Coin of Licinius
Title
Coin of Licinius
Description
A bronze coin of Licinius I. The coin is brown with a fine light green patina in the recesses. On the obverse there are cracks with orange deposits in the recess, and "A738" in black in over the portrait. The reverse has some etching of the raised surfaces. The coin was originally minted in Antioch.
Obverse: Bust of Licinius, radiate, draped, cuirassed, right. IMP C VAL LICIN LICINIVS P F AVG
Reverse: Jupiter standing left, nude, chlamys over left shoulder, holding victory on globe in right hand, staff in left hand; to left, eagle holding wreath; to right, captive. XIII in right field. SMANTZ in exergue. IOVI CONS-ERVATORI
The coin is part of a collection of nine antiquities said to have been collected by Driver Leonard Dimmick near Mena Camp outside Cairo, Egypt. In February 1915 an article appeared in the Rockhampton Morning Bulletin mentioning Roman coins excavated by Leonard near the Pyramids. He had sent these souvenirs back to his father in Australia, along with Egyptian coins, trinkets and fossils. The artefacts deposited at the Queensland Museum by William Dimmick in 1923 probably match those sent home in 1915, plus a "stone curio" from Leonard's personal effects, returned to his father in 1916.
A letter dated 12 March 1923 from William Dimmick to AH Longman, Director of the Queensland Museum, records that his two sons "met in Egypt before going over and spent Sunday afternoons digging among the graves for curios of which they sent me several small ones." Although digging for artefacts in this way was not legal in Egypt, it was a common pastime for soldiers during the war. They might undertake such diggings alone, but often where lead to a likely spot by a local guide, who had seeded the area with genuine and genuine-looking artefacts for his unsuspecting followers to find. It is possible that some of the genuine antiquities in the collection were acquired in this way, but the fakes may have been purchased from an antiquities vendor. There are numerous descriptions of vendors selling fake antiquities to unsuspecting tourists and soldiers.
Obverse: Bust of Licinius, radiate, draped, cuirassed, right. IMP C VAL LICIN LICINIVS P F AVG
Reverse: Jupiter standing left, nude, chlamys over left shoulder, holding victory on globe in right hand, staff in left hand; to left, eagle holding wreath; to right, captive. XIII in right field. SMANTZ in exergue. IOVI CONS-ERVATORI
The coin is part of a collection of nine antiquities said to have been collected by Driver Leonard Dimmick near Mena Camp outside Cairo, Egypt. In February 1915 an article appeared in the Rockhampton Morning Bulletin mentioning Roman coins excavated by Leonard near the Pyramids. He had sent these souvenirs back to his father in Australia, along with Egyptian coins, trinkets and fossils. The artefacts deposited at the Queensland Museum by William Dimmick in 1923 probably match those sent home in 1915, plus a "stone curio" from Leonard's personal effects, returned to his father in 1916.
A letter dated 12 March 1923 from William Dimmick to AH Longman, Director of the Queensland Museum, records that his two sons "met in Egypt before going over and spent Sunday afternoons digging among the graves for curios of which they sent me several small ones." Although digging for artefacts in this way was not legal in Egypt, it was a common pastime for soldiers during the war. They might undertake such diggings alone, but often where lead to a likely spot by a local guide, who had seeded the area with genuine and genuine-looking artefacts for his unsuspecting followers to find. It is possible that some of the genuine antiquities in the collection were acquired in this way, but the fakes may have been purchased from an antiquities vendor. There are numerous descriptions of vendors selling fake antiquities to unsuspecting tourists and soldiers.
Date
AD 321 - AD 323
Type
Identifier
C.009.006
QM N2336
Coverage
License
© Queensland Museum, Peter Waddington.
Medium
Accrual Method
Provenance
Collected by Drv. Leonard Dimmick, Mena Camp, Egypt, 1915.
Donated by Mr. William Dimmick to the Queensland Museum, 15 March 1923.
Donated by Mr. William Dimmick to the Queensland Museum, 15 March 1923.
Rights Holder
Queensland Museum, Brisbane
Bibliographic Citation
Queensland Museum Donor Schedule #23/55 (1923).
Queensland Museum Donor Schedule #23/143 (1923).
Queensland Museum Inwards Correspondence #00127 (1923).
Queensland Museum Outward Correspondence #00055 (1923).
Queensland Museum Miscellaneous Register, A737-42; 752.
Local and General News. (1915, February 23). Morning Bulletin (Rockhampton, Qld. : 1878 - 1954), p. 7. http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article53354663
[RIC VII Antioch 35]. Online Coins of the Roman Empire, American Numismatic Society = http://numismatics.org/ocre/id/ric.7.anch.35
National Archives of Australia: Australian Imperial Force, Base Records Office; B2455, First Australian Imperial Force Personnel Dossiers, 1914-1920; DIMMICK L, Dimmick Leonard : SERN 312, 1914 – 1920.
Relation
P.009
Contributor
Mr James Donaldson
Files
Collection
Citation
Constantinian, Late Antique (Roman), “Coin of Licinius,” First World War Antiquities, accessed May 2, 2024, https://ww1antiquities.omeka.net/items/show/95.
Comments