldies.

eneralidentityoftypeisoften accompaniedbysmalldie

eceanditsfellows andindeed inviewofthehardblows

n suchhighrelief thenumberofspecimensobtainable

erhavebeengreat.Again thesamereversedieis often

oedif ferentobverses andv iceversa norisitraretof ind

mbinedwithobversesof twoormore mperorsor mpresses.

odiscovertwoormorepiecesstruckfromidenticaldiesboth

imultaneously . inally thec ontentof thelargebron e

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nolessstrikinglythando theirstructureandstylea

theregularcurrencies.Takenasawhole thevastma ority

onot appearatallonordinarycoins orareonlyfound

ple versions.Somemedalliontypesmayseemtobe

ypes.B utalargeproportionof thesub ectsdepicted

oins butf romma orworksofart andthustheworkof the

ely inasense withthatofthecoin-designerthanwith

epainter. ntheirwealthandvarietyof interestthe

mtheprimaryroleofmedallionsasgift piecespresented

aloccasions.

mysteriousgroupof largebron epiecestobecon-

medallions soc alledf romtheirblankreverses butc or-

dallionsproperin si eofdiameterandthicknessofflan

tsandinthestyleand techni ueoftheirobversepor-

althoughrecordedasunilateral wereobviouslynotso

obversehasbeencutfromthereverse whileinother

asbeenscrapedoffor hasvirtuallydisappearedthrough

uinelyunilateral.Theyhavesmooth polishedbacks

veorornamentedwithacentralboss:theyshownosign of

ersetype.O fthevariouse planationsofferedtoaccount

s thattheywere proofs ore perimentsforobversedies

mittedbymedallistscompetingforpostsat themintor

nographydestinedtoserveasmodelsforprovincialissues—

orwhollysatisfactory.Theyremainaproblemasyet

ymustbeincludedinourserieson thegroundsoftheir

risthereanythingtoe c ludethepossibility thattheywere

ecesofane perimentaland uitee c eptionaltype.

bron epieceswouldbeincompletewithoutatleasta

e well-knownfactthattheletterssc whichdownto

y thoughnotinvariably ontheordinarybron ec oinage

ptions omittedonthebron emedallionsproper. Totheproblem

heseletters weshallafterwardsreturn.11 orthemoment

eirpresenceor absencecannotrightlybeusedasa

uishingbetweencoinand medallion althoughtheir

orityofmedallionsisa matterofobviousimportance.

bron emedallionsproperthethreecriteriaof struc-

. nthec aseof thelargepiec es allthreefac torsmaybe

lydec isive. Wenowc ometoaseriesofsmallerbron e

lydifferentiatedbytheirstructurefromthe current

eandcontentbecomethereallydecisivefactorsinvindicating

pleshavebeenpersonallye aminedbythepresentwriter:—H adrian:5 A ntoninus

: 2 M a rc us A u re l iu s : 7 u c iu s V e r u s: 1 a d o ub t fu l p ie c e , u c il l a: 1 C o mm o du s : 4 C ar i nu s

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Medallions

astruemedallions. nsi eofdiameter inthic knessof f lan

re oftenindistinguishablefromcoinsoftheregular

itistrue are onthewhole morevariablethaninthe

dtherearepiecesofregular coindimensionstheweightof

anthenormal weightofthecorrespondingcoins.12 n

ndsmall bi-metallicpieces themedalliccharacterof

ddoubtonstructuralgrounds.13B utforthemost part

allions wemusttakeasour truecriteriahighrelief

oftouch rarityandtheuseof reversetypesunusualin

ththoseof thelargemedallions. tishere aboveall that

nandmedallionoftenbecomessodifficulttodraw.

othesc c riterionforthesesmallerpiecesled asweshallsee

ngeresults. 14Thereis infac t noroyalroadthatwec an

beconsideredonits ownmeritsandtestedbyits styleand

e suchastoestablishits characterasaspecialcom-

tableforsolemnpresentationwithinarestrictedfield then

nourc lassofmedallionsproper. tmust however be

culationofthesesmallermedallionsascurrency ifnot

srenderedfarmorelikelythanin thecaseofthelarger

ructuralsimilaritytoregular coins.Thegreatma orityof

onsproperwerestruckbyH adrian Tra anandtheA ntonine

modus. iec esofsestertiussi earemostf re uentunder

afterwhosetimetheygrowgraduallyrarer. iecesofdupon-

realsofairly f re uentunderH adrian whileof theperiod

theyarearegular andcharacteristicfeature. nthesecond

rythese miniaturebron emedallionswereagainmuchin

eswasissuedunderAle anderSeverus somepieces

hereverse butinseparable ongroundsofstyleand

thoutit thee c lusionof thesesc piec esbyGnec chif romthe

stanceofthefallaciousnessofhis criterion.Again for

I toGallienuswehaveac ertainnumberofsmallbron e

dalliccharacter. romGallienusonwardsitbecomes

entiatesmalltruemedallionsfromordinarycoinson

softentheonlyguide.W ithConstantine thehistory

onsvirtuallycomestoanend.

emedallionofHadrianintheB ritishMuseum w iththereversetypeof theinfant

s h e- g oa t A ma l th e a w e ig h in g 1 4. 9 g r am m es B M C C R E I I , p . 4 42 n o .1 3 62 A S t ra c k

4 44 . I . , 1 .

sofA le anderSeverusand uliaMamaea romaeaeternae: aris no. 7469

5 3 n o . ) a n d of u l ia M a ma e a t e mp o rv m fe l ic i ta s : V i e nn a n o . 10 5 74 7 . T wo o t he r s ma l l

erSeverusand uliaMamaea show ingthe liberalitas type R oyalCollec tion Turin

ec hi , R o m e , a r e co mp o se d o f si l ve r c en t re s s et i n b ro n e r i ms G I I , p . 4 5 n o . 9

f .

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s

dandsilverpiec eswhic he c eedinsi eandweight

mporarycurrency.Theywerestruckonafi edsystem

ndsilverc oinsandc ouldtherefore legally beusedas

ughthesameperiodsofdeclineandrevivalin ualityof

romthereignofGallienus whenthesilvercoinage

ec lining wasreplac edbysilver-washedc opper billon ,

ofConstantine whenthesilvercurrencywasagain

racticallynorealsilver medallions andtheweightsofboth

atallperiods varyandriseandfallw iththeweightsof

moneymedallionsarenotmeremultiplecoins.U nlikethe

edallions struck inA siaande uivalenttothreedenarii

heregularcurrency.Thefirstproofof thisistheirrarity

sindividuale amplesinparticular.Nordotheyoccur

oportionsasthegold andsilvercoinsinsuccessiveperiods

efirstand secondcenturiesbothgoldandsilvermedallions

specially thegold. nthethirdcenturydowntoGallienus

plentiful whereasgoldmedallionsofthe earlythird

cessionofGallienus arestillsc arce though ac c ordingto

sofgoldmultiples ranginginvaluefromthatof2tothatof

kby lagabalusanddemoneti edbyA le anderSeverus. 16

rd andfourthcenturiesthatmultiplesasa classbecomein

thefourthc entury af terConstantine srev ivalof the

eafairlyc ontinuousseries f romConstantius toA rc adius

vermiliarensia.B utthereallycharacteristicmoney

mpiref romDioc letianonwardsarethegoldpieces multi-

tone-si tiethofapoundandthen af terc. 310 normally

eventy-secondofapound ranginginsi eandweightf rom

stissuedbyConstantine tothe72-solidipiec eofV alens

7Hereagaintheindiv idualrarityof thesegoldpiec ese -

ointheoryoftheir origin. tistrue thatinthecaseof the

-solidiandthe2-solidipieces— thenumberofknown

pe orofvariantsofasingletype c anbeasmanyassi teen 1

ofsuchpiecesasmoneyis certainlywellwithinthebounds

largermultiplesonee ample oratthemosttwoorthree

ofanygiventypeisthegeneralrule:anditishardtoimagine

edpiecescaneverhaveactuallyservedaslegal tender.

eventhelessermultiplesstanddistinctlyapartfromthe regular

edarestoreddenarius theargenteus atthetimeofhisreform sc arc elyany

etweenc . 307and330 Mattingly R omanCoins p. 223 n. 4 .

t av .1 7 n o. .

s1#-solidipiec esofConstantine . G , tav . 6 no. 12.

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Medallions

leandcontentandthe finestateofpreservationinwhich

us. A sforthelargermultiples theirsi eandhighintrinsic

dtechni ueandthevariedand individualcharacterofboth

rsedesignsmarkthemoutas rareandspecialpresentation

neybutactuallypreservedandtreasuredbytheirrecipients

gesofimperialfavor.

eof theirissuemoneymedallionsarenoless true

emedallionsproper. B othalikewereintended notfor

alorsolemndistributionas gifts.Thedifferenceliesinthe

ointof abron emedallionwasitsstructuralandstylistic

ts type itwasasa workofartoras acommemorative

ec tofmaterialvalue thatthegif twasbothof feredandreceived.

o normally worksofoutstandingartisticmerit particu-

calpointofview whileincontenttheirtypescanrival

storicalandpoliticaldocumentsofthe highestsignificance.

inthepreciousmetalsandonc arefully f i edstandards it

trinsicmonetaryworthshouldassumeanimportanceat

theirotherassets andtheirprevalenc eunderthelater

ofan ageinwhich underthepressureofeconomicand

alueswerebeginningtoyieldplacetothose ofamoremateri-

s indeed laiduponthemonetaryvalueofmultiplesas

s thewell-knownpassagesf rom ampridius V itaA le andri

d fr o m Gr e go r y of T o ur s H i s t o ri a c cl e si a st i ca r a nc o ru m v i 2 .

iusrunsasfollows:—" formasbinariasternariaset uater-

t ueampliusus ueadliberates19 uo ueetc entenarias

venerat resolv ipraec epitne ueinusuc uius uamversari

riaenomeninditumest c umdiceretpluslargiendihanc esse

c ummultossolidosminoresdareposset dansdec emvel

aet uin uagintaetc entumdarec ogeretur. Wenotic e

erms formaebinariae " ternariae etc . implyagraduated

nf i edmonetarystandards whileallthestressislaid

value tothee c lusionofc ontentandsty le sec ondly that

edasformingpart ofthesamesystemoflargessas that

nsweredistributed and thirdly thattheissueof large

a le n t u n a fo r ma o f s ev e ra l o r m an y g o ld u n it s w as a n

addedasan e tra totheordinarycoinageanddependent

ersonalw ill. Thephrase inusuc uius uamversari doesnot

rculation thoughitdoessuggestthe possibilityofputting

fcommercialuse. tisanother uestionwhethermulti-

ouldreallyhavebeenstruc kasearlyasthef irsthalfof the

tionof themeaninglessMSSreadings libribres and bilibres = 100aurei=

aureus= 1/50thofaRomanpoundatthetimeofAle anderSeverus hasbeenadopted

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ewriter sstatementhasbeencoloredbyhis knowledge

sof thelater mpire.Atanyrateitwould appearthat

ti ationorderwasverythoroughlyc arriedout:onlyonegold

thebinioinB erlin 20has sofarasweknowatpresent

eotherhand afewgoldpiec esissuedbyAle ander

abinioin aris 21abinioinMunic h 22thefamous -aurei

a t Ta r su s i n 1 6 7 2 3 a nd t h e lo s t a r is 4 ? ) - a ur e i pi e ce o f

uliaMamaea.24O ursec ondte tdesc ribesapresentation

by t h e m p er o r Ti b er i us C on s ta n ti n us 5 7 - 5 2 t o

reosetiamsingularumlibrarumpondere uosimperator

entesabunaparteic onemimperatorispic tam etsc riptumin

ntiniperpetv iA V GV STi:abaliaveropartehabentes uad-

ontinentes uesc riptum gloriaromanorvm. Theimpor-

owinglight uponthepurposeofmedallionissueswill be

mmediateinterestforusliesintheuseof theterm aurei

ngthefundamentallymonetarycharacterofgoldmultiples

. 26A gain thedec reeissued dee pensisludorum byV alen-

ius andA rcadiusin3 4 forbiddingprivatitodistributeasgifts

mmi thanthoseweighingone-si tiethofapound linksthe

system.27Atthe sametime thedecreeimpliesareal

plesandordinarycoins.O ne-si tiethofapoundrepresents

miliarensiaof theperiod.These beingpartoftheregular

butedby privateindividuals whiletherightofdistributing

the mperor afurtherproofthattheywereregardedas

ande ceptionalcharacter.

a ll i on s .

onsaspiecesclearlydistinguishedinonewayor another

nded notforcirculation butforspecialorsolemn

orativegifts.Thisdefinitionmust aswehaveseen

epiecesthedifferentiationofwhichfromcoinslies lessin

content andinasmuchasstyleandcontentare inthe

7 G , t av .1 n o. 10 .

a s t an di ng to le ft P I . X X I X , ) . G , t av .1 n o .9 P I . X L T V , S .

f el i ci t as t e mp o rv m P I . X X V I I , 2 . A r u bb i ng o f a no t he r p r ob a bl y 4 -a u re i p i ec e of

seenbythepresentwriterattheB ritishMuseuminSept. 193 :—obv. =• impc aesh

A n D E R a v g b u st o f A le a n de r S ev e ru s l a ur e at e t o r ig h t s e en t h re e - u a r t er s t o fr o nt w i th p a lu -

ev . = p I trpc ospp A le anderSeverusinslow uadrigatoright holdingeagle-

and reinsandolive-branchinrighthand:diameter= 29mm.Thepresentowner

n.

.

onswereeachworth72solidiand weighed327grammesapiece.

1:—" c umpublic acelebranturof f icia sitsportulisnummusargenteus aliamateria

rgenteumnummumfassite pendere uam uiformarisoletc umargentilibrauna

dividitur. Thispassageisin agreementwiththegeneralimperialpolicyofforbidding

shscale.

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Medallions

moresearchingtestofmedalliccharacterthanoutwardstruc-

hisseriesamongmedallionsproper. seudomedallions on

n epiecesdifferentiatedfromcoinssolelybystructural

nse superf ic ialfeatures. Struc k inmostc ases f romactual

ecificallymedallictraitsneitherinstylenorin types. et

gdeliberatestepsweretakentoe cludethemfromcircula-

tolif tthem infac t outof thecategoryofc oinsintothatof

includethestrikingofdupondiusand astypesonsestertius

esonmedallionf lans thestrik ing veryrarely ofsestertii

untingofsestertiiinnarrowrims andthestrik ingofsestertius

thatthedesignsare framedbymoreorless elaboratebevelled

pondingtothoseof thegreat f ramed bron emedallions

nchet29andMowat30these mounted c oinsweree peri-

proofs f romdiestobesubmittedtothe mperorbefore

koff theob ectofthelargeflans beingtoavoidconfusion

tmoney.H adthisbeentheir purposeweshoulde pect

airlyevenlyover thewholeimperialperioddowntothe

tury.B utwhilemostreignsdownto thatofGallienus

one e ampleofsestertiistruckonnormal-si edmedallion

monerinthefirst andearlysecondcenturiesthaninlater

ed pieces theyarefairlyabundantinthef irstc entury

adrian butgrowrarerf romthetimeof theA ntonines

hevarietyandcarefulworkmanshipwhichcharacteri ethese

ttheyservedamorepositiveand aestheticpurposethanthe

sionw ithordinaryc oins. seudomedallions or me-

infac t essentiallyafeatureof theearly imperialperiod and

befoundunderlater mperors theirc hiefpartwasplayed

emedallionsproperseriouslybegins.W emayseeinthem

medallion thefirststagein theevolutionofspecialcom-

epiecesstandingapartfromtheregularcurrency and as

c allybee c ludedfromthestudyofRomanmedallions.

ativepseudomedallionsofthefirst centurymay

e ofdevelopment.Under Augustusanumberofpieces

ypesstruc konsestertiusormedallionf lans. ore ample

peofAgrippa Neptunestandingwithtridentanddolphin 31

rmerly inthe vansCollection measuring3 mm. indiameter

mmes.31AsanddupondiustypesoftheTresviri Monetales

ofGnec chi sso-c alled senatorialmedallions " f iguredinV ol. ll taw . 159 160

ns cointypesstruckonmedallionflans.Theobversesof twopiecesofAntoninus

t a v . 16 0 n o s . 2 5 a p pe a r h o we v er t o h av e b ee n s tr u ck f r om m ed a ll i on d i es = G I , t a w . 43

. O n e p i ec e of A n to n in u s i u s wi t h s c G I I , t a v . 16 0 n o . 3 m u s t o n g r ou n ds b o th o f

sedasatruemedallionproper.

p. 23 5f f. R I N 19 11 p p. 16 5f f. R I C , p .1 0 , n o. 32 .

leCatalogue1934 p. 71 no. 1220 pi. 33. Thispiec ewouldappear however tobeof

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dmedallionflansmeasuringfrom35 to39mm.in diameter

moneyersoccuronmedallionflans:of thelatterthereis a

iameterof43 mm.33Noteworthyamongpseudomedal-

areaspeciallyheavymedallionflanin theB ritishMuseum

w iththeastypeofsc andthunderbolt 34andarestora-

theV ierordtCollec tion alarge f ramed piecemeasuring

g91.3grammes.36 orthereignof Gaiuswemaymention

well-knownsestertiustypeofthethreeprincesses36setina

measuring40mm. andaheavilyrimmedpieceofAgrippina

umwiththecarpentumtype 374 mm. intotaldiameterand

t.Claudiusisrepresentedbya fewpieces. orNero

owntothepresentwriter allstampedwithfamiliarsestertius

ightof thesehave frames orrimsofvary ingsi eand

bevelled andtheyrangeindiameterfrom45to56 mm.and

8 . 45grammes. Thus inthec aseofNeronianpseudo

e framed type inwhichthemedallic c haracterismost

formthegreatma orityofe tantpiec esandtheymaybe

of thelarge f ramed medallionsproperof theHadrianic

eudomedallionofGalbaat Naples witharegular

ypestruckona medallionflan 39appearstobeour first

bi-metallicpiece:ontheobversetheline ofdivisionbetween

rlyseen cuttingthroughthelettersofthe circumference

vianspseudomedallionswererarer:wemaynotein passing

c ein aris describedbyGnec c hias thef irstsenatorial

mplyaregularsestertiusstruc konamedallionf lan. 40 nthec ase

rst-centurypseudomedallionstherelativepositionsof

ref

ron emedallionproperunderTra anandHadrian

erpossessthesamesignificanceasrepresentingR ome s

hemedallicfield.H enceforththeyappearase ceptional

mentingthetruemedallionissues anda briefillustrative

t-centuryhistorywillserveourpurposehere.At first

rlynumerous.Nolessthantwelvepiecesof H adrianhave

SaleCatalogue1923 p. 35 no. 630 pi. 7:weight= 31. 6grammes now intheHall

ech .

. 1.

SaleCatalogue1923 p. 37 no. 654 pi. .

n o. 26 p i. 7 n o. 11 5.

, n o .4 2 p i. , n o. 12 3.

dCeres V ic toryadvanc ingtolef torright Templeof anus TriumphalA rch R oma

oncordia H arbourofO stia. A remarkablepiec ew iththeO stiatype formerly inthe

practic allye uivalenttofoursestertii NC1915 p. 329 pi. 16 no. 4 : itis however

m. w e ig h t = 4 7 .1 g r am me s . Cf . R I C , p p . 20 4 2 0 6 n o s. 5 0 6 9 .

. w ei gh t = 4 0 .3 g ra mm es . G I I , p . 9 n o. 2 7 t av . 15 9 n o. .

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Medallions

nedbythepresentwriterandof theseeightare f ramed.

everalf inespec imenshavebeenpublishedbyGnecc hi. B ut

mperorstheoutputgraduallydec lines Commodus the

emedallionsproper beingrepresentedbyonlyone

sofarasthe presentwriterisaware.43W iththeSeveran

nsbecomesomewhatcommoneragain.Noteworthyare

ensof uliaD omnaatMilanwiththesacrifice-to-V esta

truckonbi-metallicflans 44abi-metallicpieceofCaracalla

sculapiussestertiustype 4 andapieceofGetaintheB ritish

ndingbeauty w iththesestertiustypeofB ac c husand

setinabroadrimadornedw ithtwobordersofdots. 46A le ander

fivepseudomedallions uliaMamaeabyonepiece. or

vetwof inespec imens bothw ithanadloc utiosceneonthere-

k f romthesamedies. 47 hilip , O tac ilia H ostilianus

V olusianusandV alerianareallrepresentedbyone ormore

ehaveaheavypiec ein aris49andalighterpiec eatO x ford.

osesw ithapiec ein arisissuedbyC laudiusGothic us showing

dallionflan.110

ceofpseudomedallionslies then firstintheir

ersofthe truemedallionandsecondlyintheirownspecifi-

egardedfromthepurelystructuralpointofview.B utin

shipiswiththeregularc oinage anditis obv iously to

wemustturnfortheir classificationandfortheinterpre-

ddl ittletoourknowledgeofthe specialcontribution

htothe historyofpolitics religionandartin imperial

tchedoutandillustratedthestoryof theirdevelopment

ollowtheywill receiveonlyincidentalattention.

0 n o s. 1 2 4 5 7 . o r t he T i be r is t y pe n o . 2 c f . e vi s C ol l ec t io n S al e C at a lo g ue 1 9 25

dallionf lan 3 mm. atMilan.

p . 30 6 n o. 3 3 t av . 7 n o. 3 :d ia me te r = 3 6 mm . w ei gh t = 4 3 .3 g ra mm es G I I , t av . 16 0

i p p. 3 11 3 13 n os . 59 4 6 07 .

i p. 301 n o. 53 .

i p .3 30 n o. 11 2 p i. 16 n o. 7. L , 2 .

1 .5 g r am m es a n d Me s sr s . Se a by O c t . 1 93 3 9 mm . 4 6 .6 g r am me s .

t al l ic p i ec e i n B e r li n w it h t yp e o f Sa l us . I . , 3 . C f. C V , p . 2 51 n o .1 2 0.

mm e s. C f. R I C V , i p . 1 12 n o . 46 p i . 4 n o . 6 2 .

p . 23 4 n o. 2 67 a p i 6 n o. 9 0.

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E C T Y C A SS D AS M D A L I O NS. M D A L I C CO I N S.

N I E C S

lassedasMedallions.

rswehaveattemptedtoshowthat allpiecestowhich

m medallion whethertheybemedallionsproper money

allions havecertainfeaturesincommon:theywere

tructure sty leorc ontent—orbytwo orbyallthree

mtheordinarycurrentcoinageoftheR omanstate and

eptionalissuesandintendedforspecialorsolemnpresenta-

ns.Theapplicationofthesecriteriawillnecessarily

oryofmedallionsmuchofthematerialamassedbyGnecchi

mesofhiscorpus.CoinsincorrectlyclassedbyGnecchi

oupedunderfourheadings:—( i ordinaryaescoinsof the

hdonotbeartheletterssc ontheirreverses ii the

nDec iusand truscilla iii third-c enturyaureitheweight

hanthenormal iv gif tandfestivalc oins suc hasthe

ron e uinariiissuedfromthetimeofV aleriantothatof

vermiliarensiastruckfromthe timeofConstantineonwards.

ofhisthirdvolumeGnec c hihasc ollec tedasmallgroupofso-

allions " heavybron epiec esw ithsc onthereverse the

hare inreality pseudomedallions c ointypesstruc kon

iec ese c epted thepresenc eof theletterssc onagiven

rGnec c hi c oin " theirabsence medallion " w iththe

ntothemedallioncategorywholegroupsof uitecommon

cificallymedallicfeatures whetherofstructure styleor

. Theappearanc e asageneralrule ofsc ontheregular

onwhichweshallhavetoreconsiderlaterin connectionwith

egreeofsenatorialauthority realorf ictitious overtheaes

mply theevidenceofthecoinsthemselvessuggests of

mperorse erc isedadirectandc ontinuousinf luenc euponthe

dthechoiceofaes types.Thustheabsenceofsc onthe

ofGaius3probablymeansnomorethanaspeciallypersonal

thef irstinstance itmaybe aspayfortheimperialGuards. 4

epiecesare normalsestertii:theyarenotmedallions.

ot e 2 . V i d e in fr a pp . 45 f f. G I I , t av . 14 1 n o. 1 .

saysthatGaiusonhisac c essionnotonlydistributedtothepraetoriansthesumbe ueathed

or butestablishedanotherprecedentbyaddingasmuchmoreon hisownaccount:—

sc . Spa j ui ) gpwmf iwm. Werehisnon-sCsestertiistruc k forthispurpose

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30/313

n. TheannonaavgpiecesofTitus showingA nnonastanding

aresimplysestertiiwithoutsc:17the coinisacommonone

ec if ic allymedallic traits. Titus the darlingofmankind "

eciallypersonalconcernforhispeople scorn-supply.The

necchi ssc criterionisseeninhis inclusionamongmedal-

sstruc kunderTra anandHadrian1 andofc ommon

ofTra an H adrianandA ntoninus ius whetherofR oman

eH adrianicpieceshowingonthereverseadecastyle

sp raroundande sc inthee ergueisanordinary

of thesestertiusw iththelegendssc inthefieldandsp r

larly wemustregardasordinarysestertiithepiec esof

gende sc andthetypesofc arpentumdrawnbytwomules

ephantsontheirreverses. 22 inally theabsenc eofsc on

asses f iguredbyGnecc hi ofTra an 23H adrian 24A ntoninus

26andCarac alla27c anbeeasilye plainedbythesimplefactof

goverorto wear. romthemiddleofthe thirdcentury

enolongersonormallythe accompanimentofthereverse

whilefromGallienusonwardsthesameis trueofordinary

ree cludefromthecategoryofmedallionsanumberof

c chi splates154to15 H ostilianustoMa imian the

arealikedevoidof medalliccharacteristics.2

rtiiintroduc edbyTra anDec ius w iththelegendsfelic itas

ndvictoriaavgcorrespondingtohisownportrait onthe

avgcorrespondingtotheobverseportraitof truscilla all

areclassedbyGnecchiamonghis senatorialmedallions. 29

nstyleandalwaysstruc kuponthic k heavyf lans thesepiec es

ardandsuperficialresemblancetotruemedallions.

nactualfactmeremultiplesofordinarycoins ane periment

tiipieces.R elativelycommonandconfinedtoalimited

theyareneitherrareande c eptionalincontent asarethe

allions noraretheydifferentiatedfromordinarycoins

byvariety insub ec t-matter asarethebron emedallions

et apartinanywayfromthe regularcurrencyofthe

sentialelementinit andarethusautomaticallye c ludedfrom

derourdefinitionoftheterm.

43 n o. 6. 16 G I I , ta w. 14 4 n os .1 2 3 1 4 , n os .6 7 .

4 , n os .1 -5 1 49 n o. 9. G I I , t av .1 45 n o. 11 .C f. B M CC R E I I , p .4 76

5 n o. 3 1 . n o te t on o. 1 55 4.

49 n os .1 4 1 5. n G I I , t av .1 43 n os .9 1 3.

14 4 no s. 4 5 1 3 14 7 no .5. G I I , t av. 14 , n o. 11 .

15 1 n o s. 11 1 2 1 3 1 52 n o. 1. G I I , t av .1 52 n o. 9.

54 n os .4 6 7 1 1 2 0 1 55 n os. 13 14 1 5 1 6 1 ; 15 6 n os .1 7 -11 1 2 1 3 1 6 1 57 no s. 7

n os . 1 2 3 7 9 1 0 2 1 2 2 2 3. T he s es te rt ii o f o st um us a lt ho ug h so me wh at m ed al li c in

ardedasother thancurrentcoins.

61 n os .1 -5 .

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edasMedallions

obarbaric aureiine plic ably inc ludedamongthegold

classesasmedallionsanumberofthird-centuryaureithe

higherthanthenormal andwhic h sincetheyshowno

sandarenotmultiplesofthe unitarystandard shouldbe

dasheavycoins.Sucharethegoldpiecesof lagabalus

mmes 31thatofV alerianweighingonly5.3grammes 32those

a34andTacitus36weighingundersevengrammesandthoseof

sthansi grammes.3

ndthirdvolumesGnec chiinc ludesasmedallionsanumberof

hichare likethedoublesestertiiofTra anDec ius only

ymedallic inc haracter. Thebron e orsilveredbron e

yGnec c hias modulominimo andrangingf romthereignof

c letian 37are indeed of tendistinctivelymedallic bothin

nthec aseof thesilvermiliarensia f irstissuedbyCon-

thetypesareeitheridentical orc loselyc onnec ted w iththose

esilvermultiples ormoneymedallions wheresuchcor-

st andwhiletherearemanymiliarensiafor whichno

reknownandacertainnumberofmultiplesfor which

miliarensia suchcombinationsaswedopossessdefinitely

aformedpartof thesameseriesasthe multiplesandwere

ons.B utthefactthatboth uinariiandmiliarensiawere

esasnormaldenominationsindicatesthattheyweredis-

lmoneygifts notspeciallyor solemnlypresented after

assouvenirstoarestrictedcircleof personsofhigh

rplaceinside theordinarycurrency.U nderthe

utionof large uantitiesofc ashatfestivalsandonspec ial

payforthetroopsorasdolesforthepeople c ametobeone

puttingnewcoinageinto circulation andthetruekin-

miliarensiais notw ithmedallions butw ithsuc hseriesas

suedfortheimperialvotapublicaon anuary3. These

ussedelsewhere.39H ereitissufficientto notethatall

nasense medallic inc ontent insofarastheirtypescontain

iali edandrestrictedkind whileonsomeindividual

entisbalancedbyatleast uasi-medallicstyle.

o s. 1 5 .5 1G , t a v. 1 n o. .

. T h ew e ig h t gi v en b y G ne cc h i 5 . 6 gr a mm es i s i ne a ct .

1. * G , p . 9 n o. 1.

1. G , t a v. 4 n o. 11 .

- 6 p as si m , t aw .1 55 -1 5 p as si m .

p as si m , t aw .2 - 37 p as si m .

estivalof sisinRomeundertheChristian mperorsof the ourthCentury .

n o s. 1 6 -2 1 1 9 n o . 29 .

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inedascoinsof normal orslightlysupra-normal

owingnormalreversetypes butw ithobverseportraitswhich

dallicinstyleor struckfromdefinitemedalliondies.

ssedasmedallions.Theyarenot withaveryfewe cep-

rallyfromtheregularcurrency asarethepseudomedallions

fromordinarycoins asarethebron emedallionsproper

verseand reversetypesandbythecontentof thereverse

combinationsofmedallionobversewithcoinreverseare

ndrare. nfac t intheseisolatedinstanc esofmedallion

mmoncoinsweseemtoencountergenuine freaks or

entsinimpartingtonormalpiecesa medallicaspectwithout

egoryofcurrentcoinageoftherealm andthesameidea

coinsthe obversesofwhicharee ecutedintruemedallion

cificknownmedalliondieshavenotbeenemployed.41Two

anic medallic c oins oneintheRyanCollec tion 42theother

c tion 43havetheregularpa avgsc sestertiusreverse

froma largebron emedalliondie.44Asestertiusof

nhasthenormalA nnonareverseof139 46buttheobverse

ie usedforseverallargebron emedallionsissued

sprinc ipate. 46A sestertiusof uc iusV erus formerly in

hasafinemedallicobverseportraitand areversetype

haredbymedallionsandcoins.47B erlinalsopossessestwo

Gordian I I measuring2 mm. indiameterandweighing

mesrespec tively w ithordinaryreversetypes A polloseated

nd ortunaseated w ithlegendfortvnaredv sc onboth

ec utedinhighreliefandinmedallic sty le isstruck f roma

dieof the mperor. 4 nthe awrenc eCollec tionthereis

p w ithobversestruc k fromasmallmedalliondie49anda

eralitasstanding w ithlegendliberalitasavguse the

at thispiecewasstructurallydifferentiatedfromacoin

narycirculation.Aseries ofassesofAurelian struckat

dsaninterestinge ampleofmedallic c oinsw ithordinaryc oinre-

which withoutbeingstruckfromknownmedalliondies

edallicincharacter.Theseallbearonthe obverseaportrait

tiusofTra anw ithreversetypeofSpesandontheobversearemarkabledeepbustof

withupperarmbareandaegis Strack , Taf.7 Nr.403 P I .X X .10 ; 2 asofAle ander

ection lanymynec h w ithreverselegendae v itasandobverseportraitinveryhigh

m . w e ig h t = 2 . 1 g r am me s .

leCatalogue1935 Taf . 17 Nr. 1267. Diameter= 33mm. weightnotgiven . I . 1 4.

no s. 3 4 . S tr ack I I , T af . , Nr .7 51 . I . , 5.

n o. ; 4 , n o. 5 5 5 no .1.

S al e C at a lo g ue 1 9 23 p i . 3 , n o . 16 7 5. I . , 6 .

3 n os .1 3 1 5 .4 G I I , t av .1 53 n o. 16 .

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33/313

ine iec es

Sol orSol-Aurelian ) w iththelegendsoldominvsimperi

usteitherbare-headedtoright 0orradiatetoright w ith

w " orradiatetof ront w ithfourhorsesbelow twotoright

ereversesaree ec utedinc ommonc oinsty le: theybearthe

ns ec rav it andshowthe mperorsac rif ic ingatatripod

ngmilitarydressandholdingalongtransversespear orveiled

hera shortsceptreorascroll.B utthehighrelief ofthe

esubstitutionofthebust andlegendofthegod forthe

andtheimperialtitles servetodistinguishthesepieces

s indeed hardtodec ideinthec aseof thisA urelianic

ingwithmedalliccoinsor withsmallbron emedallions

ng itwouldappear nolessmomentousaneventthanthe

fSol nvictusasanofficialcultof theR omanstate.

reversesinclinesus onthewhole toassignthemtothe

i ec es .

ialc oinagedoesnot of itsverynature admitofapre-

rbetweencoinandmedallion wehavetoreckonwitha

es piec esthema orityofwhic h inthepresentwriter s

enearlytomedallionsthantocoinsand canwith usticebe

eformercategory whiletheyremainclassifiableascoins

ew. orinstanc e someHadrianic andA ntoninebron e

sedhereassmallmedallionsproperinvirtue ofthespecial

andtheirrarity combinedwithadecidedlymore rather

ye havebeeninc luded onstructuralgrounds asordinary

mperialCoinageandintheCatalogueofCoinsof theRoman

Museum. Thefollow inge amplesmaybec ited. The

fHadrian struckbetween134and13 areofsestertius

commonaureusanddenariustype ofthattime butthey

e amples eac hwithadif ferentobverse aremedallic in

ggesttheapplicationofaregulargold andsilvercointype

seofspec ialpresentation. 64Theiov i/optimo/ma imo/sp r

fH adrianaresestertiiasregardsdiameterand weight but

monlytwospecimens eachagainwithdifferentobverse

bverseandreversetheyare uitedecisivelymedallicin

f /hadriano/avgppinanoak -wreathpiecein aris66

v 156 n os .3 4. R I CV , i .p .3 01 no .3 20 . I . , 7 . G I I , t av. 15 6 n os .5 6 .

c oin isnotusedheretoincludethatveryc onsiderablenumberofcoinstheobverse

oughstruckfromordinarycoindies showspeciallyfineandcarefulstyle.

, V i e n n a. G I I , t a v. 1 4 5 n o. 7 . R I C I , p . 4 39 n o . 7 76 g i ve s a s es t er t iu s wi t h th i s

chsestertiusismentionedbyStrac korinB MCCRE : thebron epiec ementionedin

p. 442 no. fasbeingintheA shmoleanCollec tionisthec oreofaplateddenarius.

G ne cc hi C ol l ec ti on . G I I , t a v. 1 45 n o s. 4 5 B M C CR E I I , p i . 4 n o . 1.

, pi . 4 n o. 2. L , .

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erofa smallsestertiusandrepeatsatype combinedwith

yanCollec tionbuttheRyanpiecehasa uitedifferent

itandis e ecutedincommoncoinstyle whereasthe

c styleandisobviouslyasmallereditionof thelargebron e

typein theGnecchiCollectioninR ome.6 TheAntonine

vans now intheRyan Collec tionwithsp r/anff /

oak-wreath69isagaina smalleredition ofsestertius

wolargemedallionsproperin aris sameobverseportrait

ntobverseportrait respectively . 60 inally thesp r/

oak-wreathtypeofAntoninus iusisstatedto havebeen

ordinarysestertius onthestrengthofaB ritishMuseum

erknownspec imensof thisreversetypearelargebron e

stertius-si emedallionsarerare whilethestillsmaller

downtoGallienus easilydistinguishableonthewholef rom

ewe amplesofborder-linepieces.B utfromGallienus

cTetrarchyweareconfrontedwithanumberofbron e

ghly asassesinsi eandweight butofasty leandc ontent

re strikes f romsmallgoldandsilvermedalliondies

ortrialpiec es oraspresentationpiecesforindiv idualsof

cipientsofthe preciousmetals.Alargeproportionof

belongtothereignofGallienushimself . Thelegendvotis/

-wreathoccursonthereverseofordinaryassesofthe reign

n twomedallicbron epieces withadifferentobverse

oins inRome Gnecc hiCollec tion andtheB ritishMuseum

hic hmaywellbereplic asofagoldoriginal. Twobron e

theotherintheV atican struck inhonorof thec onsularproces-

showadec idedlymedallic obverse adeepbustof the mperor

ardress w iththelegendgallienvmavgsenatvs whilethe

sinaslow uadrigatolef t holdinganeagle-toppedsceptre. 4

e strike f romthesmallgoldmedallion inthesamec ollec -

ndpmtrpiic osill sic andasc eneof imperialsacrif ice

ec ollec tionsatV iennaandB olognaeac hpossessabron e

ofa well-knowngoldmedallionwithreverselegendvirt

ofHerc ulesstandingtof rontw ithc lub lion s-sk inand

ree istanumberofsimilarbron epiec es distributedoverseveral

, p i. 9 no .3. » G I , t av. 40 n o. 4.

le C a ta l og u e 19 3 4 p i . 43 n o . 14 4 9. I . , 9 .

n o . 4 F l o re n ce m e da l li o n u o te d p . 1 4 n o . 44 w i t h w ro n g ob v er s e .

p . 11 9 n o. 72 1. a ri s l or en ce .G I , t a v. 4 , n o .3 .

5 n o. 3 R I CV , i p i. 11 n o. 16 .

n o. 67 Z N 19 30 T af . , n os .4 5 P L X T V , 5 6 .

. 1 R . M o w at C o nt r ib u ti o ns a l a n um i sm a ti u e d e Ga l li e n R e c u e il d e M im o ir e s

NationaledesA nti uairesde ranced ' oc c asiondesoncentenaire1 04-1904 p. 31 , pi. 17

t av .3 n os .3 4 .

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probably a smalleditionofalargebron emedallionproper. 1

esoffive votapublicapiecesissuedinthenamesof allfour

ueand asagroup outstandingamongthec ommon sis- festival

heybelong c opies itmaybe ofgoldpiec esstruc konthe

sentationtospeciallyfavoredpersons.Thereversesbear

dthetype eitherofNeptuneand sisstandingcon-

erapisonboardship theobversesshowdeepbustsof the

iate w ithpaludamentumandsc eptreorw ithcuirass aegis

ndshield orlaureate w ithc onsulardress branchandsc roll. 2

border-lineproblemsis presentedbyaseriesofbron e

aringontheobversethelegendgenivsp randtheradiate

wnedbyamodius orturret torightandonthereverseeither

eth 3orint/ sc /vrbinalaurel-wreath. 4 thasbeen

eswereissuedtowardstheend ofGallienus reignonhis

e a s t w he n h e wa s s al u te d a s G e ni u s o p ul i R o m a ni "

tr a t o r i n tr a vi t u r be m. 8 6 T h e la r ge u a nt i ti e s in

eciallythosewiththeint vrbreverselegend—wereissued

weregift sestertiianddupondii havingtheirplaceinthe

parablewiththebron e orsilveredbron e uinarii the

sis- festivalc oins. O n theotherhand whereasthese

thestatecoinageoveraperiode tendingformanyyears

wereclearlyaveryspecialissue struckforonesingleoccasion

gleevent.Moreover theverypeculiartypeofobverse

dertheguiseofthe Geniusandwithoutmentionofthe

wouldappeartoe cludethesepiecesfromthecategoryof

mMedallic too arethehighreliefof thema orityof the

areful finishedstyle.Allthingsconsidered onemight

eriesasmedallions issuedinunusuallylargenumbersfor

geof individuals perhapstoall courtofficials senators

nalacknowledgmentbythe mperorofthewelcomeaccorded

ome.

emedallionsw ithsimilarreversetypeinR omeandMunic hrespectively G I , tav .

15 , n o s . 11 D i o c l et i an , 2 4 w r on g ly a s cr i be d t o Ma i m ia n i n s te a d of t o G al e ri u s , 3 0

; A . A l ff i ld i o p .c i t. p i . 1 n o s . 1 D i o c l et i an , 2 M a i m ia n . V i d e i n fr a p . 7 .

6 1 n o. 6.

n o. 13 9. L n 4 .

9 R M1934 S. 90f . Thisinterpretationof thereverselegendwouldseemtoweightthe

ingtheob ectwornontheobverseheadas aturret ratherthanasamodius.

her protectorandisthussymbolicallyturreted.Theob ectiscertainlywornin

modiuswhenaffectedashead-gear anditisnotthe usualmuralcrown whichen-

otherhand itsdetailsmostdefinitelysuggestmasonrywallsandtowers.Theonly

eturretedGenius opuliR omaniknowntothepresentwriteris thatontheSeveran

R o m e P B S R , S u pp l . a p er 1 9 39 p . 3 4 f i g. 1 9 . T h e mu r al c r ow n n e t a p pe a rs a s

s opuliR omanionthegeniopopromGallic c oinsofMa imian Mauric e , pi. 2

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issuedunderemperorsofthe fourthcentury from

mint-marksinthee ergue formourlastseriesofbron e

senceofthemint-marksandthestyle generallyspeaking

gnswould ustifytheclassificationofsuchpiecesaslarge

d therelativelysmallnumberofknowne amplesofany

t certainofthetypesthemselves e.g.theTresMone-

iontypes makeitalsopossibleto regardthemasmedallions.

eterminatepiecesarethosewiththelegendsvirtvs caesaris

ulian v ic toriaromanorvm " monetaavg 9andv ictoria

reparatiofeltempof roc opius " restitv torreipvblic ae92

alentinian restitv torreipvblic ae 94monetaavgg

mmandvic toriaavggg97ofV alens andrestitv tor

ma andvictoriaavgvstorvm100ofGratian.Some

es suchasthereparatiofeltemp /smk apiece

a n d th e b ro n e p i ec es o f u l ia n o v ia n V a l e n ti n ia n ,

heR omanmint-mark aredecidedlymoremedallicthan

eclosecorrespondencewhichweoftenfindin style content

epieceswhichbearmint-marksandotherswhichdonot

istinctionbetweentheformerascoinsandthe latteras

ybee posedtocriticismasbeinga conventionalandarbi-

isbesttoadmit thatwecannotreallydecidewhether

esentationpiecesor withrareandoutstandingcoins.

etals thereareanumberofpiec es bothingoldand

andtypeand structurallyslightlyheavierthanthecon-

nominations whichlieontheborder-linebetweencoins

verpiec esofTra anDec ius oneweighing3. 9grammes

sandH ostilianusonthereverse 101theothertwoweighing

w ithbustsof truscilla H erenniusandHostilianusonthe

ec eofH erenniusweighing4grammes w ithatetrastyletemple

showmedallic style theirweight however isnoc riterion

ianirangefrom2.36to7.9grammes.104D uringthelatter

n o. 1 0. G I , t a v .1 39 n o. 7 .

ef tinmilitarydress w ithlabarumandV ic tory knowne amplesarefairlynumerous:

. I . I , 5 . G I , t av .1 39 n os .1 1 1 2.

n o. 4. 1 G I , t av .1 40 n o. 6.

eCatalogue1909 Taf . 51 Nr. 2723. NV ienna:Nr. 46694.

ontinmilitarydressw ithve illumandV ic tory knowne amplesarefairly

n o. 4. I n D res den P I . X X X V , 9 .

lef t holdingwreathandpalm P adua B ansaCollec tion .

no. P I . X X X T , 6 . G I , t av. 140 n os. 7 .

0 n o. 9 .1 1 G , t av . 24 n o. 1 0: R o m e G ne cc hi .

1: B e r li n a ri s. 1 » G , t av . 24 n o. 1 2: a ri s.

orc hesterHoard . Contrastthesilverpiec eof uliaMamaeawithbustsofAle ander

nthereverse weighing5.4grammes whichseemstobeagenuinee ampleofadouble

lo n G , t a v. 2 3 n o . 5 v i de i n fr a p . 14 ) .

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emeetwithgoldpiecesweighingfrom7+ to9-f grammes

einweightbetweenasinglenormalaureusand twoaurei

eitherasabnormallyheavycoinsoras smallmedallions.

elianwiththe legendsadventvsavg 106virtvsavg10

dfourteenpiecesof robuswiththefollowinglegends:—

dventvsavg 109hercv liherimanthio 110soliinv ic tocomiti

112tempfelic itas 113romaeaeternae 114secvritassaec vli116

O f thesepiec essevene amples oneunverif iable of the

117twoof theadlocutiotypeof robusandthreeof the

obusarerec ordedbyGnec c hi afourthe ampleof the

en11 andfoure amplesof theSoltypeof robusareknown

ttheothereightpiecesare eachknownfromonlyone now

uc hrarity c ombinedw iththenotablyhighreliefande -

hema orityofe tantspec imens wouldseemtosubstantiate

imtobemoneymedallions struckmoreorlessto thestand-

lfandprecursorsofthe fourthcenturyseriesof1^ -solidi

yConstantine .

usofafewsilverpiec esissuedinthenamesof ic inius ,

spusandConstantine I . Thesepiec esmightbereckonedas

chwehave asac lass alreadyrelegatedtothec ategoryof

utstandinglymedallicstyle theunusualinterestoftheir

c ases si eandweightsomewhate c eedingthatof the

a allproducetheimpressionthattheywerespecialissues

multiplesofsili uae setapartf romthecommonc oinagefor

9One reversetype commontoallfourimperialpersons

ationofthevicennaliaofConstantine , celebratedfrom

circumferencelegendvotaorbisetvrbis senetpr and

ormilestone setonas uarebasis. Thepiec esofCon-

tantine I 121haveX X / x x /avginscribedonthec ippusanda

s id e o f it t h os e o f i c in i us 1 2 5 an d C ri s pu s m ha v e / x x

c ippusandan inthef ieldtothelef tof it whileak ind

ier restsonthetopof thecippus. Theobverseportraits

n o s. 9 1 0 1 1 . » G , t a v. 3 n o .1 3.

. 1M G , t av . 3 n o. 1 6.

ho r se b ac k to l e ft . I . I , 6 . 1 10 G , t a v. 4 n o . 1 .

erlin B . M. andformerly intheWeberCollec tion WeberCollec tionSaleCatalogue1909

2 V ariantin amesonCollection aris J amesonCollectionCatalogue I I , pi.22 no.467 .

. 2 G , tav .3 n o. 17.

n o. 2 p .1 0 n o. 7 f or me rl yi n a ri s . I . n 9 .1 14 V i en na . I . n 1 0.

5 . • G , t av .4 n o. 3.

2 . 8 R a mus Cat .No .2 2A . L I , 1 1.

reover withonepossiblee ception allstruckbeforetheregularissueof heavy

v i de i n fr a p . 16 ) . m G t a v. 2 9 n o . 5.

o te s u ll a e cc h a di A u i le i a ro m an a t a v. 2 n o . 11 . L I , 1 2 .

.

p ci t. t av . 2 n o. 1 0. L I , 1 3.

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of ic inius andConstantine showthebustof the

ringanelaboratecrestedhelmetandcuirassandholdinga

butthereisalsoavariantofConstantine w ithobverse

aringacuirassandholdinga spear.124ThebustsofCrispus

areshownradiatetolef t wearingpaludamentumandc uirass

thandandthe righthandraised.Allspecimenssofar

kofA uileia w iththee c eptionofavariantofC rispus

andshowstwostars insteadofan inthef ieldof the

variantisknownfromone e ampleonly.Thepiecesvary

o 27mm.andinweightfrom 4.95grammesto6.32

ginallyheavier asallarepiercedby ahole.Anotherre-

onstantine , knownfromtwoe amplesinV ienna 24mm.

dbyahole and eningrad 24mm. 6. 65grammes respec -

eobversethebustof the mperorseenalmostfull- face wear-

oldingahorsebythe bridleandcarryingsceptreandround

ntainsacomplicateddesign—the mperor accompanied

fect standingonaplatformbetweentwosignaandaddressing

c companiedbyhorses below. A f inepieceofCrispusinB erlin

asontheobverseane c eptionallydeepbustof theprinc e

ndcuirassandholdingaspearanda globesurmountedby

ebearsthelegendmonetaavgget caessnnandthetypeof

hepiecewasstruckatA uileiaandmayhavebeenpresented

ofav isittotheloc almint in321 ) . 1 S tmeasures25

hs6.54grammesandispiercedbya hole.Theobverse

resemblancetothatofalarge goldmedallionof icinius

s t ru c k at A u i le i a. 1 29 a s tl y t h er e i s a pi e ce o f Co n st a nt i ne I i n

ome w ithanordinaryobverseportraitandareversetype—

rsnot infre uentlyuponnormalmiliarensiaofthelater

e ec utionispartic ularlyc areful thediametermeasures26

04grammes is inv iewofthefac tthatthef lanispierced

allyhigh. A f terConstantine theseoutstandingpiec esno

dwemayregardthemase perimentsmadeintheearlydaysafter

ereintroduced.131

n o. . I . J , 1 4. m o un d at A u il ei a an d no wi n th e lo ca l mu se um .

o. 3 Z N 1 93 0 T af .3 N r. 1 .

211. A lfoldi P isc iculi ram osephD olgerdargebolen 1939 S. 4f f . datesthis

, t a v. 2 9 n o . 11 .

. tit. p. 21.

o . 6 P I . X L V U J , 5 . A ls o st ru ck i n 32 1 f or i ci ni us H ' a u in u en na li a C f .U l r ic h-

. 19 f .

o. 15. AnallusiontotheSarmatianvic toriesof332

eshouldalsoinc ludeinthisseriesapieceofConstantine inRome Gnecc hi w ith

r el - wr e at h a s re v er s e ty p e G t a v. 2 9 n o . 7 . t i s 2 3 mm . i n di a me t er a n d we i gh s 5 .

alweightmusthave beenover6grammesasa portionoftheflanhas beenbroken

reversetypesareidentic alw iththoseofa F est-aureus ofConstantine v ide

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r-linecasesconsistsofaseriesofgold piecesrangingin

stantine tothatofA rc adius weighing5+ grammes

notonthestandardofthecontemporarysolidusofoneseventy-

onthebasisof theoldD ioc letianic aureusofonesi tiethof

htlylargerandheavierthan thenormalsolidithesepieces

odoubtdid passintouseasc urrentmoney. B utthis

standardcanonlymean that atthetimeoftheir issue

erentiatedfromtheordinarycurrencytoserveaparticular

rarityallpoint tothesameconclusion.O ftheforty

resentwriter thirty-onedisplayreversedesignsofa type

estionthattheywereintendedfor F est-aurei c ommemor-

presentsonspecialoccasions. ifteenofthesepieces—

132fourofConstantius I , 133oneofConstans 134oneofV alen-

a l e n ti n ia n I 1 3 a n d on e o f u g en i us 1 37 — s h ow t h e m p er o r

otholdinginhislef thandasceptre or inonec ase that

globesurmountedbyaV ic tory andw ithhisrighthandeither

nthreeof thesi specimensofConstantine ) orsc atteringa

sionmust inthiscase havebeenanimperiallargitio

presentsforc ertainfavoredindiv idualsinmemoryof the

enpiec esalludeinvariouswaystoimperialvota oc c asions

lseelater prolif ic intheissuebothofgoldandsilvermoney

ssere tent ofbron emedallionsproper. 13 Ninespec imens

wreath 139fourshowoneV ic tory 140twoshowtwo

gupawreathencirc lingavotainscription whileoneshows

nedtof rontw ithvotv inscribeduponthec entral mperor s

nepieceshavelessdistinctively occasional types.

showthe mperorwalkingtotherightandholding a

leacaptiveisseatedon eithersideofhim.143Twopieces

enhagen:1 Turin Ma z iniCollec tion:1 V ienna:3. TheCopenhagenpieceweighsonly

s mu s t be d u e to w ea r . G , t a v. , n o s. 7 9 u b it s ch e k Ta f . 14 N r r. 2 5 1 2 5 2 m i nt -

1 5 1 6.

1 a r is a me s on C o ll e ct i on : 1 B . M . m i nt - ma r k sm a nt : 1 e n in g ra d m i nt - ma r k

Co l le c ti o n Ca t al o gu e V , p i . 26 n o . 5 34 . I . I , 1 7 .

ur ic e , p i . 15 n o. 4 . I . m 1 . 1 U B . M . I . T H , 2 .

formerlyTrauCollection:1. TrauCollec tionSaleCatalogue1935 Taf . 52 Nr. 4572.

eenata ugoslavdealer sin1936. u V ideinf rapp. 79f f .

v o ti s / x x i n w re a th : G I I t a v. d i . su p pl . n o. 1 1 T r au C o ll e ct i on S a le C a ta l og u e

8 9 . I . m 4 . ; C on st an ti ne I : 1 v ot is / i n wr ea th : V i en na u bi ts ch ek T af . 15 N r.

M ag ne nt iu s: 1 v ot / v / mv lt / i n wr ea th : V i en na : G , t av . 14 n o. 3 .

B . M . V i e nn a f o rm er l y in T r au C o ll e ct i on : G , t a v. , n o .5 ; C o ns t an s : 1 P a r is

. B abelon ac ollec tiondemonnaiesetmidailiesdeM. CarlosdeB eistegui pi. 13 no.

1 B . M . :G , p . 3 2 n o . 42 ; C o ns ta ns : 1 P a r i s: G , t a v. 1 0 n o . 1 .

a m es o n Co l le c ti o n: a m es o n Co l le ct i on C at a lo g ue I I , p i . 23 n o . 4 2 . I . M , 7 . .

d tw o fo rm er ly i n a ri s: G , p . 33 n os . 49 5 0 R N 1 9 06 p i. 9 n o. 1 6 .

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other ofArcadius 146showaV ictoryadvancingtowards

athandapalm.Theremainingfourare uni uespeci-

f t 14 Solc rowningthe mperor 147V ic toriaand ibertas14

ng holdingalabarumandaglobesurmountedbyV ic toryand

sfoot. 149Thusc ontent sty leand insomec ases rarity

eighttopushthisgroupof F est-aurei morethanhalf

heside ofmedallions.

, . 1 46 T ol st oi M on na ie s by a nt in es p i. 1 n o. 2 . I . H I , 9 .

i e nn a: G , t av . , n o. 2 .

P a r is : G , t a v. 9 n o . 5. T h ed i am et e r of t h is p i ec e 2 2 m m. i s t ha t o f a F e s t-

t 7. 63grammes , weretheringsubtrac ted wouldbe5+ grammes .

a n d lu n g B a s el S a le C at a lo g ue M a rc h 1 , 1 9 3 6 T a f. 2 6 N r . 2 04 1 P I . V I , 7 ) .

. I . m 1 0.

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V E N AN C S

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eingpublicandofficialissuescontrolledbythe state

pec t thesameminthistory generallyspeak ing astheregular

fCommodusR omelostthatundisputedmonopolyof

cywhichhadbeenherssince laviantimes andduring

nturyprovincialmintswerestriking almoste clusively

at ugdunum A ntioch A le andria aodiceaadMare

i co m ed i a an d V i m i na c iu m P ) . 1 B u t e m er g en cy o r a t le a st p o li t ic al

egardedasthe raisond etreofsuchprovincialmintings

emintpare c ellenc eforimperialaes andfromDomitian

ons intheircapacityaspresentationpiecesforspecialor

etherbron emedallionsproper largeorsmall ormoney

mally issuedfromthec entreof the mpire attheRoman

oandahalfcenturiesof imperialhistoryR omeisthe

hestudentofmedallionsis concerned.Howwas the

dandbywhatauthoritieswasitc ontrolled Suc h uestions

mmediatebearinguponoursub ec t partic ularlyuponthat

of thevastma orityofbron emedallionsproper to

erred 3namelytheabsenceoftheletters scfromtheir

toc onsiderwhatthepresenc eof theseletters and c on-

reallysignify . A c cordingtothemostfamiliar andhitherto

v iew 4theimperialc oinagewas untilthetimeofGallienus

y ofSenateand mperor theformerhavingauthorityover

whilethelatterhad af ter12B . C thee c lusiverightof

tals:thisdualityof controlimpliedadualityofmints:

ued untilthemiddleofthethirdcentury tofunctionin

netaontheCapitol asundertheR epublic now issuing

esthemarkof theSenate sauthority andGaius when

ofimperialgold andsilverfrom ugdunumtoR ome

arterof thec ityanimperialmint directedf romTra an s

rocuratormonetae 6whichissued inadditiontogoldandsilver

tterss c.O nthisviewthepresenceor absenceofscon

valenttoamint-mark denotingsenatorialmintintheone

V , i p . 64 . i nk T he M in ts o f th e R o ma n m pi re T ra ns . n te rn at . Nu m. C on gr .

dallionsofA ugustus—the4-aureipiecef rom ompeiiatNaples G tav. 1

sputed4-aureipieceat ste saidtohavebeenfoundat stein1925 S. . Cesano

1937 pp. 32f f . tav . 5 nos. 1 2 —werepresumablystruckat ugdunum.

I C , p . 16 M at ti ng ly o p. ci t. p p. 1 31 f . L S , 1 35 2.

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heother. . . Strack whilemaintainingthetheoryof

sohebelieves intheSenate s Selbstandigkeit inthe

nestodenythedualityofmints notonly forTra an sday

altimes:untilc.A.D . 0boththesenatorialand imperial

heCapitol afterthatdatein theMonetaCaesarissituated

ia abic ana. 7O nStrac k sv iewthepresenc eorabsenc e

ns butofnc inae senatorialontheonehandasopposedto

f theabovev iewsbeac c epted itfollowsthatthebron e

w iththee c eptionof thefewpiec esmarkedsc issuedby

ity uitedistinctfromthesenatorialmintingauthority

araescoinage thetwoauthoritiesbeingatallevents

dperhapsworkingthroughorgani ationshousedunder

iesoftwoseparatemintsandof dualcontrolcan

discriminategroupingtogetherofallnon-sc pieces either

ec c hi or w ithStrac kas kaiserlicheB ron e. Theproblem

snot withoutimportanceforthegeneral uestionof

dallionstothe otheraesissues.

eresultsof rec entresearc hareallinfavorof theproba-

tdaysof the rinc ipatethec ityofRomeknewbutone

gauthority thatof the rinc epshimself . tw illbe

ugustus e pressan ietytopreserverepublic anformswas

ortionatetohisactualpossession ande erc ise ofanall-em-

ysuperiortothatofall others describedbyhimselfas

otionthathec ould inanyrealsense have renounc ed or

nateanaescurrenc ywhich w iththee c eptionof thesmallest

adrans borehisimageandsuperscriptionor attheleast

ohispersonalachievements harmoni esillwithwhatwe

hissenseofthe propagandavalueofthecoinage.We

alnatureoftheappearanceofmoneyers names mviri

omangoldandsilverc oinageissuedbetween19and12

manaesissuedbetween23and4B . C f romthefac tthat

edduringAugustus absencesfromR omein20to 19and

4 or7 ) B . C . 11thesenames uietlydisappearforeverf rom

anstate althoughitisknownfrominscriptionsthatthe offi-

duntilaslate asthethirdcentury.B utwehavenoevidence

hisview isstillmaintained unc onv incingly inthepresentwriter sopinion inStrack s

40f f .

nm. 16 latner& A shby A TopographicalD ic tionaryofAnc ientR ome pp. 345f . G.

ntichidiR omaesuburbio I I : atraversoU regioni p. 3 9. tisc ertainly improbablethat

heimperialmintat ugdunum soscrupulouslyrespectedrepublicansusceptibilitiesas

ntin anotherpartofR omeiftheofncinaeforgold andsilvercoinagecouldbecon-

istingmintontheCapitol.

io1936 S. 223andinapersonallettertothepresentwriter ic hbiniiber eugt. dass

b dassesgan unter aiserlic hen inf lussstand.

M C CR E , p . c vi . I b id . , p . c vi i i.

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oethannominalor atthemost tiiv ialorimpliedinany

ghoutthisperiodofaseparatesenatorialmint. Certainly

possiblyearlier thetaskofprov idingaduesupplyofsuitable

asofsilverandgold wasassignedtoanimperialf reedman—

entiaeris.12As forthesenatorialformulasc uponthe

ayseematfirstsight itconstitutesnoconclusiveargument

rialmintinR omeorforanindependentsenatorialmint

deed noessentialore c lusivec onnec tionw iththeR oman

recentstudyoftheofficialAugustancoinageofthe

onseveral varietiesofofficialcurrencystruckatvarious

sandpossibly inA sia itisshowntobeparalleltothe

eas Caesarisauctoritate whichappearsonof f ic ialc ur-

otandSyrianmintage andtheconclusionisdrawnthat

consulta validalloverthe mpire whichimmediately

twhichwerepassedinthefirst instanceonAugustus

ritate hisauthority tomakesuchmotionsbeingthe

erentinhis tribuniciapotestasandtheiusrelationis

SCisno senatorialmint-mark nordoesitdenoteinde-

gementoftheaescoinageeitherinR omeorinthe provinces.

theaes nolessthanthe goldandsilver wasundertheulti-

c eps auc toritas. B utinsofarasthesenatusc onsultum

employedfortheproductionof aestheformulae presses

departmentofSenatewith rinceps:14andintheAugustan

tc anhardlybedesc ribedas ameresignw ithoutlegalim-

c tionofA ugustanideology. assingonintopost-A ugustan

sc ontheadlocutioc oinsofGaius theissue thatistosay

einterventionofasenatusconsultum c an aswesaw 17

hepresenceof theindirec tformulae sc ontheearly

sreignsuggestsadesire topreservethetraditionofsena-

oinageata timewhennoaeswasissuing fromtheR oman

ro sparallelissuesofsc andnon-sc aes itislesseasy

usconsultumshouldhavebeenpassedintheonecaseand

hesconthe AfricancoinageofClodiusMacer nominally

n infac tabrigandandpirate " 1 has ofc ourse apurely

ypropagandistsignificance. tisinterestingto speculate

the lavianperiodonwardsreallyde

Roman medallions / by Jocelyn M.C. Toynbee

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