RIC V Online 1093* (obverse legend error)

Roman Empire, Claudius II (268-270), Antoninianus, Antioch mint, 4th emission, ? officina.

Obverse: IMP C CAVDIVS AVG (sic), radiate head right, with drapery to front and rear;

Reverse: SP-ES PV-BLIC, Salus standing right, feeding snake in right hand  from patera held in left hand, facing Aesculapius standing left, holding caduceus in right hand;

Notes: This coin belongs to the very rare final emission of Claudius II, which consists of eight reverse types all showing a couple of deities together, leading some to speculate that they're meant to represent Zenobia and Vaballathus, and that this issue was struck in the name of Claudius by the Palmyrenes after they had seized Syria in early 270, though the complete absence of officina marks for this issue makes it hard to estabilish a coherent timeline with previous and following issues. Surprisingly, for this emission, the left-facing busts are far more common than the right-facing ones. It's also worth noting that this is the fourth known coin of this type with an error in the obverse legend, as it says CAVDIVS rather than the correct CLAVDIVS - it appears that not much care was being paid, since many examples were clearly struck.

Reference : RIC V - (c.f. RIC V 222 - unlisted obverse legend); RIC V Online 1093; Huvelin 1990, 68;

Collection : Claudius II - Antioch