A Note on the Cypriote GIC 603 and GIC 38 Countermarks / Notatka na temat cypryjskich kontramarek GIC 603 i GIC 38

Abstract

Among other finds, the research carried out at the agora of Nea Paphos by archaeologists from the Jagiellonian University Institute of Archaeology produced two coins of the Julio-Claudian dynasty countermarked in the times of Trajan and Hadrian. Both are large, heavily worn bronzes, probably minted during the reign of Claudius. One has a rectangular countermark with the legend TRAIAN DACIC (GIC 603), while the other bears four countermarks, two each on the obverse and reverse. The obverse has a countermark depicting a circular shield (GIC 538) to the right, and an oval stamp to the left, representing the GIC 108 type with the head of Domitian. The reverse features a rectangular countermark with the legend TRAIAN DACIC (GIC 603), of the type known from the first coin, and an oval countermark with the bust of Hadrian and the inscription AVTO KAI ΑΔΡΙΑ (GIC 38). What makes these coins interesting is the sequence of countermarks. While the first coin only bears a countermark with Trajan’s name, the Trajanic countermark on the second coin was evidently struck later than that of Hadrian. This seems to support the view that at least some proportion of countermarks made with the TRAIAN DACIC stamp were applied after Hadrian’s portrait and name had already been struck on the coin.