The numismatic chronicle and journal of the Royal ... - IndianCoins.org

86 E. A. SYDENHAM.some allusion to the annual festival held in connexionwith it was still preserved in the type of the caduceus.In the reign of Claudius there is a somewhat curiousreappearance of the Altar type on a series of brasssemisses without SC.61. Obv.T\ CLAVDIVS CAESAR.AVGPMTR P-IMP. Bare head of Claudius r.Tfrt'. ROMETAVG. Altar of Lugdunum.Coh. 81. [Variety with laur. head r., see PI. VI.26 : illustrated from a coin in Mr. F. A. Walters 'scollection.]Cohen also mentions this type on coins of largersize, presumably copper asses (Coh. 82) ;obverse legenduncertain.Since these coins are clearly not senatorial, theymust have been struck by the imperial mint ;and itis possible that a denarius die was used for the obverse.Are we to infer that at this time there was nosenatorial mint at Lugdunumcoins ?for the issue of brassOtherwise how is this rather unexpected revivalof the old Lugdunum type to be explained ?The fact that these semisses are decidedlj* rare coinssuggests that their issue was very limited, and theirclose correspondence in style with the aurei anddenarii of Claudius indicates that they formed anextraordinary issue from the imperial mint quite irrespectiveof the regular senatorial coinage. Threepossible explanations as to their raison d'etre suggestthemselves. They may have been struck on one ofthe anniversaries of the foundation or dedication ofthe Altar, possibly the fiftieth or sixtieth ; or, sinceClaudius was born on Aug. 1, 10 B.C., the day on whichthe ara Romae et Augusto was dedicated, he may have