Hello everyone.
The civic crown, entwined with oak leaves, was an important
honor that the ancient
Romans attributed to the soldier who
had saved the life of a
Roman citizen in battle.
From
Augustus onwards, the coinage shows this
honor attributed to many of the first emperors, such as
Caligula,
Claudius,
Galba and
Vespasian.
On the front
side, the
legend of this
sestertius struck in
Lugdunum is identical to the
contemporary Rome issue, but it is distinguished by the presence of a small globe at the base of the neck.
On the
reverse, however, there is a small difference, due to the presence of the acronym P P, which is missing in the
Rome issue.
The meaning of the
complete legend "S(enatus) P(opulus) Q(ue) R(omanus) P(atri) P(atrie)
Ob Cives Servatos" is: "The Senate and the people of
Rome (
implicitly: confer this honour) to the Father of the Homeland for the saved citizens".
I think that the
rarity of the
sestertii struck in
Lugdunum is slightly underestimated: in fact they are rarely offered on the market.
I find this specimen particularly attractive for its large
flan and powerful
portrait.
Alberto
https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pos=-158346