Here is a beautiful stag on a coin:

The inscription reads “DIANAE CONS AVG” which means “Dianae Conservatrix Augusti – to Diana protector of the Emperor”. This stag coin was essentially from a series of coins with depictions of animals, appealing to the deity that animal represented for protection for the emperor / empire. There could also have been a link to legions (groups of soldiers) whose insignia was the animal depicted as well.

The X is a type of mint mark called an Officinae mark. “This may have been for purposes of quality control, helping to trace irregularities in coin weights and alloys.”

The reign of Gallienus was a tumultuous one. Born in 213 AD, he became emperor at 40 in 253 AD, reigning until his death 15 years later in 268 AD. He spent much of his reign at war and defending territory, so appealing to the Roman Gods (Christianity wouldn’t become the official religion of Rome for another 40 years).

The other thing which is amazing about this coin to me, is that it was minted in 267 AD. THAT year. So many ancient coins are known as “minted during the 15 year reign of Emperor XYZ”, so I’m always impressed when archaeologists have managed to pinpoint what year particular pieces were minted. The animal series this is from, were minted 267 – 268, right at the end of his reign. Classical Numismatics posted a great video on Roman Coins of the third century. Gallienus gets a brief mention, but there is a lot of great information on the time period and the direction of the empire throughout the century during which Gallienus reigned.

Not directly related to the coin, but the reason I wanted to write this up today, 1,756 years after this piece was minted, it is father’s day here (if that is a surprise, did you know Father’s day falls on no less than 24 different days in 2023, depending on where you are?), and one of the presents my family gave me was a shirt with a stag embroidered on it:

Ok, not exactly the same pose, but it immediately reminded me of the coin. One of the great things about collecting, is having these little personal connections to pieces. What is your favourite personal connection to a coin?