FORVM`s Classical Numismatics Discussion Board
Numismatic and History Discussion Forums => Roman Provincial Coins Discussion Forum => Topic started by: Stkp on November 18, 2008, 05:00:09 pm
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I have a Viminacium AE25-26 with the obverse legend IMP C VAI [or VAT] HOST M QVINTVS [or QVIHTVS] AVG, and the year XII in the exergue. My assumption is that, as Hostilian was only an Augustus for roughly four months, this coin is one of the less common types within the Viminacium series. This assumption appears to be confirmed by my internet research, as I have located no examples of a Hostilian as Augustus for sale or in a data bank of sold coins. Any thoughts?
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Hello and welcome to our community,
they are rare, this is my specimen:
(http://www.arminius-numismatics.com/coppermine1414/cpg1414/albums/userpics/10001/187-38n.jpg)
Viminacium in Moesia Superior, Hostilian (as Augustus), dated year 12, 250-251 AD.,
Æ Sestertius (25-26 mm / 12,11 g),
Obv.: IMP [C VAL H]OST M QVIHTVS AVG , laureate, draped and cuirassed bust of Hostilian right, seen from behind.
Rev.: P M S C - OL V[IM] / AN XII , Moesia standing facing, head left, extending hands to bull and lion standing at feet on either side.
cf. Pick (AMNG I), 52, 155 ; cf. Martin 4' 07' 3 / 4' 07' 8.
Helvetica lists 3 different obverse dies in her list (based on Pick and Martin´s comprehensive catalogue):
https://www.forumancientcoins.com/dane/moesia.xls
regards
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And here is Pep's one, in forum's gallery
https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pos=-13593 (https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pos=-13593)
Regards
Potator
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Thanks. Every now and then one gets lucky and finds something different in a batch of uncleaned coins.
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Yeah, they are pretty hard to come by. I only know of one seller with one available right now. You'll see them pop up on ebay maybe once ever 4 or 5 months. The real trick is finding one that is fully attributable and looks halfway decent. The reason that you can't find a copy of this coin listed in coinarchives.com is that there realy are extremely few that are of a higher grade. The vast majority of Hostilian's Augustus Viminacium coins are in pretty rough shape (as demonstrated by the images above). To make matters worse, there are a decent number of legend variants, so if you are missing part of a legend, your coin might not be 100% attributable.
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I once sold a really decent one on **** for 10€. ???
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The one that I found lacks patina (perhaps due to my amateurish cleaning skills) but otherwise has considerable eye-appeal. There are a few letters that must be inferred, but most of these, I believe, can be inferred confidently and should not, therefore, thwart positive attribution. My understanding is that the legend variants involve (a) the substitution of either an I or a T for the L in VAL, and (b) the substitution of an H for the N in QVINTVS. I am fairly certain that my coin has the N in QVINTVS (someone who has looked at more of these should readily be able to confirm this), and am also certain that mine does not have an L in VAL, as the lower portion of the letters in this word are clear. However, the upper portion of the letters are off the flan, so that I can not ascertain whether it is an I or a T. I'll have to study the bottoms of these letters on other coins to see whether the shape of the lower part of these letters are distinguishable from one another.
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Stkp,
What about posting a picture of your coin ?
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I would love to, and perhaps will tackle the "project" this weekend. I have never photographed a coin, and have in the past only scanned them, with mixed results.
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Dear Hostilian Coin Enthusiasts,
While trying to scour the web for more Hostilian AVG bronzes from Viminacium, I found the following CAE specimen:
http://www.rudnik.com/rome/anarchy1/htmls/R1531.html
Rudnik Numismatics describes it as “a very scarce Viminacium issue of Hostilian as Augustus”. At first, I thought the description was just plain wrong; but later, I realized the significance of the coin’s date: AN XIII. As this thread already makes clear, there are AN XII specimens of Hostilian as Augustus. From this, are we to assume that there was a lack of communication or literacy among the Viminacium celators to continue producing coinage with outdated obverse dies; or was it a case of being frugal?
Best regards,
Mark Fox
Michigan
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Martin 4'11'1 is a Hostilian Augustus type of year 13, so it should exist.
But the attached photo doesn´t show this clearly.
(If i review my specimen it may also be AN XIII ??)
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I am posting the coin with respect to which I started this thread.
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Hi All,
I'm reviving this old post to share this nice grade (rare!) Hostilian Augustus coin (also rare!) from Viminacium which i obtained recently.
As i'm not so familiair with provincial coinage, does anyone know which literature reference is used most for Viminacium coins? I see references to sources of AMNG, Martin and Moush
Secondly, i see conflicting dates regarding the reign of Hostilian as Augustus, some sources stating he allready died in July 251, others that he died in November 251. For me, November would make more sense, as Volusian was elavated to Augustus in that month.
Lastly, is there any concensus on the place of his death? One source stated he died in Viminacium, which would this type of coin extra special :)
Thanks in advance!
Obverse: IMP C VAI HOST M QVINTVS AVG
Reverse: PMS COL VIM, AN XII
Struck: June - November (?) 251 AD
Weight: 13.73 g
Axis: 0600h
Gr Luuk
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Take a look to RPC: https://rpc.ashmus.ox.ac.uk/coins/9/52
Pekka K