I have a penchant for Mars coins for purely egotistical reasons. It was a coin depicting Mars that allowed me to find ancients. I added a new Mars coin (to me) this week and was strkc by the contrast it makes with a near contemporary coin from the same mint. My newest coin is an AE3 of Constantine the Great Constantine the Great - AE3 Obv:– CONSTANTINVS P F AVG, Laureate cuirassed bust right Rev:–. MARTI CONSERVATORI. Mars helmeted, in military dress, spread cloak, standing, right, holding reversed spear, left hand leaning on shield Minted in Ticinum (//TT). A.D. 312-313 Reference:– RIC VI Ticinum 124a (S) Comparing this with a coin of Licinius made about a year or so later... Licinius I -AE3 Obv:– IMP LICINIVS P F AVG, laureate head right Rev:– MARTI CON-SERVATORI, Mars, helmeted, in military dress, cloak over right shoulder, standing right, holding upright spear, point downwards, resting left hand on shield Minted in Ticinum (* | _ // ST). A.D. 314-315 Reference(s) – RIC VII Ticinum 13 (Rated R3) Is this an isolated ugly coin from this issue or is there a degradation in the quality of the output of the mint over this period. I have looked at other examples but cannot find enough to draw any conclusions. Any thoughts?
I look up different coins of the two emperors showing Mars and there doesn't seem to much difference in quality between the two. Some are better than others of each. BTW, both your coins are great even if you consider the Licinius to be ugly in comparison (which it is). However, the details of Mars seem well worn on the Licinius.
I have added a new Licinius Mars from Ticinum. ANother coins with it's own problems but interesting too. Licinius I - Follis Obv:– IMP LICINIVS P F AVG, laureate head right Rev:– MARTI CON-SERVATORI, Mars, helmeted, in military dress, cloak over right shoulder, standing right, holding upright spear, point downwards, resting left hand on shield Minted in Ticinum (* | _ // PT). A.D. 314-315 Reference:– RIC VII Ticinum 13 var (Unlisted officina - Example noted on NotInRIC) Flaw on eyebrow on obverse. Flat area (not wear) on legs of Mars. Some residual silvering.
I believe we tend to overlook the pace of operations at the mint required to make the huge number of coins. Some are better; few are great. The first OP is great.
I think your Licinian Mars is just the result of a worn reverse die. Generally, obverse dies were changed more frequently than the reverse ones because the emperor's likeness was depicted on the obverse. It's quite common to find coins where much of the detail on the reverse has been lost. There is also a flat area on the 2nd coin's flan that accounts for some of the flatness of the lettering. So I think what the side-by-side comparison of the two OP coins really shows is not so much the sloppiness of the 2nd coin but the outstanding condition and strike of the first. Congratulations. It's a real beauty. BTW, another side-by-side comparison, this time of two coins from Trier, shows that sometime between 309 and 310 someone decided to put clothes on Mars! Treveri (Trier) mint, A.D. 309 RIC 830 Obv: IMP CONSTANTINVS P F AVG Rev: MARTI PATRI CONSERVATORI - Mars, helmeted, nude, standing, facing right, holding reverse spear, resting shield on ground PTR in exergue; T in left field, F in right 25 mm, 7.6 g. Treveri (Trier) mint, A.D. 310-313 RIC 862 Obv: CONSTANTINVS P F AVG Rev: MARTI CON-SERVATORI - Mars, helmeted, in military dress, holding reverse spear, resting hand on shield PTR in exergue; T in left field, F in right 24 mm, 4.4 g.
I agree with @gsimonel that wear on the Licinius reverse die makes the celator's style look worse than it is. When it comes to style in the numismatic depictions of Mars, I think the celators of the first and early second centuries are hard to beat: Trajan, AD 98-117 Roman AR denarius; 2.95 gm, 20 mm Rome, AD 114-117 Obv: IMP CAES NER TRAIANO OPTIMO AVG GER DAC, laureate and draped bust, right Rev: P M TR P COS VI P P S P Q R, Mars walking right with spear and trophy Refs: RIC 337; BMCRE 536; Cohen 270; RCV --; Woytek 520v; Strack 230; BN 819
