For a ruler from a family that I can't stand (Gotta love the Costanza's, right?!) Constantius II has a wide variety of coins that I like... Due to the fact that they're within my budget and the interesting artistry. But keep in mind, despite all the over the top obligatory propaganda, he had some aggressive enemies he had to go up against! A quick lowdown on the trust fund Emperor: Constantius II (Latin: Flavius Julius Constantius Augustus;[1][2] Greek: Κωνστάντιος; 7 August 317 – 3 November 361) was Roman Emperor from 337 to 361. His reign saw constant warfare on the borders against the Sasanian Empire and Germanic peoples, while internally the Roman Empire went through repeated civil wars and usurpations. His religious policies inflamed domestic conflicts that would continue after his death. Those enemies including his own notoriously fabulous brother Constans! Whom, fresh off his killing of other brother Constantine II (the one that old mad dad didn't have decapitated), was on his way to take over Constantius II's realm when he was killed by his own general and right hand man, the dynamic duo of Mag n Dec (2 more massive thorns in his side). Just to name a few lurking concerns. Magnentius Ӕ Nummus. Lyon, AD 351-353. D N MAGNENTIVS P F, bare-headed, draped and cuirassed bust right / GLORIA ROMANORVM, Emperor galloping right, spearing barbarian kneeling left; shield and broken spear below horse, RSLG in exergue. RIC 115. Decentius Caesar, AD 350/1-353. Æ Lugdunum (Lyon) mint, 2nd officina. Struck AD 351. Bareheaded and cuirassed bust right / Two Victories standing facing one another, holding wreath inscribed VOT/V/MVLT/X in four lines; SV//RSLG•. RIC VIII 129; Now back to the thrill of the chase: There's certainly nothing like getting a rip roaring deal due to a hole or some other non disruptive or character adding defect on a coin normally more than you're willing to pay. To that point... Here's my first siliqua! Constantius II AD 337-361. AR Siliqua (20mm, 1.77 g, 5h). Constantinople mint, 11th officina. Struck AD 351-355. Pearl-diademed, draped, and cuirassed bust right / VOTIS/XXX/MVLTIS/XXXX in four lines; all within wreath; C·IA. RIC VIII 102; RSC 342-3j. holed Ex-Savoca And as a snack I picked up this bug eyed fellow from a mint I cannot peg: Constantius II AD 337-361. Antioch Follis Æ 15mm., 1,95g. D N CONSTANTIVS P F AVG, rosette-diademed head right / VOT XX MVLT XXX within wreath, mintmark: SMAN? Ex-Savoca My long time favorite LRB: Constantius II As Caesar, AD 324-337. Æ Follis, Treveri (Trier) mint. Struck AD 326. Laureate, draped, and cuirassed bust left / Camp-gate with two turrets and no door; star above; PTR(pellet-within-crescent). RIC VII 480; LRBC 29. Former @Severus Alexander! Please post all your Cantstandyas II, his enemies, Siliquas or whatever you feel
Some great coins there my friend. Here is a diagram I put together for my write up on Julian II that shows just how bloody this family tree became. Here are a few more coins from the Constantinian Dynasty for the thread. Jupiter the Preserver Roman Empire Constantine I, AD 306-337 AE Follis, Cyzicus mint, 6th officina, struck ca. 313-315 Dia.: 21 mm Wt.: 3.8 g Obv.: IMP C FL VAL CONSTANTINVS P F AVG; Laureate head right Rev.: IOVI CONS-ERVATORI; Jupiter standing left, holding globe surmounted by Victory in right hand, holding scepter in left hand; eagle holding wreath in beak at left; S // SMK Ref.: RIC VII 3 Ex JAZ Numismatics A Thread Honoring “Campgates.” Post Yours! 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) Roman Empire Canstantius II (AD 337-361) AE16, Siscia mint Obv.: CONSTANTIVS P F AVG; Rosette-Diademed, draped, and cuirassed bust right Rev.: VICTORIAE DD AVGG Q NN; two Victories about to engage in epic battle Ref.: RIC VIII 182 Ex JAZ Numismatics Roman Empire Constans (AD 337-350) AE3; Antioch Mint, struck ca. AD 348-350 Obv.: D N CONSTANS P F AVG - Pearl-diademed, draped & cuirassed bust left, globe in right hand. Rev.: FEL TEMP REPARATIO; Helmeted soldier, spear in left hand, advancing right, head turned to left; with his right hand, he leads a small bare-headed figure from a hut beneath a tree. The spear points downward. between the soldier’s legs. // ANΓ. Ref.: RIC VIII 126, p. 522. Ex JAZ Numismatics Roman Empire Constantine II as Caesar (AD 317 - 337) AE Follis, Siscia mint, struck ca. AD 330 - 333 Obv.: CONSTANTINVS IVN NOB C. Laureate, cuirassed bust right. Rev.: GLOR-IA EXERC-ITVS. Two soldiers standing, facing each other with spear in outer hand, inner hand on shield resting on ground; two standards between. Ref.: RIC VII 220 (Siscia) Purchased in Jerusalem, Nov. 2016
CONSTANTIUS II RI Constantius II 337-361 CE AE 2 Soldier spearing downed horseman WHAT THE HECK, HERE is a Siliqua RI Valentinian II AD 375-392 AR Siliqua 18mm 1.8g Trier Victory wreath palm RIC IX 43
Sweet new siliqua Ryro! I actually had that one my watch list, I had been wanting the type for a while. I'm glad I didn't bid you up! Instead I picked up this nicely toned one (with a crack rather than a hole) which stayed just under my max in a different auction at about the same time: And some more Constantius II... first, your favourite LRB's soulmate (from the same group lot): Also as Caesar, but with the nifty early chi-rho (c. 336, during dad-the-great's lifetime): And finally, the famous HOC SIGNO VICTOR ERIS reverse:
Constantius II Ar Siliqua (Heavy standard) RIC 66 Rv VOTIS XXX MVLTIS XXXX within wreath Sirmium 350-355 A.D. 2.83 grms 21 mm
You don't know what you are asking. This list has more than a few members with more than a few hundred coins of Constantius II and enemies. 'All' you do not want. These are my highlights. All have been posted here before. Amiens mint horsemen are hard to find. So are the ones from Trier. After the defeat of Magnentius, a few coins were made using his Chi-Rho type in the name of Constantius II. The problem is that Magnentius used that type to point out to Orthodox Christians that Constantius was an Arrian heretic. In particular, Arians did not believe that the Son (Christ) had been with the Father from the beginning but had been created and was subordinate to him. This made the Alpha and Omega used on the coin very inappropriate. Siliqua, Arles mint. I bought it for the toning. I am fond of the style from the Rome mint even if it is not the most rare of the 15 options for falling horsemen. Magnentius has many more interesting types but this black beauty has always been among my favorites. Similar but Decentius: After Constantius has dealt with all those enemies, he needed to find an heir. Having killed off most of his family, he fell back on the young Constantius Gallus who was considered too young to be a threat during the killing time. That did not work out so well either and before long Gallus fell into history as well. My favorite coins of Constantius Gallus: Amiens mint is even harder to find for Gallus than for Constantius II. You can not be too condition snobbish if these are your interest. This is a die clash struck on a ragged flan but is the finest style, typically Amiens, coin I have seen. Of course, I have not seen all that many of these. Have you? The Aquilea mint made a few falling horsemen at a standard of 72 to the Roman pound. Changing weight standards happened frequently. Why did they consider it appropriate to label it on the coins on this one occasion? Finally, Constantius selected the younger brother of Gallus to be his heir. Again proving that picking relatives is not always the best move, Constantius died when moving to eliminate this latest cousin/disappointment . Julian II had been raised with the finest Christian education but, having seen all his fine Christian family members killing each other, reverted to Paganism and gave us a special bull type in honor of his return to the old ways. The Christians in the army did not see this as a good move so Julian was soon overthrown (but that is another thread).
Nice one @Ryro! Here’s one of Magnentius and his wonderful helmet of hair (I wish the reverse on mine was as nice as Doug’s coin above). Magnentius, AE Centenionalis, Treveri, 352 AD, (23.3 mm, 4.55g) DN MAGNEN-TIVS P F AVG; Bare-headed bust to right, A behind/ VICTORIAE DD NN AVG ET CAES; Two Victories holding wreath with inscription VOT / V / MVLT / X; TRP in exergue
Nice score, Ryro. I have a soft spot for holed coins and really like that one. I don't have a holed siliqua, but one of my favorite Constantius II's is a holey. CONSTANTIUS II, as Caesar AE3, Holed. 2.27g, 18.3mm. Antioch mint, AD 324-325. RIC VII Antioch 60 (R2). O: Laureate, draped and cuirassed bust right. R: CONSTAN / TI • VS / CAESAR in three lines, SMANTΔ / • Another favorite CII: CONSTANTIUS II, as Caesar AE3. 2.71g, 18.4mm. Constantinople mint, AD 330-333. RIC VII Constantinople 61. O: FL IVL CONSTANTIVS NOB C, laureate, draped and cuirassed bust right. R: GLOR-IA EXERC-ITVS, two soldiers standing with spears and shields, facing two standards between them, o in banners; CONSS in exergue.
Nice pick up @Ryro Some Constatantius II Constantius II, Light miliarense, Ferrando II plate coin - * Arles mint (Arelate), 3d officina DN CONSTAN TIVS PF AVG, Diademed, draped and cuirassed bust of Constantius right VIRTVS EXERCITVS, Constantius (soldier) facing holding spear and shield. TCON at exergue 4,54 gr ; 22,6 mm Ref : RIC VII # 252, Ferrando II # 1026 (this coin), Cohen #326, RC #3993v Constantius II, AE2 Antioch mint, 1st officina D N CONSTANTIVS P F AVG, draped and pearl diademed bust right FEL TEMP RE PARATIO, fallen horseman, Gamma in field, ANA at exergue 4.88 gr Ref : RCV # 18171, Cohen # 46, RIC # 132, LRBC # 2623 Constantius II, AE3-4 - Antioch mint D N CONSTANTIVS P F AVG, diademed head right VOT/XX/MVLT/XXX, within a laurel wreath At exergue SMANTI (Antioch mint 1.70 gr Ref : Cohen # 335, LRBC # 1398 var, And Mag & Dec : Magnentius, AE 1 - * Amiens mint, AD 353 D N MAGNEN TIVS P F AVG, Draped bust of Magnentius right SALVS DD NN AVG ET CAES, Large christogram between alpha and omega. AMB at exergue 9.20 gr Ref : Cohen #30, LRBC #19, Bastien # 135 (15 ex), RIC # 34 (C) Decentius, Maiorina Lyon mint DN DECENTIVS CAES, bare bust, cuirassed right VICTORIA DD NN AVG ET CAE, two victories holding a wreath where is inscribed : VOT/V/MVLT/X. Dot and SV in field 4.46 gr Ref : Cohen # 33, Roman coins # 4035, LRBC # 224 Q
Two very nice coins from Constantius II came in today..both struck under Vetranio..first one is the hoc signo type..sirmium mint..with a small mistake..a N instead of an M..second type is the concordia militum type..siscia mint..ric VIII 284..is there someone out there who can identify the..Sirmium mint coin..many thanks!
Yes, followed by an officina letter (number), for Antioch. Here is a similar coin with mintmark SMANI [the "I" may be followed by another letter, maybe IA --there were 15 officina at the time] RIC VIII Antioch 113 "C4" [extremely common]
Let us not forget the two unfortunate cousins, both murdered shortly after the death of Constantine I to keep them from making any claims upon the throne, Delmatius: Caesar, A.D. 335-337 (Bronze) AE3/4 Siscia mint, A.D. 335-336 Obv: FL DELMATIVS NOB C Rev: GLOR-IA EXERC-ITVS - Two soldiers, standing, holding spears and resting hands on shields; one standard between them BSIS in exergue RIC 256 11mm, 1.3g . . .And Hannibalianus: Rex Regnum, A.D. 335-337 (Bronze) AE3/4 Constantinople mint, A.D. 335-336 Obv: FL HANNIBALIANO REGI Rev: SE-CVRITAS PVBLICA - Euphrates seated right, holding sceptre, overturned urn at his side, from which water flows, reed in background CONSS in exergue RIC 147 15mm, 1.4g. Finally, let us acknowledge the--let's face it: incredibly stupid--end of the Constantine dynasty by honoring the emperor who taught the entire world not to cook indoors with a charcoal grill, Jovian: Augustus, A.D. 363-364 (Bronze) AE3 Sirmium mint, A.D. 363-364 Obv: D N IOVIA-NVS P F AVG Rev: VOT/V/MVLT/X in four lines within wreath ASIRM in exergue RIC 119 20mm, 3.7g. What a strange way to end a dynasty.
