604 



NOTES AND QUERIES. 



[2'"i S. No 78., June 27. '67. 



(1.) Julius CcRsar, JE. 1. 



Obv. Laureatcd head of Cajsar to the right ; 

 above, a star ; behind, a lituus. c . caesar . dic- 

 tator. Rev. Within a laurel wreath, veni . vidi . 

 vici. This most impudent fabrication is doubtless 

 of Dutch workmanship, — thin, filed on the edge, 

 and ill struck up. 



(2.) Tiberius (a), J&. 1. 



Bare head to the right (a genuine specimen in 

 my cabinet is to the left) ; ti . caesar . avgvsti . 

 r . imperator . v., reading outwards. Well exe- 

 cuted and not cast. Rev., rom . et . avg., and 

 the device known to collectors as the " Altar of 

 Lyons," consisting of a decorated altar between 

 two cippi, or short columns, on which stand 

 winged Victories with palm branches and laurel 

 garlands. 



(3.) Tiberius (/3), M. 



ti . caesar bivi . avg . F . avgvstvs, reading 

 outwards. Youthful laureated head of Tiberius 

 to the left ; base silver ; sand marks ; fine exe- 

 cution. Rev., a magnificent temple with statues ; 

 no legend. 



(4.) Germanicus, ZE. 1. 



GERMANICVS . CAES . T . AVG . F . DIVI . AVG . N. 



Bare head of Germanicus to the left, — short hair, 

 smooth chin, and bare neck. The legend in letters 

 taller and more regular than usual. Rev., ti . 



CLAVDIVS CAESAR . AVG . GERM . P . M . TR . P . 



IMP .P.P. In the field an uncial s . c. This 

 medal is in my own possession, and was once in 

 the collection of Lucien Bonaparte, Prince de Ca- 

 nino. One genuine specimen only, according to 

 Captain Smyth, is known in England, the one de- 

 scribed by him. The reverse looks passable, but 

 the obverse has been tooled ; the patina dark 



freen, spotted. I once believed it genuine, but 

 have doubts of it, and should like a notice of 

 another specimen. 



(5.) Messalina, yE. 3. (^Colonial.') 

 Obv., VALERIA MESSAii .... Head of the Em- 

 press to the left. Hair gathered in a knot. Rev., 

 TI . CLAVBivs . CAE .... Bare head to the left. 

 The legends do not follow the curve of the coin, 

 and on two suspiciously-alike specimens do not 

 conclude, the attempt being to represent an ill- 

 struck coin. It is mentioned by Occo, p. 86. 



(6.) Galba, 2E. 1. 

 Laureated head to the right, imp . ser . galba . 

 CAES . avg . TR . POT. Rcv., Emperor on an 

 estrade, attended by the Prfetorian Prefect, ha- 

 ranguing his soldiers adlocvt. In the field, s . c. 

 A thin coin of good workmanship ; brown patina ; 

 letters square, well sunk, and regular. File marks 

 on edge. 



(7.) Oiho, JE. 1. 



IMP , OTHO . CAESAR . AVG . TR . POT. Bare 



head of Otho ; hair close curled. Rev., secvritas 

 p . R. Otho distributing largesse to soldiers, Ex., 

 s . c. Round, thick, and so ill struck as to look 

 half melted. A very poor cast, apparently from a 

 modern forgery. The rev. is also blurred and in- 

 distinct. 



(8.) Vespasian, JE. 1. 



imp . CAES . VESPASIAN . AVG . P . M . TR . P . P . 



p coslu. Head laureated to the left. Rev., t . 



CAES . AVG VES .... IMP . AVG . F . COS DESI. 



Standing figures of Vespasian and Titus facing 

 each other, with lances in their right hands. In 

 the field s . c. A cast of the same character as 

 the preceding. 



(9.) Domitia, JE. 1. 



DOMITIAE . AVG . IMP . CAES . BIVI . P . DOMI- 



TiANi . AVG. Head of Domitia to the left. Hair 

 dressed with a profusion of curls, and twisted into 

 a loop hanging behind. Rev., divi caesaris . 

 MATER. On the ex., s . c. Domitia with the 

 "hasta pura" sits on a curule chair, extending 

 her hand to her son, who stands before her. This 

 medal is in perfect condition, and was obtained 

 accidentally in Spain ; but a collector within a 

 mile of me has an exactly similar specimen, but 

 rather worn. In expressing my doubts of it, I 

 cannot do better than transfer the remarks of 

 Smyth (Desc. Cat., p. 74.) : 



"I may say, with Eckhel, that it has not the look of 

 antiquity — a vexatious Patavinity interferes with its 

 apparent purity of legend edge and other usual tests, and 

 recalls to mind" the fraudulent brothers who headed the 

 falsarii of the xvi. century. It is unquestionably a fine 

 and correct likeness of the Empress, but from the objec- 

 tion advanced, it was knocked down for only five guineas 

 at Mr. Henderson's sale in 1830. It is singular that the 

 headdress of this specimen and tfiat of Vaillant are iden- 

 tical, while those in the cabinet of Queen Christina and 

 the British Museum (vid. plate in Akermann) have the 

 hair braided round the head — the legends and reverses 

 being alike in all the four. The legitimacy of the last 

 was long under question, though Ennery had bought a 

 whole collection to secure it ; but my friend Mr. Hawkins, 

 in whose charge it is, informed me that the erudite Stein- 

 biichel of Vienna, after repeated examinations, pronounced 

 it to be genuine." 



The legend as given by Smyth varies from that 

 on mine and the other specimen I have compared, 

 in reading domitia and domitian ; but It is pro- 

 bably only a clerical error. 



(10.) Plotina, JE, 1. 

 PLOTiNA . AVG . IMP . TRAiAisi. Portrait to the 

 left ; hair ornamented with a frontal diadem, 

 plaited, and hanging in a loop behind, fides av- 

 gvsti. A robed female standing, [ears of wheat] 

 in her right, and a patera supported on her left. 

 In the field, s . c. Faint impression, black patina, 

 lil-executed cast of the Dutch type. 



(11.) JElius, JE. 1. 

 I- . AELivs . CAESAR. Head to right. Rev., 

 -SJlius'seated ; figure offering a trophy, panno- 



