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Author Topic: Antoninus Pius crown series sestertius Africa with scorpion  (Read 624 times)

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Offline Charles S

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Antoninus Pius crown series sestertius Africa with scorpion
« on: April 17, 2015, 05:32:34 am »
Just got in a sestertius of Antoninus Pius whic h I purchased last week.  It is one of the crown series representing Africa with a scorpion at her feet:

Æ Sestertius (26,92g, Ø 33mm, 6h). Rome mint. Struck AD 139.
Obv.: ANTONINVS AVG PIVS P P, laureate head right.
Rev.: AFRICA around, COS II in ex., S C across field, Africa wearing elephant headdress, standing left, holding wreath and cornucopiae, scorpion at her feet.

This coin is a variant of RIC 574 or 576 and Cohen 21 or 24, although RIC 576, copying Cohen 21, describes a lion's head at her feet.  Cohen 21 presumably is based on the specimen in the Paris collection, as none of the three specimens in the British Museum show anything at Africa's feet.  When checking Strack's entries on the Africa type variants (771-774), I see no mention of a lion's head, but two entries (771 and 772) with a scorpion, one of them found also in the Paris collection.  It is hard to believe that Cohen misinterpreted the scorpion at Africa's feet as a lion's head, but it certainly looks like it.
Charles Schotman

My gallery

Offline Matthew C5

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Re: Antoninus Pius crown series sestertius Africa with scorpion
« Reply #1 on: April 17, 2015, 08:07:48 am »
very interesting coin ;)

Offline curtislclay

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Re: Antoninus Pius crown series sestertius Africa with scorpion
« Reply #2 on: April 17, 2015, 09:59:11 am »
When checking Strack's entries on the Africa type variants (771-774), I see no mention of a lion's head, but two entries (771 and 772) with a scorpion, one of them found also in the Paris collection.  It is hard to believe that Cohen misinterpreted the scorpion at Africa's feet as a lion's head, but it certainly looks like it.

Indeed, I had changed "lion's head" to "scorpion" in my copy of Cohen, no. 21, with reference to Strack 771, who says that there is a sestertius with scorpion in Paris.

Cohen 21 is the equivalent of 459 in his first edition, which also says "lion's head" instead of "scorpion". Both of these entries have a large F before the denomination indicator G.B., meaning that Cohen was describing a coin in the French national collection in Paris.

Curtis Clay

Offline Charles S

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Re: Antoninus Pius crown series sestertius Africa with scorpion
« Reply #3 on: April 17, 2015, 10:42:54 am »
Thank you Matthew.

Thank you Curtis for confirming Cohen's mistake.  I think you meant Cohen 21 instead of Cohen 17. Thank you also, for explaining the meaning of the large F, I had never really paid attention to this until now.

Regards,
Charles
Charles Schotman

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Offline curtislclay

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Re: Antoninus Pius crown series sestertius Africa with scorpion
« Reply #4 on: April 17, 2015, 10:55:43 am »
Yes, Cohen 21; I have corrected it above.

For F = Paris, see Cohen Vol. I, pp. XII and XXVII. He also lists there

B = BM in London,

V = Austrian collection in Vienna.

Another abbreviation he uses, but omits from this key:

T = Turin, as published by Lavy, Musée de Turin.
Curtis Clay

Offline Charles S

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Re: Antoninus Pius crown series sestertius Africa with scorpion
« Reply #5 on: April 18, 2015, 07:26:52 am »
For F = Paris, see Cohen Vol. I, pp. XII and XXVII. He also lists there

B = BM in London,

V = Austrian collection in Vienna.

Another abbreviation he uses, but omits from this key:

T = Turin, as published by Lavy, Musée de Turin.
Very useful information indeed.  Many thanks,
Charles
Charles Schotman

My gallery

 

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