Alright, in my first thread I posted a Constantine I follis. Here we have the other follis I purchased at the same time. Now that I know a bit more than when I purchased these, I feel confident to attribute this even in its poor shape. There are more details that can be seen in hand than what is shown in my amateur photography. Licinius I AE Follis, Arles Mint 315-316 AD IMP LICINIVS P F AVG(due to the condition I think this is the correct legend), laureate, cuirassed bust right SOLI INVICTO COMITI, Sol standing right with raised hand and globe. PARL mintmark Arles RIV VII 68 2.68g, 20mm
Once again thank you. Im gonna figure this out. Draped= clothed bust Cuirassed= armour Laureate= laurel wreath I got this now.
This coin has a B4 bust type (from RIC VII). So he has a laurel wreath on his head, versus other bust types that may be bare-headed, radiate, helmeted, diademed or veiled. Cuirassed does mean the armour and draped is the cloak. I have some pages on these bust types with some examples- http://www.constantinethegreatcoins.com/busts/
It gets easier with practice. If you want to use RIC numbers and don't have the books, check out these .pdf's http://www.catbikes.ch/coinstuff/coins-ric.htm For quite a few years I did not have RIC and did not even know that I needed RIC numbers. I only used Sear "Roman Coins and their Values" 4th edition. Life was simpler! I don't use a catalogue number though, unless it is on my shelf.
Victor is right, it gets easier the more you do it. Forums are a trove of info and "practice". People post coins seeking help or regulars post coin pictures without attributes. If I saw one I liked I'd research and learn from it. Members here also took the time to teach me. I'm just under a year collecting ancients. And reference books are good to have Sear, RIC, RSC. Depending on where you want to focus your collection. Web sites like wildwinds and catbikes are great but I find books better.
Victor is right! Many misattributions we see result from folks deriving numbers from comparisons with coins they found posted somewhere or from using the cheat sheets without understanding what differences caused the coins to be assigned the different numbers. To use RIC effectively, you really need to compare your coin to listings on pages before and after to see what differences turn up. RIC is not consistent on how they handle a dot more or less here or there. Buying the books is only the first step. You may find the $1000+ cheap compared to the 1000+ hours of study needed to get comfortable with all the tricks that are beneficial in using all that information. I really believe more collectors would get more enjoyment out of the hobby if they put off worrying about whether their coin was bust B4 or B5 until they are ready to declare a specialty interest and have seen enough specimens to understand the terms as they are used in that particular section of that particular volume of the reference. Just because some of us care about a bust 'seen from the back' as opposed to 'seen from the front' does not mean you have to and certainly does not mean you should pay double for one or the other.
