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 Replies: 10 / Views: 1,061 |
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Valued Member
Ireland
86 Posts |
Phew! Nearly finished researching my recent batch of coins. Talk abotu a time-consuming hobby! I have one last to go and it's proving tricky to attribute. According to the seller, it's a Constantine I AE 3/4 from the Lugdunum mint. The obverse is the great man himself facing left, while the reverse has Victory striding purposefully in the same direction. There's no visible legend on the reverse, but there's P*G in the exergue. I can't find anything similar on wildwinds, and I've tried all the Constantines. The seller claimed it was a rare type, so maybe that's the case here. Anyone have any ideas on this one? Thanks.   |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4253 Posts |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4253 Posts |
Rome RIC VII 371: http://wildwinds.com/coins/ric/city..._RIC_371.jpgCity Commemorative. Rome. AE3. CONSTANTI-NOPOLIS, laureate and helmeted bust of Constantinople left, wearing imperial cloak and holding sceptre / Victory standing left on prow, holding spear & resting hand on shield. Mintmark R star Epsilon. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4778 Posts |
Wow that was quick jw! As soon as I start to look you already got the attribution!
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4253 Posts |
BTW, nice looking strike on this coin.
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Valued Member
 Ireland
86 Posts |
Wow, that's amazing. Thanks a million. The seller had mistaked the mint R and the Epsilon in the mint mark for P and G, and attributed it to Lugdunum. And I went off sifting through Lyon coins for the past half hour!!  I wonder...would there be a difference in value between a coin issued from Rome or Lyon in this period? Thanks again. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4778 Posts |
I doubt it. These are common coins that pretty much every mint pumped out, so the main factor would be condition IMO.
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
10045 Posts |
 That's a very nice strike--stunning coin!  |
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Valued Member
Ireland
86 Posts |
Apparently, sometimes the engravers for the Rome Mint didn't understand what exactly they were supposed to engrave. Rather than have the prow of the ship facing away from Victory, they engraved the prow facing the goddess- just like mine! Just another reason to love this coin. Also: I didn't realise until tonight that the obverse isn't Constantine, but rather the personification of Constantinopolis, the Goddess of the new city. These coins just keep on giving!  |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4253 Posts |
Quote:
the prow facing the goddess The prow of ancient ships generally turned back in upon the ship.  |
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Valued Member
Ireland
86 Posts |
Hmmm, good point jwharper, but I think the prow on my coin is jutting towards the ship in too pronounced a manner to be considered an accurate depiction of an ancient ship. Especially when you consider other reverses in the series, such as this one:  Anyway, I think the first explanation is more fun so I'm sticking to that one!  |
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Replies: 10 / Views: 1,061 |
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Posted 10/06/2012 4:50 pm
