Posted 08/25/2012 07:19 am
Look on the right at about 2 o'clock and see letters before the S. You may have trouble reading them but their presence rules out Constans whose coins of this type began with the S on this side. It you count strokes you will see that TIV fits while a Constantine would require a TINV. Of course this is not necessary here since this type was not issued until after the deaths of both Constantines.
When IDing coins, frequently you will make the process easier if you start with the reverse. Check your references (print or online) to see which rulers issued that type and stop thinking about the hundreds of other rulers who did not have coins of the type. The first of the many, many FEL TEMP REPARATIO bronzes came years after Constantine II died in 340.
There is a tendency for beginners to make ID work harder by considering impossibilities or even one-in-a-million rarities. If your luck is such that you have discovered the only surviving example of something previously unknown, you need to buy lottery tickets instead of coins. A good thing to do is pay attention to coins commonly seen and try to match your coins to them. When a fair effort has been made and you still can't rule out the normal, there will be plenty of time to consider the coin might be 'different'.
When IDing coins, frequently you will make the process easier if you start with the reverse. Check your references (print or online) to see which rulers issued that type and stop thinking about the hundreds of other rulers who did not have coins of the type. The first of the many, many FEL TEMP REPARATIO bronzes came years after Constantine II died in 340.
There is a tendency for beginners to make ID work harder by considering impossibilities or even one-in-a-million rarities. If your luck is such that you have discovered the only surviving example of something previously unknown, you need to buy lottery tickets instead of coins. A good thing to do is pay attention to coins commonly seen and try to match your coins to them. When a fair effort has been made and you still can't rule out the normal, there will be plenty of time to consider the coin might be 'different'.
