RIC V Online 1083

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

Obverse: IMP C CLAVDIVS AVG, radiate head left;

Reverse: FELI-C A-VG, Nemesis standing right, holding baton in left hand, wheel at her feet, facing Fortuna standing left, holding rudder in right hand and cornucopia in left 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. This reverse type in particular is the most interesting one of the group since it's one of the few Roman Imperial coins to feature Nemesis: while the figure is misidentified as Felicitas due to the legend, a comparison with some provincial types shows that this is not the case as the iconography does not coincide.

Riferimento : RIC V - (c.f. RIC V 206 - unlisted bust type); RIC V Online 1083; Huvelin 1990, 58;

Collezione : Claudius II - Antioch