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Author Topic: New Antoninus Pius (hybrid) denarius  (Read 461 times)

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Offline Frans Diederik

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New Antoninus Pius (hybrid) denarius
« on: August 27, 2015, 04:39:20 am »
When the two sides of a coin are known, but never found together, we could have a coin never described by anyone. But if we have two sides that could never have been used together, we usually speak of a hybrid coin.
In this case the discussion is open, I think.
The obverse of the denarius reads: ANTONINVS AVG PIVS PP IMP II and is first seen on coins of the year 155/156 of his 19th tribunician year. In the next two years this obverse legend is continued (TRP XX and TRP XXI on the reverse).
The reverse of the new denarius is simply COS IIII, Annona standing  left, holding two ears of corn over a filled modius and an anchor in her left hand. This reverse type is already found in the year 147-148 -149(TR P XI and TR P XII) and is then only found with TR P XVII according to Cohen 285. This coin is regarded as a hybrid. In later years this reverse is unknown on any coin, with the exception of BMC 520 = Strack 161 with a COS IIII with a different Annona type.
So, the conclusion must be that this coin certainly is a hybrid using an obverse die not earlier used than 155 AD and a reverse die not later used than in 149 AD.


Frans

Offline curtislclay

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Re: New Antoninus Pius (hybrid) denarius
« Reply #1 on: August 27, 2015, 02:04:03 pm »
Style and fabric look official, but one has to suspect an ancient imitation, since as you say there is a seven-year gap between the two sides of the coin, the obv. being of TR P XIX-XXI, but the rev. of TR P XI-XII.

Authentic mint mules generally couple dies of different personages that were in use simultaneously, for example an obv. of Pius with a contemporaneous rev. of Marcus Caesar, or dies of the same emperor that belonged to directly successive issues, for example BM 520 pl. 11.14 that you mention, with obv. IMP II but rev. COS IIII Annona standing.

When IMP II was added to Antoninus' obv. legend, TR P XIX should have been transferred to the rev., producing the rev. legend TR POT XIX COS IIII. The BM coin was struck from a rev. die that had been engraved before the rearrangement of the titles, and that had then mistakenly not been retired from use when that change was made.

For your coin to be official, a rev. die from TR P XII would have to have been retired for seven to nine years, then brought back into use when Antoninus was TR P XIX-XXI. That seems unlikely to have occurred!
Curtis Clay

 

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