The "Oriuna" coins

In the mid 18th century a group of numismatists were captivated by the reverse of a silver laureate coin of Carausius that showed a figure within a wreath and accompanied by the legend ORIVNA AVG. It prompted a discussion in print as to whom Oriuna might be with one suggestion being she was the otherwise unknown wife of Carausius. 

The coin, at first in the possession of Richard Mead, and then gifted to the King of France, had an unfortunate flan break at the start of the reverse legend. The legend, it seems, reads FORTVNA AVG, although we are still no clearer who the figure  represented on the reverse is. 

This page seeks to bring together images of all the specimens of the reverse type, silver laureates and base metal radiates. They all apparently share the same reverse die. What is curious is the appearance of RSR at the six o'clock position of the reverse. It seems to be missing on some specimens and it is uncertain whether the lettering became blocked as the die wore, or, perhaps, RSR was cut into the die part of the way through its life. 

AR laureate (RIC V.5 101)

Bibliotheque National, Paris

Billon radiates

Obv: IMP CARAVSIVS PF A (RIC V.5 574)

Recorded metal detector find, PAS:WILT-4BC67D 

Obv: IMP CARAVSIVS PF AV (RIC V.5 575)

Ashmolean museum, Evans bequest, 1941

Obv: IMP CARAVSIVS PF AVG (RIC V.5 576)

CNG 204, 11 Feb 2009, lot 206, ex S. Vogelaar collection

British Museum, 1885, 1201.1, ex Miss E O Richards

It is quite evident that the BM coin is fragile and in a much worse state of preservation than the cast on plate XVIII, No. 5, of the 1933 edition of RIC would suggest, see below:

CNG 23 Oct 2024, lot 736, ex Malcolm Lyne, ex David Miller 10 May 2005 (my specimen) 

Leu Numismatik, 3 Dec 2022, lot 3227