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

DIVUS AUGUSTUS. 261since no Divus Augustus coins of Class I appear tohave been issued during the last period of Tiberius'sreign, this divergence of style in the senatorial coinsdoes not concern our present subject.Before describing the Divus Augustus coins in detailit is necessary to call attention to a difficulty, or ratherambiguity, found in connexion with the Tribuniciandating of the senatorial coins of Tiberius.In the first period of the reign there are two Tribuniciandates, XVII and XXIII, which would naturallycorrespond with the years A. D. 15 and 21 ; during thelast five years of the reign (A. D. 32-7) the Tribuniciandates follow in regular sequence from XXXI I II toXXXVIII. But for some reason, which it seems atpresent impossible to explain, the middle period of thereign (A. D. 22-31) is indicated by the solitary dateXXIIII. That TR-POT-XXIIII must be taken as indicatingnot merely the year A. D. 22 but any year fallingin the decade from A.D. 22 to 31 seems clear from thefollowing considerations,(a) Both numerically and inpoint of variety the coins dated TR-POT-XXIIII vastlyexceed those issued at any other period of the reign.Thus it is practically impossible to relegate so largean issue to one year, and, consequently, to supposethat, during the next nine years, the senatorial mintwas practically inactive. (&) Certain coins datedTR-POT-XXIIII cannot conceivably have been struckin the year A.D. 22, but must belong to a later date.For example, the well-known sestertii of Livia (Coh.,Liv. 6),with the obverse type of a carpentum drawnby mules, are clearly of a funereal, or commemorative,character, and therefore cannot have been struck