Hi!
Looking through OPI denarii/RIC77 of
Antoninus Pius on internet I noticed there is something interesting under throne on a
denarius in Valencia museum/Llilia
hoard (pic is below).
Wikipedia suggested that goddess
Ops can be portrayed with a corn/wheat spray! So I suppose this a
corn spray under the throne! Needless to say that
RIC says nothing about such variety with a spray.
It should be noted that OPI
denarii are very
rare and there are only few on internet, and only one in Valencia has this
corn spray. I also have a Pius OPI
denarius, but it does not have that spray. So, Valencia specimen is the only one with a spray known to me until now.
Notably, Pius bronzes with OPI are much commoner, and there is also some kind of spray seen under throne on some of them.
RIC says it's a flower on bronzes. Could be. But I'm more inclined to see a spray, most probably a
corn or wheat spray.
So, whenever you come across an OPI coin of Pius - check out under the throne - you may find something hidden and symbolic there!!!!
Z.