New Gallienus Animal Coins from Zoo Series and Legionary Series, plus new Antioch Lion coin

[DonnaML]

A new Gallienus Zoo coin, purchased at Roma's most recent E-Sale, arrived this evening via DHL Express (together with two new Probus coins that I already posted.) It's a type I don't see very often, and certainly not in this kind of excellent condition.

Gallienus, Billon Antoninianus, 267-268 AD, Rome Mint, 5th Officina, 10th emission (Göbl & Reinhardt). Obv. Radiate bust right, GALLIENVS AVG /Rev. Boar running right, HERCVLI CONS AVG; in exergue, Є [Epsilon = 5th Officina]. RIC V.1 202 (sole reign); RSC IV 317; Sear RCV III 10228; Wolkow 16a5 (ill. p. 69 & Pl. XXIV) [Cédric Wolkow, Catalogue des monnaies romaines - Gallien - L'émission dite "Du Bestiaire" - atelier de Rome (BNumis, édition 2019)]; Göbl MIR [Moneta Imperii Romani] Band 36, No. 729b [ill. at http://www258.pair.com/denarius/coinage.htm & in Reinhardt at p. 126 no. 3 [Frank Reinhardt, José de Sousa, & Heidemarie Bieker, Gallienvs Antoninianii, The Antoninianii Collection of Gallienus by Frank Reinhardt (Eng. trans. 2022), available at https://www.academia.edu/77282280/GALLIENUS_ANTONINIANII_English_version_PDF]. 20 mm., 3.24 g., 6 hr. Purchased at Roma Numismatics Ltd. E-Sale 107, 16 Mar. 2023, Lot 1126.

 

In terms of its eye-appeal, the boar reminds me a little of the Gallienus Zoo Series goat that I posted above in this thread, purchased at the previous Roma E-Sale, No. 106, held one month earlier on 16 Feb. 2023. Roma's descriptions of both state that they are "from a private UK collection." (As opposed to a public UK collection!) So presumably not from the Baron de Chambrier, but undoubtedly from some eminent Lady or Gentleman. Whatever the two coins' previous ownership may have been, I have little doubt that they derive from the same source. Somebody had good taste.

The new coin gives me 12 of the 32 basic types on my list, marked with asterisks:

Lioness walking left [Apollo, Officina 2]
*Centaur walking left holding globe [Apollo, Officinas 4, 7, & 8]
*Centaur walking right with bow and arrow [Apollo, Officinas 7 & 8]
Centaur galloping right, with bow and arrow held up to sky [Apollo, Officina 7]
*Gryphon walking left [Apollo, Officinas 4 & 8]
Gryphon walking right [Apollo, Officina 4]
Gryphon seated left [Apollo, Officina 4]
*Antelope left [Diana, Officinas 3 & 4]
Antelope right [Diana, Officina 3]
Doe left, head turned back to right [Diana, Officina 5]
*Doe right, head turned back to left [Diana, Officina 5]
Stag left [Diana, Officina 10]
Stag right [Diana, Officina 10]
Gazelle left [Diana, Officinas 11 & 12]
*Gazelle right [Diana, Officinas 11 & 12]
Lion left [Hercules, Officina 1]
*Boar right [Hercules, Officina 5]
Goat left [Jove, Officina 6]
*Goat right [Jove, Officinas 4 & 6]
Panther left [Liber Pater, Officina 2]
Panther right, "rampant" (head facing upwards) [Liber, Officina 2]
*[Tigress left] [Liber Pater, Officina 2]
Criocampus [mythical beast with head and forelimbs of ram, and body and rear of fish] swimming right [Mercury, Officina 8]
Hippocamp [head and forelimbs of horse, body and rear of fish] swimming left [Neptune, Officina 9]
*Hippocamp swimming right [Neptune, Officina 9]
Capricorn [head and forelimbs of goat, body and rear of fish] swimming right [Neptune, Officina 6]
Pegasus left, rearing up on hind legs [Sol, Officina 1]
*Pegasus right, rearing up on hind legs [Sol, Officina 1]
Bull standing left [Sol, Officina 11]
*Bull standing right [Sol, Officina 11]
Antelope left [Salonina obverse, Juno, Officina 4]
Antelope right [Salonina obverse, Juno, Officina 4]

The boar is one of the few types in the Zoo Series that only appear facing in one direction, along with the lion, lioness, criocampus, and capricorn. All the others appear facing in both directions.

[Valentinian]

On 2/24/2023 at 8:55 PM, DonnaML said:

My new Gallienus goat has arrived from Roma Numismatics

Wow! That one is remarkably well-struck on both sides. It is very hard to find a zoo type that nice. Congratulations!
It certainly excels mine!

[Spaniard]

What a beautiful example @DonnaML....!...Lovely detail on the jabalí and a sweet portrait too!

Is this list a set that you are endeavouring to collect?...If so you are doing well and it would be quite an achievement!...Looking forward to seeing more additions.

Paul

[DonnaML]

6 hours ago, Spaniard said:

What a beautiful example @DonnaML....!...Lovely detail on the jabalí and a sweet portrait too!

Is this list a set that you are endeavouring to collect?...If so you are doing well and it would be quite an achievement!...Looking forward to seeing more additions.

Paul

Thanks! No, I'm not quite obsessive enough to feel a need to collect two examples of every animal or mythical creature that appears twice, facing once in each direction. But I certainly would like to have examples of the animals/creatures I'm still entirely missing, namely the lion and lioness, the stag, the criocampus (which I've never seen offered anywhere), the capricorn (which I do have, but from the legionary series rather than the Zoo series), and, since I already have what's generally considered a "tigress" left, perhaps the plain old stripeless panther right.  I am awaiting the one type of animal with Salonina on the obverse, an antelope, purchased at the last Leu auction.

[Jims,Coins]

[Qcumbor]

No boar in my trays, what a bore !

I need one as nice as yours @DonnaML, that one is magnificient

 

Q

[DonnaML]

And another addition to the Gallienus Zoo has arrived, this one issued in the name of his wife, the Empress Cornelia Salonina. A common type, but not often seen in nice condition. It depicts an animal whose identity remains in dispute after nearly 1,800 years!

Cornelia Salonina (wife of Gallienus), Billon Antoninianus, AD 267-268, Rome Mint (4^th Officina). Obv. Diademed and draped bust right set on crescent, COR SALONINA AVG / Rev. Antelope (or hind [female red deer] or doe or bearded elk*) standing left, IVNONI CONS AVG; in exergue, officina mark Δ ( = Delta = 4^th Officina). 21 mm., 2.91 g., 11 h. RIC V-1 Salonina 16; RSC IV Salonina 70; Sear RCV III 10643; Wolkow 29aa4(A), p. 98 [Cédric Wolkow, Catalogue des monnaies romaines - Gallien - L'émission dite "Du Bestiaire" - atelier de Rome (BNumis, édition 2019)]; Göbl MIR [Moneta Imperii Romani] Band 36, No. 725cc; Cohen 70. Purchased from Leu Numismatik AG, Winterthur, Switzerland, Web Auction 25, 14 Mar 2023, Lot 2465.

 

*Wolkow: antelope; Göbl MIR: bearded elk; RIC and Sear: doe; Cohen: hind; RSC: doe or hind.

So, that gives me 13 of the 32 basic types on my Zoo Series list posted above.

But, I do need some help from someone out there who knows their bovidae and cervidae, and can offer an informed opinion on just what kind of animal is depicted on Salonina's coin. At least, more informed than that of most numismatic scholars, apparently! I have no knowledge at all on the subject, except from Wikipedia, which tells me that deer and elk have branched antlers, whereas antelopes (and gazelles like the one portrayed on another Gallienus Zoo Series type) have unbranched horns. Plus, do does or "hinds" usually even have antlers? How about goatees like the one on this animal? Beats me.

 

Edited April 7, 2023 by DonnaML

[Orange Julius]

Great coin @DonnaML! You’re making great headway on the zoo collection. I have (I think) the same animal for Salonina. Mine has been sadly stripped, allowing me to snag it for just a few dollars…. But it still has some good detail, even if off-center.

 

[DonnaML]

1 hour ago, Orange Julius said:

Great coin @DonnaML! You’re making great headway on the zoo collection. I have (I think) the same animal for Salonina. Mine has been sadly stripped, allowing me to snag it for just a few dollars…. But it still has some good detail, even if off-center.

 

Thanks! So by any chance do you know anything about deer and antelopes and elk?

Edited April 7, 2023 by DonnaML

[Orange Julius]

Haha, well… my understanding is that antelope have straight twisty horns like the two coins below: 

Then you have Elk and Deer. The linked article below simplifies things a bit, “All elk are deer, but not all deer are elk.” https://a-z-animals.com/blog/elk-vs-deer-8-key-differences-explained/

So, your coin is of a deer. Which kind of deer is the question!

Yours is a tough one to decide on. Mine below has some large antlers, so I’m going elk. I guess it would be interesting to learn more about how prevalent elk were in Italy at the time. Not that having them to look at matters much to decide the question because tigers, griffins, Pegasuses (?), and hippocamps! 

…then you have does (or another look at antelopes) of course!

Edited April 7, 2023 by Orange Julius

[EtTu]

Here are some of my more recent additions. 

Right facing griffin, I was ecstatic to get this coin as my previous example with a sigma mintmark was confirmed to be an imitation.

5aa4

Left facing griffin

4aa4

A second seated griffin

6aa4

A couple of antelopes, this first one I just received from @Molag Bal and haven't had the chance to photograph it yet. It has an uncommon obverse, 15 listed in Wolkow. 

13l12

13a12

A couple hippocampi, and my first desert patina

23a9

23m9

An extraordinary example of the Herculean lion

15a1

Bull on a broad fpan with a crack. For some reason I really like the look of coins on broad flans.

28a11

Two more Criocamps, I also have one more on the way which will bring my total to 5 examples and three different reverse dies.

Both 21a8

A capricorn 

24a6

A doe

9aa5

A goat

17a6

And finally, while the Pegasus (or Sol's winged horse) may be one of the more common in the zoo series, this is perhaps one of my most unique coins. It is a pegasus with a bridle and chamfron.

26a1

I say unique, but I did find this coin which I believe to be a die match, but much worse for wear. If it weren't for my other example, I probably would have thought the reins on this coin were some kind of flaw.

I also have quite a few imitations that I've also added to my collection, I'll put them in another post. 

[EtTu]

My new imitation zoo coins

This one looks to be an amalgamation of two different zoo creatures. The forepart and the mintmark are Hippocamp, but the tail has two coils which is a feature of the Criocamp, whereas the hippocamp only has one coil. 

A panther

A centaur 

A goat

The rest were purchased from Cédric Wolkow

A panther, this one is unusual for an imitation in that the coin appears to be all silver. 

 Another panther

Judging from the curved horns, I think criocamp

A Pegasus

And a diplodocus, that was Wolkow's description and I added it onto my order based solely on that description. 

 

Edited May 7, 2023 by EtTu

[Qcumbor]

On 4/7/2023 at 2:43 AM, DonnaML said:

 

 

Nice one §

I think I have the same as yours (at least did I catalog it the same : 29aa4)

Q

[EtTu]

I won this today at Savoca and it may seem like just an average Dianae zoo coin, but this is actually one of the most rare and hard to find zoo coins and has yet to be represented in this thread. This is the right facing antelope with the gamma mintmark. I was banking on no one knowing what it was and was able to snag it for just 14€!!!

[Roman Collector]

Great job of cherry-picking, @EtTu!!!

 

[EtTu]

10 minutes ago, Roman Collector said:

Great job of cherry-picking, @EtTu!!!

 

Thanks! I'm now only 3 reverse types away from having one of each zoo series types!

[Qcumbor]

Two new coins in my zoo, deer (new) and Pegasus (upgrade)

Rome, 267-268 CE, dixième officine
GALLIENUS AVG, buste radié de Gallien à droite
DIANAE CONS AVG, cerf à gauche. A l'exergue X
3,06 gr - 20 mm
Ref : CMR Gallien # 11a10, RIC # 179, Cohen # 158

 

Rome, 267-268 CE, 1° officine
GALLIENVS AVG, buste radié de Gallien à droite
SOLI CONS AVG, pégase à droite. A l'exergue A
3,20 gr - 21 mm
Ref : CMR Gallien # 26a1, RIC # 284, Cohen # 981

Q

[Valentinian]

On 3/27/2023 at 7:09 PM, DonnaML said:

Rev. Boar running right, HERCVLI CONS AVG;

That OP coin is both rare and in excellent condition.  Here is mine, not so nice:

On 5/6/2023 at 8:09 PM, EtTu said:

Two more Criocamps,

That is a rare type. To have five demonstrates that you are a very dedicated zoo-series collector. I was pleased to find one at all, although it is in lousy shape. Fortunately, it was unidentified and not hyped:



You gotta like the zoo series!