This is my second and third Roman coins in my collection. When I saw those 2 coins I could not resist buying them. First is a follis from Constantius I as caesar, minted circa 301-303 BC in Lugdunum. What a amazing obverse in my opinion, all the hairs on his face are so detailed. What also made me get this is because it is a nice and big coin, 28mm; 11.70g. If i'm not wrong it is also a quite rare coin with his head looking left. And well on the end also I also got it because it is the father of Constantine the Great. I noticed there are quite some variations in the armor that Constantius is wearing. Anything that I need to take note about the armor he is wearing on this coin? Also, why is the coin so much bigger and heavier compared to the later issued Follis of the Constantinian dynasty? Constantius I caesar (293-305 BC) Follis Lugdunum mint circa 301-303 BC Obverse: Laureate and cuirassed bust left Reverse: Genius standing left, wearing modius, holding patera over altar and cornucopia; in right field, A and in exergue, PLG. Reference: RIC 166a The second coin is from Constantine II, actually the only reason I toke this coin is because of the chi-rho and the coin is in very nice condition. The coin is not that big and heavy, only 18mm and 1.84g, but I guess because the value degraded? Constantine II (337-340 BC) Æ4 Siscia mint circa 337-340 BC Obverse: Diademed, draped and cuirassed bust right Reverse: Two soldiers standing facing, holding shield and inverted spear; between them, standard. In exergue, ESIS - crescent Reference: RIC 96 I still need to do some research about both coins, my knowledge about Roman Imperial coins are not the greatest. If anyone can answer my questions and share background history or numismatic knowledge about these coins it is much appreciated! Also, do not forget to share any of your coins that are related to these coins and subject!
Arrg! I was the underbidder on that Constantius, @Pavlos. Please tell me you would've spent any amount of money on that coin so I can feel better about missing out on it. Seriously, congrats on that coin. I must compliment you on your good taste.
They are nice coins but minor variations on these coins including armor variations are not exactly going to make you rich. The left facing portrait does make it more interesting, to me anyway, but there are not enough dedicated specialists trying to get every variation that even the rare ones are in great demand. Good condition coins always bring a premium. I would say the value here is more from condition than variations. IMO, you and Gavin were right in chasing that Constantius. I would love to have it. Over the entire history of the Roman Empire, inflation caused the money to lose value constantly and this was reflected in the coinage. The large folles were early in the coinage reform of Diocletian that hoped to make the economy more stable but it did not work and the big coins shrank as your two examples demonstrate. We need to remember that some of these coins did not circulate for long before a change of standards caused some to go underground and others to be called in, melted and recoined. Studying all the changes will keep you busy. Congratulations on the new coins.
Ahhh, well it's at a good home atleast, both ways. Please tell me you atleast got that stunning looking Divus Constantine I, I was bidding for that one as well but it got a bid out of my budget. Thank you very much for your answer Doug, very interesting regarding the inflation, I need to deepen myself a bit into this.
Just the Constantius. No worries though. I will get one someday. Stevex6 had one of these that he was selling on eBay about a yeae ago, also in stunning condition. But the asking price was pretty high, and I did not want to lowball an offer. I wonder where it ended up.
Diocletian tried an edict of Maximum Wages and Prices to halt inflation but it was largely ignored as it was unenforceable, even though the penalty for abrogation was death. photo credit: Matthias Kabel Wikimedia Commons, Pergamon Museum, Berlin By 308 or so we start seeing "reduced" folles of around 5 grams and with smaller flans. Here's an example of Maximinus Daia, Alexandria mint By the time when Constantine and Licinius both ruled we are down to about 3 grams for a folle. By 350 the larger centenionalis was introduced by Constantius II, but these gradually faded away until Julian II introduced the popular large bronze coins featuring the Apis bull (or Taurus). After that, coins as large as 5 grams or so were struck up until the time of Arcadius and Honorius, when everything shifted to the tiny AE4 denomination. The relationships between the small bronze coins and silver and gold coinage is basically unknown by this time.
Pavlos, Nice score on the two folli . I like the big Constantius I coin; it's got a great portrait & fine patina. I scored a nice left facing bust of Constantius I about 12 years ago, Lyon Mint, 9.61 gm, see photo below. If you're interested in a detailed study on the Roman economy at the time of Diocletian, I recommend the book below. I got an excellent used copy on Amazon several years ago. New copies are expensive & hard to find.
