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| Numismatica Ars Classica > Auction 87 | Auction date: 8 October 2015 |
| Lot number: 334 | |
| Lot description: The Roman Empire Uranius Antoninus, 253 – 254 Aureus, Emesa 253-254, AV 5.39 g. L IVL AVR SVLP VRA ANTONINVS Laureate, draped and cuirassed bust r. Rev. FORTVNA PEDVIX Fortuna seated l. on throne, holding rudder and cornucopiae; below throne, wheel. C –. Jameson II 222 (this coin). Baldus, Uranius Antoninus 77 (this coin). RIC 4 (this coin, misdescribed reverse legend). Calicó 3388 (these dies). Extremely rare and a very attractive specimen of this difficult issue. An insignificant edge nick at five o'clock on reverse, otherwise extremely fine Ex Hess-Leu sale 1, 1954, 349 and Hess-Leu 15, 1960, 376 sales. From the Jameson and Rouvier collections. Uranius Antoninus, the hereditary priest of Aphrodite and the sun-god El-Gabal in Emesa who was hailed emperor in the midst of a Sasanian invasion of Roman territories. His extraordinary coinage includes imperial-style aurei (and very rare denarii struck from aureus dies) and three types of provincial-style coinage, and can be dated to 253/4 due to the fortunate use of a Seleucid Era date on a provincial bronze. All of his aurei bear Latin inscriptions, and since they do not display any imperial titles they are able to record (in abbreviated form) his full name, Lucius Julius Aurelius Sulpicius Uranius Antoninus. By contrast, his provincial coins have Greek inscriptions that bear the Greek versions of the titles imperator and Augustus, and generally provide him only with the name Sulpicius Antoninus. The usurper's aurei were struck at a heavy standard for the period – something between 55 and 60 per Roman pound. His contemporaries lagged far behind: Trebonianus Gallus (251-253) struck aurei at 1/90th of a pound, and even in their accession year of 253/254, when aurei of Valerian and Gallienus were struck at the heaviest standard of their reigns, they were only 1/70th of a pound. Since Uranius Antoninus' silver 'tetradrachms' are about 90 percent pure and weigh about eight grams they likely were valued at ten per aureus. The aurei bear an interesting array of reverse types, some distinctive and others which are borrowed from imperial coins that would have been found in circulation. The FORTVNA REDVX type used here had been a standard choice for many of Rome's emperors since the reign of Augustus. However, Fortuna 'the bringer-back' normally was used in anticipation of an emperor's return from a journey. It is possible that the type reflects an absence of Uranius from Emesa, perhaps in response to Valerian's efforts to recover Syria, but it is probably best to presume the type does not reflect historical events, but is simply adopted from Imperial coinage that was familiar to the soldiers and merchants of Emesa. Estimate: 45000 CHF |  |
