Author Topic: VRBS ROMA with hand on wolf's shoulder  (Read 1734 times)

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Offline Victor

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VRBS ROMA with hand on wolf's shoulder
« on: November 22, 2012, 10:39:04 AM »
On the VRBS ROMA coins, one can find many different symbols on the shoulder of the wolf which generally consist of geometric patterns. This one is different- it has been described as a human hand. I suppose it could be a human hand, even though it is not clearly one. Many Roman coins that show hands, whether on soldiers, Sol etc. demonstrate that engravers had difficulty with hands, so they are not generally engraved well. There is another LRB that comes to mind with the symbol of a hand- the SPQR OPTIMO PRINCIPI. This coin has two vexilla, the one on the left surmounted by a right hand. The Roman army had a unit called the maniple, which comes from the Latin for hand- manus. So maybe it is indeed a hand on the wolf's shoulder, which might be a nod to the military.


VRBS ROMA
A.D. 332- 333
16mm    2.0gm
Obv. VRBS-ROMA [City of Rome] Roma, helmeted, wearing imperial cloak.
Rev. She-wolf left with twins (Romulus and Remus); above, two stars.
In ex. TRS star
RIC VII Trier 547