Thanks Jay, Q, and everyone else who has been so supportive. Here are the results:
The short story can be found by simply reading the description that’s been added to the photo in my
gallery.
https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pos=-112619The long story is as follows.
After
buying this fragment, I was thrilled to add it to my
collection. I found however that reading 2000 year old Latin
engraved in bronze plate was more difficult than I imagined. Then Shawn and Benito pointed out that the engraving was not at the typical 90 degree angle. Added to that, after examining several other diplomas, I found the striations on the one
side odd as well.
Basically it came down to:
Patina and lettering = Authentic
Atypical letter orientation, weird striations and no
provenance =
FakeAt this point I was kicking myself for not doing research BEFORE making a purchase. What a thought!
But then, a ray of
hope! Stultus is able to name the Emperor,
Severus Alexander!
This focused my research and I was able to find other diploma's of
Elagabalus and
Severus Alexander with identical striations. A
bit of relief.
Further searching brought me to a fantastic scholar in the Classics Faculty in
Oxford who has worked with other high profile
Alexander diplomas. (And modestly would like to remain anonymous.)
After explaining the concerns, here are the relevant parts of
his response in quotes:
“The witnesses' names are usually inscribed at right-angles to the 'inner' text on the other
face of Tablet II, but on very few diplomas they are inscribed on the outside of Tablet I, with the 'inner' text (duplicating the 'outer', visible text) inscribed on the other
face. I think yours must be an example, since the
writing looks all right to me. The main text contains
part of the usual formulas for
Alexander Severus.
In the lines below, there is enough to show that the recipient was a veteran of the Praetorian Guard, who was granted the right of contracting a legal
Roman marriage.
As far as the dating of the diploma is concerned, line three reads:
COS III, preceded by II, the last two digits of the
TRIB POT number. He became
COS III in 229, and remained this until
his death in 235, so the possible years are 229 (
TRIB POT VIII), 230 (
VIIII), 233 (
XII), 234 (XIII) and 235 (XIIII).”
I (Nemo) then spent some time translating the Latin text he provided into English seen below in quotes. (I didn't know that the next morning he would send me another email.)
... M]AGNI II
FIL“Son of
Magnus Pius”
... ALEXAN]DER
PIVS FELIX AVG“
Alexander Pius
Felix Augustus”
...
TRIB POT?]II
COS III P P
“In the ? year of Tribunician or Conul power,
Pater Patriae”
... MI]LITAVERVNT IN
“Who served in”
... SE]VERIANIS
DECEM“Ten
Severan”
... ] PIIS VINDICIBVS
“Loyal and Avenging”
... MILI]TIA FVNCTI SVNT
“Performed their
military function”
... ] CVM SINGV
“With one”
?LIS ... ETIA]M SI PEREGRI
“Even if foreign”
The next morning the following was in my inbox:
"The underlined portions are the words that are visible on the fragment:
'The Emperor
Caesar,
son of the deified
Antoninus Pius the Great [i.e. 'Caracalla'], grandson of
Severus Pius [i.e.
Septimius Severus],
Marcus Aurellius [thus usually written]
Severus Alexander Pius Felix ['happy']
Augustus,
Pontifex Maximus, in the [...]th year of
his Tribunician Power,
Consul three times [i.e. 229 or later: see above],
Father of his Country. The names of the soldiers who
have served in the ten Severan Praetorian Cohorts (numbered) 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10,
Pius Vindex ['dutiful, avenging'], who have dutifully and bravely
completed their service, (to them) I have granted the right of
Roman marriage, provided it is
with one woman only and she their first wife, so that
even if they marry women of
non-Roman status ...'"
That's it for now. Anyone want to guess the five coins that are now on my want list?
Nemonater
