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Venus Victrix
whitetd49:
Latest acquisition, Gordian III denarius, RIC 131. Marks the marriage of the kid to Sabina Tranquillina in 240 AD. Also, is one of six denarii that were the last issued for mass circulation in the Empire.
maridvnvm:
A lovely purchase. It is nicer than my example... :(. I bought it to go with the following two.. :)
Regards,
Martin
maridvnvm:
SALVS AVGVSTI
RIC 129a
maridvnvm:
and PIETAS AVGVSTI
curtislclay:
Unfortunately Mattingly was incorrect to associate this type with Gordian's marriage to Tranquillina. Chronology makes this impossible.
The five undated denarius types that Mattingly associates with the wedding and therefore dates to 241, VENVS VICTRIX among them, in fact formed a single issue with a sixth denarius type, P M TR P III COS P P Emp. on horseback, whose tribunician number redates the issue to 240.
The sequence of issues also clearly dates this denarius issue to 240: it must fall between Issue 2, of 239-40, and Issue 4, of 240-243, the second of which also begins with the denarius instead of the antoninianus as the standard silver coin.
However the Historia Augusta explicitly dates Gordian's marriage to Tranquillina to the year 241. It cannot have been commemorated by an issue of denarii produced the year before!
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