VICTORIA AVGGG (2nd reign, 476 / 491, 5th issue)
Bust of Zeno facing, cuirassed, wearing helmet with crest and a pearl diadem. Holding a spear passing behind his head with the right hand and a decorated shield with a horseman slaying an enemy, with the left hand.
An angel standing left, holding a long latin cross decorated with jewels. Behind her on the right, a star.
Marks
One coin sold the 29/10/2000 by Frank Sternberg AG, Auction 35, lot 944, link to the sale: https://www.acsearch.info/search.html?id=73883.
Variant without jewels on the diadem, PEBP on the obverse and the mark CONOB / R. Very interesting coin because the B / R correction on the CONOR mark was also made on the letter R of PERP. Is this a correction error, the corrector being distracted or in a daze and having chosen the wrong the wrong place? Or were the correctors visigoths who did not understand the letter R and therefore corrected under command but without understanding what they were doing? A similar correction is classified and illustrated in AYC #10 g var mark corr obv corr, RIC 930.
The marks CONOR are classified as AYC #10. Here are the different variants:
- #10: CONOR mark not corrected. Examples: AYC #10 f, indicating that it is the CONOR mark associated with the seventh known officina: Z (without officina or first officina: no letter, second officina: a .. etc.). #10 (1) with legend break on the reverse.
- ''mark corr'' in the reference indicates that the mark has been corrected. When the letter R of CONOR has a thin line which has been added to form a letter B.
Read this article about CONOR marks: https://www.all-your-coins.com/en/blog/antique/romaines/analyse-de-la-marque-conor. I also assigned the same RIC numbers as for AYC #9, the RIC not having noted these marks CONOR.
The coins of the fifth issue are recognizable by style. The face is wider with a long and wide nose. Zeno looking more slightly to the right.
On the reverse, I noted ''Angel'' in the description, we can also say that it is about the Victory, but the image of the victory at that time had indeed become that of an angel symbolizing the Christian victory.