Bottom Feeding: Marius (Kind Of)

While the hundreds of hours never really justify the efforts it is thrilling when we find the gold nugget ! I think I am inspired for the next 'Smackdown'.

Beethovens Ninth ...... the "Ode to Joy"

"Freude trinken alle Wesen
An den Brüsten der Natur;
Alle Guten, alle Bösen
Folgen ihrer Rosenspur.
Küsse gab sie uns und Reben,
Einen Freund, geprüft I'm Tod;
Wollust ward dem Wurm gegeben,
Und der Cherub steht vor Gott."

(Every creature drinks in joy
at nature's breast;
Good and Bad alike
follow her trail of roses.
She gives us kisses and wine,
a true friend, even in death;
Even the worm was given desire,
and the cherub stands before God.)

"Froh, wie seine Sonnen fliegen
Durch des Himmels prächt'gen Plan,
Laufet, Brüder, eure Bahn,
Freudig, wie ein Held zum Siegen."

(Gladly, just as His suns hurtle
through the glorious universe,
So you, brothers, should run your course,
joyfully, like a conquering hero.)

"Seid umschlungen, Millionen!
Diesen Kuss der ganzen Welt!
Brüder, über'm Sternenzelt
Muss ein lieber Vater wohnen.
Ihr stürzt nieder, Millionen?
Ahnest du den Schöpfer, Welt?
Such' ihn über'm Sternenzelt!
Ãœber Sternen muss er wohnen."

(Be embraced, you millions!
This kiss is for the whole world!
Brothers, above the canopy of stars
must dwell a loving father.
Do you bow down before Him, you millions?
Do you sense your Creator, o world?
Seek Him above the canopy of stars!
He must dwell beyond the stars.)

rugged, but cool indeed.

It only cost £2, so ill blitzkrieg the green powdery stuff. Nip it in the bud, even if the coin suffers for it. This type (not in the name of, but showing) doesn't really seem to sell for any more money than the equivalent Victorinus type, so it'll stay with me and I dont need to worry about careful restoration of the reverse.

As it turns out, Marius is rarer than I thought at 124 on the 207 scale. That makes it the second rarest issuer in my collection (well, of a portrait coin) only 61 places behind my Zenonis. Also, I'm a step closer to the Gallic Empire collection (Ive got Tetricus I/II, Postumus, Victorinus, Marius and Aureolus now, just Laelianus to go).

Laelianus will be difficult...ill have to find an incomplete and difficult to read example if I have a hope of acquiring one (ive now aquainted myself with his types).

EDIT: read up on Marius, he never ruled at the same time as Victorinus, nor would he have been known to Victorinus (certainly, this coin was not issued by Victorinus). Furthermore, he was put into power by the army who had killed Victorinus (he was present at the time of the uprising) so I doubt he'd associate himself to Victorinus. How did this coin come about?

But that cant tell us why theres a coin which shows the bust of Marius but has the legend for Victorinus, when we know there are no coins issued in the name of Marius with the bust of Victorinus (though there was a posthumous issue for Victorinus). I cant see why the new emperor would put the legend for the old emperor on his coins when he was part of the mob that killed him.

The directions for the mint that produced this mustve been good enough to know the legend had changed because they've engraved a brand new bust for the guy. There is no mint attatched to this coin, perhaps it was the besieged city, or a travelling mint.

AH, there you go. a Prime example of me being stupid. It was Postumus he suceeded, Victorinus went after him. The mint mustve got word of the new emperor and starting issuing coins before they had access to his likeness.

Chronology:
Postumus makes the empire
Defeats usurper Laelianus but does not allow his forces to pillage the city and is murdered
Marius takes over from Postumus, being elevated by the army
Marius is killed (some say by a sword of his own making)
Victorinus is proclaimed emperor - the mint issues this coin before they can make a new bust of him, but use his name
Victorinus is killed by the husband of a woman he tried to seduce
Victorinus II is elected emperor by the family of Victorinus, but is nigh on immediately executed (same day)
Domitianus, of whom only 2 coins are known, attempts to usurp the empire
Victoria*, mother of Victorinus, settles the empire and elects Tetricus I as emperor.

*The Historia Augusta mentions coinage issued for her, but this is almost certainly false

This brings up a philosophical conundrum - does the coin show Victorinus or Marius? Its clearly meant to show Victorinus, but then again the image is of Marius.