Part of this mint mark is a cryptogram, and is Greek for eros, which in Latin is amor. Amor and Roma are palindromes-- they read the same backward or forward. Amor was the secret name of Rome. This may have been an attempt by the pagan aristocracy of Rome to use the old religion of mystery and romance to confront the pro-Christian policies of Constantine (see Alföldi "The Conversion of Constantine and Pagan Rome"). The first letter in this mintmark is the Latin letter “Râ€, for Rome. The next symbol is a ligature, which consists of two Greek letters epsilon and rho, and then an upward sweep which transforms the ligature into the Greek letter omega. What looks like a “C’ is actually the Greek letter sigma. The last letter is the Latin “Q’, which is the officina. The Greek cryptogram section reads epsilon rho omega sigma or Eros.
Licinius II
A.D. 320- 322
17x18mm 2.5g
LICINIVS IVN NOB C; laureate, draped and cuirassed bust.
CAESARVM NOSTRORVM surrounding wreath enclosing VOT V
In ex. R EROS Q
RIC VII Rome 230
