different Vabalathus busts?

[Jochen]

Hi!

Here is my new Antoninian of Aurelian/Vabalathus:
Vabalathus AD 271-271, son of Odenathus and Zenobia of Palmyra
AE - Antoninian
       Antiochia 2nd officina
obv. IMP C AVRELIANVS AVG
        bust, draped and cuirassed, radiate, r.
rev. VABALATHVS VC R IM DR
       bust, draped and cuirassed, seen from behind, laureate, r.
RIC. V1, 381; C.1
Scarce; about VF, greenish sandpatina

But the description of the rev. bust in RIC is different: bust, draped only, laureate, r.
But on the pic you can clearly see the shoulder flaps (pteryges), so it is not only draped but cuirassed too. And seen from behind BTW (Pic #1).

Looking at Wildwinds, I found types which are draped only as RIC stated (Pic #2). So I wonder wether there are two different rev. types mixed up by RIC into one number in error? Or are the different bust types in relation to the different officinae?

Any opinion appreciated!

Best regards

[areich]

That is a beautiful coin!

[Bacchus]

I agree - really cracking

-:Bacchus:-

[mauseus]

Hi,

I have a small collection of the Vabalathus coins posted in a gallery here on FORVM at https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/thumbnails.php?album=420.

All my specimens show Vabalathus draped and cuirassed and Aurelian cuirassed only (as the above specimens do).

One thing not correctly described by RIC is that Vabalathus is laureate AND has a plain diadem below, clearly visible on some specimens.

I really should fill in my gaps in the workshops!

Regards,

Mauseus

[curtislclay]

Vabalathus laureate AND DIADEMED is most interesting.
I had never noticed that before, though I find it is mentioned by Estiot in her Paris catalogue, p. 118. 
Not mentioned by Cohen, and his engraving shows a plain laurel wreath.  Do you know when this detail was first observed?

[mauseus]

Hi Curtis,

I'm afraid I can't remember when or where I first noticed this in the literature, I certainly hadn't noticed it on the coins until it was pointed out to me.

Does something similar happen on some/all of the Vetranio issues (Numismatic Chronicle paper 2 or 3 years ago)?

Regards,

Mauseus

[curtislclay]

     V's combined diadem and laurel wreath, which seems clear on the coins once it is pointed out, is apparently not a widely known fact!
     Bastien, in his Buste Monetaire,  p. 75, claims V. shows an early example of a laurel wreath with three rather than only two rows of leaves, later typical in the East.
     The piece he illustrates, however, seems to show a solid band, i.e. a diadem, below the laurel wreath, not a third row of leaves!

[curtislclay]

On the Alexandrian tetradrachms of Aurelian and Vabalathus, V's combined diadem and laurel wreath is much clearer, so has long been recognized; already stated as an established fact by Eckhel VII, 1797, p. 492, "Caput laureatum et diadematum puerile", "Youthful head laureate and diademed".
Surprising, then, that it took people so long to recognize the diadem on the antoniniani!  In his description of the antoniniani on the same page, Eckhel has merely "Laureate head".  Similarly Cohen, as I stated, and Rollin & Feuardent in their very useful and perceptive stock catalogue of Roman coins, c. 1880.  Even Bastien by the early 1990s did not know about the combined diadem and laurel wreath on the antoniniani!
I will have another look at Estiot's Aurelian catalogue tomorrow, for it strikes me that she certainly must know, and probably also informs the reader, who was responsible for this little discovery!

[Numerianus]

A specimen from the 3rd officine.

[curtislclay]

    The diadem on the antoniniani may already have been recognized by Alföldi in Berytus V.1, 1938, reprinted in his Weltkrise, p. 193, note 98:  "Auf den selben Münzen trägt Vaballathus nebst der Königsbinde gleichzeitig auch den Lorbeerkranz des Imperators!"
     It is not entirely clear to me, however, that Alföldi is referring here to the antoniniani rather than the Alexandrian tetradrachms where the diadem had long been recognized.
     In any case Mattingly was still unaware of the diadem on the antoniniani in Num. Chron. 1936, "The Palmyrene Princes and the Mints of Antioch and Alexandria", pp. 112-3: the portrait of V. on the antoniniani is described as "laureate" only.

[Potator II]

Hi all
And here is mine from the 8th officina (H) with the bust of Vabalathus also laureate and diademed

Antoninianus struck in Antioch, 271-272 AD, 8th officina
VABALATHVS V C R IM D R, Draped, laureate and diademed bust of Vabalathus right
IMP C AVRELIANVS AVG, Radiate and cuirassed bust of Aurelianus right. H at exergue
2.45 gr
Ref : Cohen #1, RC # 3292

Regards
Potator

[curtislclay]

The recognition of the diadem alongside the laurel wreath on V's antoniniani is apparently due to A. von Sallet, Die Daten der alexandrinischen Kaisermünzen, Berlin 1870, p. 87, note 192, referring to an article by himself in Num. Zeitschrift 1870!

[quadrans]

Hi all this is mine two different example 4th officinae
and one from Alaxandria from my Gallery

https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pos=-91131
https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pos=-91130
https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pos=-91402



regards
quadrans

[SEstiot]

On the obverse of the joint antoniniani of Vabalathus / Aurelian (Aurelian is on the reverse as shown by the mint-mark), Vabalathus is always laureate and diademed.

As for the description of the bust, there is always an ambiguity in RIC between the radiate, cuirassed and draped  bust, seen from front (bust -A- following the description code of P. Bastien) and the radiate, cuirassed and draped bust, seen from behind (bust -A2- in Bastien's code). RIC uses only the code letter -A- for both types of busts.
The description code used in the English publications of coin hoards (for ex. Cunetio) is much more accurate than RIC.

As far as Vabalathus is concerned (12 types Vabalathus/Aurelian listed in our RIC V.1 revision website), the vast majority of these coins show a draped and cuirassed bust seen from behind, see our RIC temp # 3102-3128.
For example, for officina      RIC temp # 3106   (41 coins listed ; 28 illustrated)
http://www.ric.mom.fr/en/coin/3106?q=3106&page=1&mod=result&x=0&y=0&from=quick

Very few show the draped and cuirassed bust seen from front : they are extremely rare.
We record only:
- officina    : RIC temp #3104   (5 coins listed ; 4 illustrated)
http://www.ric.mom.fr/en/coin/3104?q=3104&page=1&mod=result&x=0&y=0&from=quick

- officina Z  : RIC temp # 3109   (2 coins listed ; 2 illustrated)
http://www.ric.mom.fr/en/coin/3109?q=3109&page=1&mod=result&x=0&y=0&from=quick

- officina H : RIC temp # 3112   (3 coins listed ; 3 illustrated)
http://www.ric.mom.fr/en/coin/3112?q=3112&page=1&mod=result&x=0&y=0&from=quick

The links to these pages seem very long, but you should try by yourself clicking in our Database/Advanced search from the home page http://www.ric.mom.fr/en/home

As for the historical background of the Palmyrene secession and on Aurelian's two campaigns against Palmyra, maybe you should try the menu "History" in the heading and go to year 272 and 273.

S. Estiot & J. Mairat

[Holding_History]

Very interesting, I never noticed that before

[v-drome]

Hi.  Here is a cut coin I thought might be interesting.  Care seems to have been taken to avoid either portrait.
The flan seems a little thicker than the other ones I have seen.

Vabalathus  271-272 CE
Antoninianus
Obv:[VABALATH]VS V C R IM D R  
Laureate and diademed, draped? and cuirassed? bust right.
Rev:[IMP C AVRELI]ANVS AVG
Radiate, and cuirassed bust right.  Uncertain officina.
20mm. 2.74g. Axis:180