And here is my answer, as posted yesterday in the
German Forum:
Rupert,
That is a highly important piece! I respond in English, because the argument is somewhat complicated, and because I think we should post the coin and my explanation in the U.S.
Forum also.
From the
style, I have no doubt that your coin at least represents a genuine issue. Either it is itself an original, provided that the metal below the brown patination really is
good silver, around 50%
fine, as you think, or it is a
good ancient
cast of an official original. Maybe you could show it around to experienced dealers, academics, or collectors for opinions on this question, and/or send it to me for inspection if you like.
As you note, two quinarii are known with this
obv. legend, RIC 35a=Cohen 14 (Copenhagen), and RIC 42b=Cohen 112 (Banduri I, 1718, p. 7, citing the coll. of "
Ser. Princeps Ludovicus
Augustus, Cenomanensium Dux": that is, as Zwerg reports, the region Maine in
France with capital Le Mans). Since the
obv. legend is short, RIC lists these quinarii among the
antoniniani with the late short
obv. legends
IMP CAE TRA DECIVS (or
DEC) AVG. I have probably glanced over those
rare coins a dozen times, without realizing that the dating proposed is quite obviously wrong!
(1) The
rev. types of the two quinarii are EARLY not late.
DACIA with "Ass's
head", on the first
quinarius and your
antoninianus, is the EARLIEST version of that
type, which occurs first with the earliest
obv. legend IMP TRAIANVS DECIVS AVG, then with the main
obv. legend IMP C M Q TRAIANVS DECIVS AVG. In the course of this main issue it was superseded first by
DACIA with
standard, then by
DACIA FELIX with
standard, BEFORE THE FINAL ISSUE WITH THE SHORT
OBV. LEGENDS BEGAN!
DACIA FELIX with
standard is the only normal
Dacia type on
antoniniani of this final issue; the
rare antoniniani of this issue with the
DACIA Ass's
head and
DACIA Standard types, RIC 35a-c, must be regarded as exceptional
mules struck from old
rev. dies that by chance
had remained in use.
VICTORIA AVG, the
type of the other
quinarius, is also an early
type, which on
antoniniani occurs only in Issue 1 and then in Issue 2, where it was evidently superseded by one of the two new
types,
ABVNDANTIA AVG or
VBERITAS AVG.
VICTORIA AVG is not attested on
antoniniani of the final issue with shortened
obv. legend, though it does occur on one exceptional
aureus with the unique
obv. legend IMP TRA DEC AVG, whose small size and light
weight (3.86 g.) confirm its late date (RIC 42a=Naville
VIII, 1924,
Bement 1370).
(2) The
obv. legend of the quinarii and your
antoninianus,
IMP C DECIVS AVG, is THE ONLY
OBV. LEGEND OF
DECIUS AT
ROME TO OMIT
HIS NAME TRAIANVS! It is evident that
Decius assumed the name of that famous former emperor only after
his accession; as Antinoos pointed out,
his first issue of bronze coins at
Viminacium calls him merely
IMP CAES C MES Q DECIVS
P F AVG, without TRAIANVS. It seems obvious that
IMP C DECIVS AVG must be Decius' very
rare EARLIEST
obv. legend at
Rome, before he assumed the name Traianus! We may assume that
antoniniani with this
obv. legend were also struck, and may someday turn up, with all of the other
rev. types of Issue 1 too, namely
GENIVS EXERCITVS ILLYRICIANI,
PAX AVGVSTI,
VICTORIA AVG,
VIRTVS AVG seated,
ADVENTVS AVG, and
PANNONIAE.