Posted 04/14/2008 05:14 am
quote:
...I have noticed many close matches but they are slightly different,
such as diadem not being exactly the same or the mouth is slightly different and other things of that nature.
Is it common for coins of the same design to be off somewhat?
Maby from mint to mint?
Yep, slight variations in die design are perfectly normal, and "die varieties" like this are not particularly sought after, or even noticed by anyone but archaeologists and specialists in this particular type. It's the broad attributes of the design (which letters are where, what type of headgear and drapery the emperor's wearing, etc) that determine the types.
It's really not surprising that minor variations occurred from die to die. The Romans had no means to transfer or duplicate a design on a die; dies were copied manually, each detail carved by hand, without magnification aids.
A member of the FORVM forum runs this website which contains downloadable excel data files for numerous of the more common late Roman coin series, including the IOVI CONSERVATORI. If I'm reading this database properly, your coin (Constantine, SMK mintmark, B in right field) is RIC VII Cyzicus 3(B), where it's rated as an R1 (common). Here's an example on Wildwinds.
There are eight Greek letters possible in the right field (alpha through to eta). These are the officina numbers; The Cyzicus mint was split into eight branch-workshops, all making coins at the same time. Yours is from Number Two (Beta). All eight officina marks are listed in the same entry in RIC.
Don't say "infinitely" when you mean "very"; otherwise, you'll have no word left when you want to talk about something really infinite. - C. S. Lewis
