Dead Constantine

I got this little bronze coin in the mail today. It came from a seller in the UK. It depicts Roman emperor Constantine the Great in his death shroud. The reverse has Constantine driving a quadriga with the hand of God reaching down. It was minted 337 - 340 AD. RIC 37.
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-L9BJg4xNDmY/UVcvJ3BgplI/AAAAAAAA4ks/AQEqEqDicGU/s512/IMG_4392.JPG
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-twuv1zA3MDQ/UVcwnozojeI/AAAAAAAA4k4/71D__8tDO38/s512/IMG_4394.JPG

 

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The "hand of God" coins. These are typically AE4s, which is not distinctive in itself, but the quadriga device is an awful lot of detail to put on such a small coin. Here's mine...

 

I would disagree they are usually ae4s. Most i have seen are 3s. Either way, a smallish coin though.

 

Oh. Well, I'll take an expert's word on it. Mine is a wee bit of thing.

 

The only one i still have in my collection is an AE4.

Ripley: That's a decent looking coin. Good detail, but too bad the hand of God is not more prominent.

 

Nice coins!

 

Divus Constantine AE3/4. 337-340 AD. 15mm, 1.5g

OBV: DV CONSTANTINVS PF AVGG, Veiled head right.

REV: Constantine in quadriga right, the hand of God, upper center, grasping the chariot, CONS in ex.

REF: RIC VIII Constantinopolis 37

Most of these coins are AE4. Some of them are 15mm, which makes them AE3/4. Largest one I've seen is about 17mm.

Nice coin Ripley.

 

good one ripley, nice full legend on the obverse plus mint mark and visible hand....seems like many are missing those.

here's mine, pretty similar...

 

Nice coins, gang ...


:thumb::thirst: :thumb::thirst: :thumb::thirst::thumb::thirst::thumb::thirst:

Huh, don't have one of these quadriga & hand-of-God coins (man, I need more coins!!?)

 

It's not the same type, but heres mine.
Constantine the Great AE3/4 commemorative. DV CONSTANTINVS PT AVGG, veiled head right / VN MR to either side of Constantine, standing right, togate & veiled. SMALB. Alexandrian mint.

 

Excellent coins. A type I want but not high on my list.

 

That's the other reverse type, which I haven't collected yet - just haven't found one to match the quality of my quadriga.

 

Never said i was an expert John, remember i don't collect romans.

I agree most i have seen are 15-17mm, which is ae3 in my book. Most ae4s were made later.

 

Compared to me, you're an expert - but that's not saying much, really. Steep learning curve in the world of ancients.

 

There could be one coin you're an expert on that everyone else is not though. Thats the neat thing about ancients.

 

15-21mm = AE3
<15 = AE4

Just in case someone doesn't know.

 

That is how I remembered it.

 

http://www.forumancientcoins.com/dougsmith/denom.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Follis

AE3 starts at 17mm so anything 16mm or less should be an AE4. I can not recall seeing DV Constantines in AE3. Yes, most AE4's are 15mm or smaller but the original definition of the coin was anything under 17mm.

 

Why do you guys insist on using this scale? Am I really the only one who prefers Æ 17mm?

 

I have to go with Bill on this, though I'm also a hypocrite and use the scale :{}