The Diana Coins of Gallienus' "Zoo"


Diana
Diana
Two coins showing Diana
as goddess of the hunt.
Diana Felix = Happy Diana

Diana's coins (with the possible exception of the goat) refer to her role as goddess of the hunt, though she was also the goddess of fertility, childbirth, and nature. Diana and Apollo were also often honored as protectors of health. Perhaps their appearance on the majority of the coins in the Zoo series refers to a plague? It's also possible that pleas for health would have been references to the wound Gallienus received during one of the battles against Postumus. Diana is often portrayed in statues, paintings and mosaics as a huntress accompanied by a deer.


Census Information

Type Legend Obverse Cunetio Göbl
Antelope walking left GALLIENUS AVG head 246 239
Antelope walking left GALLIENUS AVG cuir bust 3
Antelope walking right GALLIENUS AVG head 4 11
Doe walking left GALLIENUS AVG head 21 20
Doe walking left GALLIENUS AVG cuir bust 2
Doe walking left IMP GALLIENUS AVG head 24 14
Doe walking right GALLIENUS AVG head 118 122
Doe walking right GALLIENUS AVG cuir bust 1 ?
Doe walking right IMP GALLIENUS AVG head 126 106
Stag walking left GALLIENUS AVG head 137 157
Stag walking left (Siscia) GALLIENUS AVG head 1
Stag walking left IMP GALLIENUS AVG head 1 1
Stag walking right GALLIENUS AVG head 50 69
Stag walking right IMP GALLIENUS AVG head 1
Gazelle XI walking left GALLIENUS AVG head 8 50
Gazelle XI walking left GALLIENUS AVG cuir bust 6
Gazelle XI walking left IMP GALLIENUS AVG head 2
Gazelle XI walking right GALLIENUS AVG head 227 221
Gazelle XI walking right GALLIENUS AVG dr & cuir bust 1 2
Gazelle XII walking left GALLIENUS AVG head 184 194
Gazelle XII walking left GALLIENUS AVG cuir bust 22 33
Gazelle XII walking left GALLIENUS AVG dr & cuir bust 2 1
Gazelle XII walking left IMP GALLIENUS AVG head 4
Gazelle XII walking right GALLIENUS AVG head 6 26
Gazelle XII walking right GALLIENUS AVG dr & cuir bust 1
Gazelle XII walking right IMP GALLIENUS AVG head 7

The Diana coins were by far the most numerous type in the "Zoo" series represented in the Cunetio Hoard, accounting for almost half of this series. Of these, 251 (21%) were the antelope type, 293 (25%) were the doe type, 188 (16%) were stags, and 456 (38%) were the gazelles. Two other coins were of an uncertain animal type.



Antelope/Gazelle


In The Cunetio Treasure, the "Antelope" coins are broken down into Gazelle and Antelope coins. I'm going to lump them all together since the other references do so, but will differentiate between them in the coin descriptions. The gazelle coins typically have either "XI" (gazelle usually right) or "XII" (gazelle usually left) in the exergue, with the animal having horns facing back from either the top or the back of the head. The actual antelope coins usually have much more upright horns and a gamma in the exergue.
Obv: GALLIENVSAVG - Head right with radiate crown.
Rev: DIANAECONSAVG - Antelope walking left. Gamma (Greek G) in exergue.
RIC.180sim (legend 8), VM.49/7 or 49/5, SR.2953, RSC.165, CT.1344, Göbl.716b (239 examples)


Obv: GALLIENVS[AVG] - Head right with radiate crown.
Rev: DIANAE[CONSA]VG - Antelope walking left. Gamma (Greek G) in exergue.
Antelope appears to have a beard, like a goat! Very low relief on the beard, and it more-or-less lines up with a wave in the flan that starts below, but it definitely appears that the anomalous beard is actually in the die, and not just a flaw.
RIC.180sim (legend 8), VM.49/7 or 49/5, SR.2953, RSC.165, CT.1344, Göbl.716b

Obv: GALLIENVS[AVG] - Head right with radiate crown.
Rev: DIANAE[CONSA]VG - Antelope walking right. Gamma (Greek G) in exergue.
The right-facing antelope is much less common that the variety walking or standing left..
RIC.180sim (legend 8), VM.49/6, SR.2952, RSC.---, CT.1347, Göbl.717b (11)

Obv: GALLIENVSAVG - Draped bust right with radiate crown.
Rev: DIANAECONSAVG - Antelope walking left. Gamma (Greek G) in exergue.
Higher silver content than usual for these issues. Also an unusual obverse - draped bust rather than just his head. Apparently not recorded in the Cunetio Hoard, making this quite rare!
RIC.--- (no antelope/gamma/obv.legend 8 combination), VM.49/7, SR.2953, RSC.167a, CT.----, Göbl.716p (1 example)



Obv: GALLIENVSAVG - Head right with radiate crown.
Rev: DIANAECONSAVG - Gazelle walking right. XI in exergue.
Nearer hind leg is advanced, rather than the far one. This is a subtle, yet consistent difference between officina XI and XII.
RIC.181, VM.49/6, SR.2952, RSC.162, CT.1401, Göbl.747b (221 examples)

Obv: G[ALLIEN]VSAVG - Cuirassed bust right with radiate crown.
Rev: DIANAE[CONSAVG] - Antelope walking left. XI in exergue.
Very uncommon with this obverse - only 1 in the Cunetio Treasure. Reverse also appears to be double-struck, noticable in the legend.
RIC.181, VM.49/6, SR.2953, RSC.---, CT.1402, Göbl.747m (0 examples!)



Obv: GALLIENVSAVG - Head right with radiate crown.
Rev: DIANAECONSAVG - Gazelle walking left. XII in exergue.
RIC.181, VM.49/7, SR.2953, RSC.165, CT.1408, Göbl.750b (194 examples)

Obv: GALLIE[NV]SAVG - Head right with radiate crown.
Rev: DIANAECONSAVG - Gazelle walking left. XII in exergue.
Interesting style, long legs, a long body, and long, sweeping, branched horns. Looks like a cross between the stag and gazelle types. Quite a bit of silvering left on bust and on reverse. Reverse is double-struck, especially evident towards the top.
RIC.181, VM.49/7, SR.2953, RSC.165, CT.1408, Göbl.750b

Obv: GALLIENVSAVG - Cuirassed bust left wearing a radiate crown.
Rev: DIANAECONSAVG - Gazelle walking left. XII in exergue.
Fairly typical reverse, but the obverse bust type is very rare for the Zoo series.
RIC.181, VM.-, SR.-, RSC.166, CT.-, Göbl.750t (1)


Obv: GALLIENVSAVG - Cuirassed bust right with radiate crown.
Rev: DIANAECONSAVG - Gazelle walking left. XII in exergue.
The cuirassed bust obverse is much less common that just his head being portrayed.
RIC.181, VM.49/7, SR.2953, RSC.167a, CT.1410, Göbl.750u (29)

Obv: GALLIENVSAVG - Head right with radiate crown.
Rev: DIANAECONSAVG - Gazelle walking right. XII in exergue.
The right-facing gazelle on an "XII" is much less common than left-facing.
RIC.181, VM.49/6, SR.2952, RSC.162, CT.1415, Göbl.751b (26 examples)

Obv: GALLIENVSAVG - Head right with radiate crown.
Rev: DIANAECONSAVG - Gazelle walking right. XII in exergue.
Rare reverse several times over! The right-facing gazelle on an XII-officina coin is uncommon, but the long wavy horns growing straight back are uncommon for any of the gazelles. Plus, the gazelle's nearer hind leg is advanced, rather than the far one. This is a feature that ONLY appears in officina XI and was totally unknown in the Cunetio Hoard.
RIC.181, VM.49/6, SR.2952, RSC.162, CT.1415v, Göbl.751b

Doe
Obv: GALLIENVSAVG - Head right with radiate crown.
Rev: DIANAECONSAVG - Doe walking right, looking left. Epsilon (Greek E) in exergue.
RIC.177, VM.49/1, SR.----, RSC.154, CT.1361, Göbl.728b (122 examples)


Obv: GALLIENVSAVG - Head right with radiate crown.
Rev: [DIA]NAECONSAV[G] - Doe walking right, looking left.
Double-struck reverse, with the strikes rotated and very separated. Both reverse strikes very clear, but they resulted in a rather mushy obverse bust.
RIC.177, VM.49/1, SR.----, RSC.154, CT.1361, Göbl.728b

Obv: GALL... - Head right with radiate crown.
Rev: DIIIO - Crude doe right.
I acquired this in a group of uncleaned coins from England.



Obv: IMPGALLIENVSAVG - Head right with radiate crown.
Rev: DIANAECONSAVG - Doe walking right, looking left. Epsilon (Greek e) in exergue.
RIC.176, VM.49/1, SR.2950, RSC.153, CT.1357, Göbl.728v (106 examples)

Obv: IMPGALLIENVSAVG - Head right with radiate crown.
Rev: DIANAECONSAVG - Doe walking right, looking left. Epsilon (Greek e) in exergue.
An extrordinary specimen, at 6.34g it is almost twice the normal weight for this type. Struck on a broad, very thick flan. Also, an unusual orange patina.
RIC.176, VM.49/1, SR.2950, RSC.153, CT.1357, Göbl.728v


Obv: IMPGALLIENVSAVG - Head right wearing a radiate crown.
Rev: DIANAECONSAVG - Doe walking right, looking left. XI in exergue.
Officina 11 (XI) is known to have struck gazelle-right and bull coins in the Zoo period. In this coin we have a right-facing doe looking back, with the common obverse legend, but the "wrong" workshop. Was this an engraver's error, or perhaps a case of another workshop helping to keep this series on schedule, or ...?
RIC.-, VM.49/1, SR.2950, RSC.-, CT.-, Göbl.-


Obv: GALLIENVSAVG - Cuirassed bust right with radiate crown.
Rev: DIANAECONSAVG - Doe walking right, looking left. Epsilon (Greek e) in exergue.
Very rare with the cuirassed bust. Only one example of this type in Cunetio.
RIC.---, VM.49/1, SR.2950, RSC.---, CT.1362, Göbl.728m (0 examples!)


Obv: IMPGALLIENVS[AVG] - Head right with radiate crown.
Rev: DIANAECONSAVG - Doe walking left, looking right. Epsilon (Greek e) in exergue.
Less common obverse legend for this series, plus the doe is walking left, rather than right. Not often seen.
RIC.176, VM.49/2, SR.----, RSC.155, CT.1359, Göbl.727z (14)

Obv: GALLIENVSAVG - Head right with radiate crown.
Rev: DIANAECONSAVG - Doe walking left, looking right. Epsilon (Greek e) in exergue.
RIC.177, VM.49/2, SR.----, RSC.156, CT.1365, Göbl.727b (20)

Stag


The stag coins were minted in both Rome and Siscia.


Obv: GALLIENVSAVG - Head right with radiate crown.
Rev: DIANAECONSAVG - Stag standing right. X in exergue.
RIC.179, VM.49/3, SR.2951, RSC.157, CT.1400, Göbl.745b (69)



Obv: GALLIENVSAVG - Head right with radiate crown.
Rev: DIANAECONSAVG - Stag walking left. X in exergue.
Note that the left-facing stags have their heads turned sideways showing the full spread of antlers, rather than the side-on view from the right-facing stags. RIC.179, VM.--, SR.----, RSC.158, CT.1397, Göbl.744b (157)


Obv: IMPGALLIENVSAVG - Head right with radiate crown.
Rev: DIANAECONSAVG - Stag walking left. X in exergue.
Very rare with the longer obverse legend.
RIC.---, VM.--, SR.----, RSC.---, CT.1396 (1), Göbl.744z

Obv: GALLIENVSAVG - Head right with radiate crown.
Rev: DIANAECONSAVG - Stag walking left. Gamma (Greek G) with wreath (?) below in exergue.
I can't quite decide about this one. The Diana/gamma combination is usually an antelope, but there appears to be a trace of an antler rack above. Plus, the "wreath" MIGHT be just a die break, but seems much too regular and deliberate in shape. A fascinating piece!
RIC.--- (No stag with gamma, let alone wreath!), VM.--, SR.----, RSC.---

Obv: GALLIENVSAVG - Head right with radiate crown.
Rev: DIANAECONSAVG - Stag walking left. SI in exergue.
Though certain Zoo coins were known from Siscia, the Siscian stag is only found in Göbl. Quite rare.
RIC.---, VM.--, SR.----, RSC.---, Göbl.1517b (only 1 example)



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All coins from the author's collection. Not a commercial site, these coins are not for sale.

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Coins of Gallienus' Zoo
last modified: 7 Mar 2006