Rock!
Marcus Galerius Aurelius Antoninus = son of Antoninus Pius
I knew I'd heard of him somewhere :) Completely wrong about him being an emperor post-Constantine though! I should've guessed from the Antoninus :D
Him and his mum Faustina got on to coins during his pappy's reign. I wonder why his brother and sister didn't... maybe he survived the longest!
[NB be cautious when researching stuff on the net! One webpage told me that all AP's kids died before he took the "throne" - however, his daughter was married afterwards, and his adopted son Marcus Aurelius, included in that site, became imperator. Hmmm]
However, there are some things $%^*ing confusing me about the coin.
a) given my extensive research on the net (harr harr) it seems that the coins of him all depict a little boy, and according to one source AP's sons died young. Mine definitely doesn't depict a wee fulla - tis a young man in greek heroic possie with a ribbon thing round his head and the top part of toga-ish drapery. And possibly a small beard. Depictions of GA are also extremely rare, and I'm really hoping right now that Liz didn't pay upwards of US$1000 for this...
b) I cannot make out Galerius Ant anywhere on it, which the helpful little card says is there. Granted, it's a little hazy at best on the head side, but what I can make out is : IMP?[N/M][P/R]V[O/D]KAL?E????[P/D]?MVC
c) most of the coins with him on it seem to have his mum or some older chick on the other side. This clearly has IOVI CONSERVATOR AUG XXI and what looks like a winged goddess giving a wreath to a helmeted soldier leaning on a spear. Twixt the two of them are the letters TR.
Classical scholars, help me! Why would an emperor's SON get IMP on his coin [shouldn't that be reserved for Galerius Valerius?]? What's the significance of TR? and XXI? Is it really GA on my coin?
yay mysteries....
[EDIT: I'm starting to think it WAS Galerius Valerius - the inscriptions on his coins match what I can see on mine much better. It could even be some random provincial governer called GA. I dunno. I could be COMPLETELY WRONG IN EVERYTHING, PEOPLE. I often am :)]
I knew I'd heard of him somewhere :) Completely wrong about him being an emperor post-Constantine though! I should've guessed from the Antoninus :D
Him and his mum Faustina got on to coins during his pappy's reign. I wonder why his brother and sister didn't... maybe he survived the longest!
[NB be cautious when researching stuff on the net! One webpage told me that all AP's kids died before he took the "throne" - however, his daughter was married afterwards, and his adopted son Marcus Aurelius, included in that site, became imperator. Hmmm]
However, there are some things $%^*ing confusing me about the coin.
a) given my extensive research on the net (harr harr) it seems that the coins of him all depict a little boy, and according to one source AP's sons died young. Mine definitely doesn't depict a wee fulla - tis a young man in greek heroic possie with a ribbon thing round his head and the top part of toga-ish drapery. And possibly a small beard. Depictions of GA are also extremely rare, and I'm really hoping right now that Liz didn't pay upwards of US$1000 for this...
b) I cannot make out Galerius Ant anywhere on it, which the helpful little card says is there. Granted, it's a little hazy at best on the head side, but what I can make out is : IMP?[N/M][P/R]V[O/D]KAL?E????[P/D]?MVC
c) most of the coins with him on it seem to have his mum or some older chick on the other side. This clearly has IOVI CONSERVATOR AUG XXI and what looks like a winged goddess giving a wreath to a helmeted soldier leaning on a spear. Twixt the two of them are the letters TR.
Classical scholars, help me! Why would an emperor's SON get IMP on his coin [shouldn't that be reserved for Galerius Valerius?]? What's the significance of TR? and XXI? Is it really GA on my coin?
yay mysteries....
[EDIT: I'm starting to think it WAS Galerius Valerius - the inscriptions on his coins match what I can see on mine much better. It could even be some random provincial governer called GA. I dunno. I could be COMPLETELY WRONG IN EVERYTHING, PEOPLE. I often am :)]