Watch List notes:

Volusian as Caesar. AE 23; Volusian as Caesar; 251 AD, Alexandria Troas, Troas, AE 23, 7.31g. RPC-441 (2 spec.), pl. 27 (same dies). Obv: IMP C VIVI AFI ELD VOLVSS Bare-headed, draped, cuirassed bust r. Rx: COL AVG - TROAD Hercules "Farnese" standing r., holding r. hand behind back, and leaning with l. arm on club that is covered with lionskin and rests on rock. Volusian appears as Caesar (bare-headed) on only two obverse dies at Alexandria Troas, ours with legend ending VOLVSS (RPC 441 and 443), and RPC 440 and 442 with legend ending VOLVSSI. These two dies are so similar that RPC mistakenly calls them the same die. The letters ELD in Volusian's legend on these dies have hitherto been read as GLO (Lars Rutten, Forvm Ancient Coins, March 2007) or ELO (RPC), but neither of these readings makes sense, so they had to be dismissed as errors of the engraver. On the basis of our coin C. Clay thinks that the correct reading is ELD, probably standing for Volusian's name Veldumnianus with omission of the first letter V, if so the only appearance of this name on Volusian's coinage at Alexandria Troas. Very few provincial mints struck coins for Volusian as Caesar: apart from Alexandria Troas, RPC p. 11 cites only Coela in Thrace (RPC 168-171) and Cadi in Phrygia (RPC-855 and 875).. VF

Buy Price: $575