The “campgate” reverse type is one of the most affordable ancient coins showing an architectural scene that you can get. They are common enough that many people specialize in them and find interesting meaning in all kinds of minute details. I don’t pretend to be an expert on campgates but I have always liked the type. I recently picked up a very nice example of Constantius II as Caesar with a provenance to the Zachary “Beast” Beasley Collection of Camp Gates. Roman Empire Constantius II as Caesar BI Follis, Arelatum Mint (Arles), 4th officina, struck AD 328 Dia.: 19.9 mm Wt.: 3.2 g Obv.: FL IVL CONSTANTIVS NOB C; Laureate, draped and cuirassed bust right Rev.: VIRTVS CAESS; Campgate with 4 turrets, star above, gates open, each door with two panels, each panel ornamented with two dots; S – F flanking sides; QCONST in exergue. Ref.: RIC VII Arles 323 Ex Zachary “Beast” Beasley Collection of Camp Gates. Ex CNG Electronic Auction 134, Lot 452 (March 2006). Ex VAuctions 250, Lot 167 (Aug. 5, 2010). Ex FORVM Ancient Coins (Jun. 2019) There is quite a bit of debate about whether the reverse is supposed to show a camp gate, a city gate or some kind of signal tower / structure. I would need to do some more research to have a strong opinion on the debate but for what it is worth I tend to favor the camp gate or fortress hypothesis (particularly for the coins struck under the tetrarchy). Here is my example of what some consider the beginning of this design struck for Diocletian. Roman Empire Diocletian (AD 284-305) AR Argenteus, Ticinum mint, struck ca. AD 294 Dia.: 20 mm Wt.: 2.92 g Obv.: DIOCLETI-ANVS AVG; Laureate bust right Rev.: VIRTVS MILITVM; Tetrarchs sacrificing in front of fort with 6 turrents Ref.: RIC VI 14a, R3 Below is an example of a Roman camp (Mobene) built in the time of the Tetrarchy. Roman camp design was undergoing a shift to a more defensive focus with changes to the turret design and fewer gates (commonly only one). Top Left: The camp gate. Top Right: View of the turret. Bottom: Layout of the camp. The objects on top of the "campgate" have been referred to as either turrets or signal beacons. I have never seen a visual representation of a beacon that looks anything like these objects. Perhaps it is some type of tripod with a spherical (presumably bronze) fire pit with and a removable lid? Wait… now that I think on it I am pretty sure this type must be evidence of an ancient Roman satellite factory. Left: Unidentified object. Right: Sputnik. I am also not aware of any archaeological remains of a Roman signal beacon even though we know they existed. Here is a scene from Trajan’s column that shows signal towers along the Danube. Admittedly the beacons shown look nothing like the objects on the camp gate. Trajan’s Column Scenes Below are a few references I have found that discuss these campgate types. References that tend to favor a campgate / turret interpretation https://www.beastcoins.com/Topical/Architecture/Campgate.htm This is a great reference with lots of images from all the mints that struck this reverse type. There is also some great commentary on the main page about the different theories with the author’s thoughts on each. References that tend to favor a signal tower / fire beacon interpretation https://www.researchgate.net/publication/316256366_Campgate_Bronzes_and_Roman_Fire_Signalling References that discuss a provincial city gate connection https://www.jstor.org/stable/43580632?seq=1#metadata_info_tab_contents General Reference – Coin Photos http://www.forumancientcoins.com/dougsmith/acmcampgate.html http://www.campgatecoins.com/ .............................................................. With that I challenge you to show me all your camp gates. To the specialists, feel free to point out any details that us non-specialist might not be aware of. Also, please post links to any relevant references that discuss theories related to this type that I may have missed.
Beautiful new addition, Curtis! And an ex Beast coin at that!! I accept that challenge! But I only have this one humble campgate... Constantius II (as Caesar), 324-337 AD AE3, Heraclea Mint, Struck 326 AD Obverse: FL IVL CONSTANTIVS NOB C, laureate, draped and cuirassed bust left. Reverse: PROVIDEN-TIAE CAESS, camp gate with five layers, two turrets, no door and star above. Exergue: SMHΓ• References: RIC 84 Size: 21mm, 3.10g
TIBERIUS AE 25mm (As) OBVERSE: TI CAESAR AVGVSTVS PON MAX IMP, laureate head left REVERSE: COL AVGVSTA EMERITA, campgate Struck at Emerita, Spain, 14-36 AD 9.27g, 25mm RPC 42 CONSTANTINE I AE3 Follis OBVERSE: CONSTAN-TINVS AVG, Pearl-diademed head right REVERSE: VIRTV-S AVGG, campgate with four turrets, open gates and star above, S F at sides, PCONST in ex. Struck at Arles, 328AD 2.70g, 20mm RIC VII 321. CONSTANTINE I AE3 Follis OBVERSE: CONSTANTINVS MAX AVG, diademed head right REVERSE: PROVIDENTIAE AVGG, campgate with two turrets & no doors, star above, GSISdouble-crescent in ex. Struck at Siscia 328-9 AD 3.3g, 19mm RIC VII 215G LICINIUS I AE3 Follis OBVERSE: IMP LICI-NIVS AVG, laureate bust right, wearing imperial mantle, holding globe, sceptre & mappa REVERSE: PROVIDEN-TIAE AVGG, campgate with three turrets, no door, delta in right field SMHA in ex. Struck at Heraclea 318-320 AD 3.0g, 18mm RIC VII 48 LICINIUS II AE3 OBVERSE: D N VAL LICIN LICINIVS NOB C, laurate draped bust left, holding globe, sceptre & mappa REVERSE: PROVIDENTIAE CAESS, campgate with three turrets & no doors, 6 layers, dot over dot in right field, SMHD in ex. Struck at Heraclea, 317-320 AD 3.3g, 19mm RIC VII 36 CONSTANTINE II AE3 Follis OBVERSE: CONSTANTINVS IVN NOB C - Laureate, draped, and cuirassed bust left REVERSE: PROVIDENTIAE CAESS - Campgate with two towers, 10 rows and star above. SMANTB in ex. Struck at Antioch, 325-335 AD 2.81g, 18mm RIC VII 65
Great post and coins, @Curtisimo ! Constantine I, AE Follis (20 mm, 3.58 g), Treveri, 326. CONSTAN-TINVS AVG Laureate head of Constantine I to right. Rev. PROVIDENTIAE AVGG / PTR(pellet-in-crescent) Camp gate with two turrets and no doors; above, star. RIC 475. Constantine II, as Caesar AD 325-326. Rome, AE Follis, (19mm., 3.04g). CONSTANTINVS IVN NOB C, laureate, draped and cuirassed bust left / PROVIDENTIAE CAESS, R-wreath-[?], campgate with two turrets, star above.
Excuse me, but aren't the arched "doorways" in the bottom middle of most of those "campgate" coins supposed to represent doors? or maybe windows ??
Beginning, middle, end. Nice open gates on yours, @Curtisimo! I'm not qualified to have an opinion, but this is CT. So personally I vote for the city gate interpretation on the basis of the late 3rd century transition to walled cities. (Although maybe it's really because I like an underdog. )
Love the toning on your Constantius, a real eye candy. The later types could well be the same as Diocletian Argentius only instead of an arial view they are shown at ground level looking straight at it, the turrets in the middle being part of the back sphere of the stadium. CONSTATINE I. LONDON 324/5 AD. AE FOLIS, 19.5MM, 3.2GM, RIC VII 294.Sear 16237. RARE. CONSTANTIUS II, as Caesar. 324-337 AD. Æ Follis (20mm - 3.5 g). Arles/Constantia mint. Struck 329 AD. FL IVL CONSTANTIVS NOB C, diademed, draped and cuirassed bust left / VIRTVS CAESS, camp-gate with open doors and four turrets, star above; T-F//PCONST. RIC VII 335 (r4); LRBC 345. Good VF, Rare
Interesting writeup, Curtis, and wonderful new Constantius II! I've casually read theories about these LRB reverse and am not sure what to think but lean towards signaling structures, or camps with signaling structures atop. Random thoughts: The Murray Dahm article, popularized by its appearance in The Celator, has been discussed on CoinTalk a few times. He does make good points but as you noted the lack of archaeological evidence matching the LRB "campgates" is vexing. Or is it? Late Roman bronzes aren't exactly known for their veristic artwork . Perhaps the globe-topped tripods are just a stylized engraving shortcut. Nah, probably not because it wouldn't be any harder to engrave a few more brick-like straight lines to make them resemble the Mobene camp you showed. Or, maybe those LRBs were accurately if stylistically rendered and those things atop the wall were bronze bowl-like structures meant for holding fire. Maybe there isn't archaeological evidence because the ash is corrosive and over time, the bronze bowls disintegrated? Or, maybe the bronze was plundered and melted down for other uses. If the globe-topped tripods aren't rooftop fire pits, then what might they be? I don't have any alternative theories but haven't put much time or imagination into it. Many, but not all, LRB campgates have a star atop. Perhaps that was to emphasize that the towers are a signaling system? Eh, probably not, otherwise why wouldn't the die cutter just engrave stars instead of globes atop the tripods? Do the attempted perspective reverses of the tetrarachal argentei show the same type of structure as LRB "campgates"? I'm not sure. I've never really thought of them as showing the same type of structures but maybe they do. @Gavin Richardson had an interesting post about the cultural context of campgates in ancient times. For those who are detail oriented in the extreme (coughOCDcough), check out Dane Kurth's spreadsheet for LRB campgates. There's even a column for number of courses of bricks . I guess you can't rule out the importance of such minutia unless it is properly studied but finding meaning from the number rows of bricks seems a stretch. She logs one thousand three hundred and twenty-seven different variations of LRB campgates . Not all of them have their own RIC number but even if you were to collect them just by RIC number, it would be a dizzying task. I bought a group lot of LRBs several years ago, primarily because there were a bunch of campgates and wanted some, plus they had silvering and I didn't have any silvered LRBs. Many of the campgates in that lot are rarity-rated R3 and R4 according to RIC. Heh. There must be thousands of LRB campgates (tens of thousands? more?). It's hard to take any satisfaction about rarity when it's merely for some trivial difference, plus the RIC rarity data for these types doesn't reflect the market. From this lot I learned that I do not like silvering on base metal coins! Unless it is absolutely pristine it just detracts from the devices, almost like camouflage. Photographing them is difficult too. You have to position the lighting such that there are no harsh reflections or else the speckling is horrible! They look great to the naked eye but in photographs they are awful. Someday I'll get some of these campgates with doors, like the one shown by Curtis. The doored campgates LRBs are certainly less common in the marketplace. I'm not sure why that makes me want one but it does . They are visually a bit more interesting. Here are some from that lot. Not sure if I still have all of these-- some have been given away. Constantine I, RIC VII Antioch 78, SMATΓ, rarity R4 (??? How rare can it be if there were three of them in this small mixed lot?): Constantine I, RIC VII Antioch 78, SMANTE, rarity rating R3: Constantine I, RIC VII Antioch 78, SMANTZ, R3: Constantine I, RIC VII Antioch 81, SMANTB, R3: Constantine I, RIC VII Antioch 84, SMANTE, R4 Constantine I, RIC VII Antioch 84, SMANTZ, R3: Constantine I, RIC VII Antioch 63, SMANT, Δ-E across fields (9th officina; avoiding the "unlucky" theta, this officina used delta + epsilon, 4 + 5), R4: Constantine I, RIC VII Antioch 63, SMANTΔ, R1: Here's my favorite because it has a "vintage" Sear certificate. Also, it has no silvering. Doesn't it look nicer than all of the silvered coins shown above, raggedly flan and sloppy engraving notwithstanding? Constantine I follis, /campgate; RIC VII Trier 449
Nice coins! I like the open doors on your Constantius II. I have two campgate coins. The Constantine II was my first Roman coin. Constantine II 317-340 AE Follis CONSTANTINVS IVN NOB C Laureate, draped, cuirassed bust right PROVIDENTIAE CAESS Campgate with eight rows, two turrets, no doors, star above, top and bottom rows empty blocks struck 327-329 in Heraclea(Perinthos) 3,24g/ 18mm ric 96 Constantine The Great 306-337 AE Follis CONSTANTINVS AVG Pearl-diademed head right PROVIDENTIAE AVGG Campgate with six rows, two turrets, no doors, star above, top and bottom rows empty blocks SMNS in exergue Struck 328-329 in Nicomedia 3,06g/ 18,5mm Ric 153
I have only bought a few campgates in recent years. I did use to actively collect them. Here are my most resent three. Alexandria (RIC VII Alexandria 34) Antioch (RIC VII Antioch 81) Thessalonica (RIC VII Thessalonica 153)
This one is far from perfect but it does have a special place in my collection. I received this in a trade along with a few other ancients while I was deployed and I consider it my "first" ancient coin since it was the first coin I was able to identify. Constantine AE follis 326-327 AD Obverse: CONSTANTINVS AVG, Laureate head right Reverse: PROVIDENTIAE AVGG, Campgate with six rows, two turrets, no doors, star above, top and bottom row blocks Mintmark dot BSIS dot
@Curtisimo, excellent coins, Mobene photos and an engaging write-up on camp gates. Here are two camp gates to add to the pile. For both coins I like the use of "AVGG" and "CAESS" in the reverse legends as plurals. Also interesting to see the style differences and similarities across mints and rulers in the pile. Thanks @TIF for references. Constantine I, "The Great", AD 307/310-337. Follis Struck: Thessalonica Obv: CONSTAN-TINVS AVG, Laureate head right. Rev: PROVIDEN-TIAE AVGG, Camp gate, with two turrets; star above, pellet to right; SMTSA in exergue Size: 3.35g, 18mm Ref: RIC 153 Constantius II, as Caesar, AD 324-337 Struck: A.D. 325-326, Cyzicus Mint, 1st officina Obv: His laureate, draped, and cuirassed bust left; FL IVL CONSTANTIVS NOB C Rev: Camp gate, nine stone layers, two turrets, star above; pellet to left; PROVIDEN-TIAE CAESS around; SMKA in exergue Size: 3.06, 18.2mm
Although the Constantine-era campgates are the most common, the design appears over a broad range of places and times, from Bing's Tiberius (and other provincials) up through Arcadius and Valentinian III. So there's no reason to assume that everything we call a campgate was originally intended to depict the same thing. Also, one needs to consider the legend when interpreting them. You have the Providentiae and Spes types, which suggest some kind of defensive structure, and the Virtus types (usually with doors), which suggests something more militarily aggressive. So maybe we should narrow the question to ask what this particular reverse legend/type is showing.
The soldiers and standards type celebrated the 'Glory of the Army', the Falling Horsemen the restoration of happy times after the slaughter of Rome's enemies, and, campgates were all about... signalling beacons? Sorry, I don't think I buy that particular theory. Actually, I'm pretty sure those things on top of the campgates were BBQ grills of some kind... CRISPUS AE3. 3.7g, 19.1mm. Antioch mint, AD 325-326. RIC VII Antioch 64 (R2). O: FL IVL CRISPVS NOB CAES, laureate, draped and cuirassed bust left. R: PROVIDEN-TIAE CAESS, campgate with 7 layers, 2 turrets, star between; SMANTЄ in exergue.
Your new Constantius II open-door campgate is fantastic, Curtis. It took me awhile to get one of them, but I eventually managed to pick up Steve's, which I had always admired. CONSTANTINE II, as Caesar AE3. 3.09g, 20.8mm. Arles mint, 325-326. RIC VII Arles 294. O: CONSTANTINVS IVN NOB C, laureate, draped and cuirassed bust left. R: VIRTVS CAESS, campgate with 12 rows, open doors, 4 turrets and star above; TA(crescent)RL in exergue. Ex Stevex6 Collection Two other favorites: MAXIMIANUS AR Argenteus. 3.11g, 17.9mm. Nicomedia mint, circa AD 295-296. RIC VI Nicomedia 25b; RSC 553c. O: MAXIMIANVS AVG, laureate head right. R: VICTORIAE SARMATICAE, campgate with four turrets, doors open, and star above archway; SMNΓ in exergue. MAGNUS MAXIMUS AE4. 0.9g, 14mm. Arles (Arelate) mint, AD 383-388. RIC IX Arelate 29a1. O: D N MAG MAXI-MVS P F AVG, diademed, draped and cuirassed bust right. R: SPES RO-MA-NORVM, campgate with star between two turrets; SCON in exergue.
thats a beauty curt, and your Diocletian is amazing, i didn't even know of that type.. my campgate collection, thus far...my entire ancients collection is just about 100 coins, these camps are the most i have of a single type... Licinius II AE3 Follis. Heraclea RIC VII 49 Constantius II, as Caesar, AE3 Follis. Antioch RIC VII 66. Constantine I, AE3 Follis of Antioch. RIC VII 81,E Constantine I, AE Follis of Antioch. RIC VII 81, Z Constantine I AE3. Nicomedia RIC VII 90,E.1 Constantine I. AE 3. Nicomedia, RIC VII 121 Constantine I AE3 Follis Thessalonica RIC VII 153 Constantine I, AE3 Follis, Siscia RIC VII 214, A Constantine II, Arles, Officina 3, RIC VII, 294
Excellent writeup and coins Curtis, and some wonderful coins all around. I have just a few ones Diocletian - Nicomedia Constantius - Antioch Constantinus II - Trier I personnaly vote for water tanks at the top of buildings, anticipating the global warming and because the soldiers would need a shower after a hard day at walking in the dust Q