| Note |
This strange coin was first published by Pellerin, Lettres (1770), pp. 165-6, pl. II, no. 5, and then mentioned by Mionnet, Description 6, p. 681, no. 463. Its obverse presents a rare legend which is found on some asses struck at Rome in c. AD 63 (RIC 122–3, 125), but this coin is clearly intended to pass for a dupondius. The reverse type is not clear. Pellerin described it as 'une prêtresse avec un Temple', Mionnet as 'une figure debout dans le style égyptien', Cohen I, p. 209, n. i, as 'un athlète tenant deux strigiles et un vase à huile'. The letters E P aremysterious: according to Pellerin, they might stand for EP(hesus).The style of the reverse is mediocre, the lettering very different from theobverse. As some letters seem to appear in the right field, the possibility of modern tooling must not be excluded. The obverse style and legend are very reminiscent of early reformed products of the mint of Rome (RIC 122-3; D. W. MacDowall, The Western Coinages of Nero, nos. 257-9): could this be some experimental issue from Rome?
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