I have two coins of Licinius from Alexandria and on both he has a rather intense gaze. Here is a follis from early in his reign, 308 to 312. Licinius I. Circa 308-312 CE. AE Follis. 26mm, 5.91g. Alexandria mint, fifth officina. Obverse: IMP C VAL LIC LICINIVS P F AVG, laureate head right. Reverse: GENIO IMPERATORIS, Genius standing left, nude but for chlamys over shoulders and left arm, holding patera and cornucopia. K in left field, Ε over P in right field. ALE in exergue. RIC VI Alexandria 101b. Here is a radiate from later in his reign, 321 to 324. Licinius I. Circa 321-324 CE. AE3. 20mm, 2.6g. Alexandria mint, second officina. Obverse: IMP C VAL LICIN LICINIVS P F AVG, radiate, draped, and cuirassed bust right. Reverse: IOVI CONSERVATORI, Jupiter standing left, holding Victory on globe and scepter. Eagle with wreath to the left on the ground. Captive to the right. In right field, X over II and a half (signifying 12.5). SMALB in exergue. I mean, just look at his eyeball!
That's what you call the side eye! Here's one of mine from the Antioch mint: Licinius I, AD 308-324. Roman billon follis, 3.43 g, 19.1 mm, 11 h. Antioch, sixth officina, AD 321-323. Obv: IMP C VAL LICIN LICINIVS P F AVG, radiate, draped and cuirassed bust, right. Rev: IOVI CONSERVATORI, Jupiter standing left, holding Victory on globe and eagle-tipped scepter, another eagle to feet to left, captive seated on ground to right; X/IIΓ in field, right; SMANTS in exergue. Refs: RIC vii, p. 682, 35; Cohen 74; RCV 15225.
Compare your second coin with the two coins at the top of this post about Martinian, which are supposedly from Cyzicus. The stylistic similarities are disconcerting. Martinian w/ Unusual Portrait
Here's a Licinius from Rome. Here's a helmeted/cuirassed Licinius. AE3, 318-319 AD. 19mm 3.1 grams IMP LI-CINIVS AVG, helmeted and cuirassed bust right ROMAE AETERNAE, Roma seated right, shield on lap inscribed X/V. P-R across fields. Mintmark: RQ Reference: RIC VII Rome 151; Cohen 150; Sear 15354.
OBV: IMP C VAL LICIN LICINIVS P F AVG, Radiate bust, right REV: IOVI CONSERVATORI, Jupiter standing left, holding Victory on globe and eagle-tipped sceptre, eagle at feet to right, sitting captive to right. X IIΓ in the right field Mintmark SMAL followed by officina A (1) in exerge Alexandria 318-324AD Licinius' coins displayed a wide variety of portraiture .. to say the least.
I will never have one of either of these but they should be mentioned as existing in this thread: https://www.cngcoins.com/Coin.aspx?CoinID=358159 https://www.cngcoins.com/Coin.aspx?CoinID=240509
Here's an eye from Siscia... Licinius I AE Follis. 20mm dia/ 3.2gr Obverse- IMP LIC LICINIVS PF AVG, laureate head right Reverse- IOVI CON-SERVATORI, Jupiter standing left, holding victory and sceptre, eagle at foot with wreath in its beak,gamma to right. Mintmark SIS. RIC VII 8G (Siscia oficina3)
I like it when my coins stare at me, though it's surprisingly uncommon to find them. For medieval, it's easier: SERBIA, Stefan Uroš II. Denomination: AR Grosso, minted: Serbia; 1282-1321 Obv: Christ, enthroned Rev: VROSIVS REX S STEFAN Weight: 1.73g; Ø:20mm. Catalogue: Jovanovic 7. 7. . Provenance: Ex private collection; acq.: 05-2019 ... kinda creepy ... BISHOPS OF UTRECHT, Diederik van der Ahr. Denomination: AR Penny, minted: Utrecht, the Netherlands; 1197-1212 Obv: TЄODЄ - RICVS, facing bust of Diederik van der Ahr in episcopal regalia; crozier to left. Rev: +TRAIECTVM, cross pattée; in opposite quarters, pellet-in-annulet and trident with annulet ends . Weight: 0.58g; Ø:14mm. Catalogue: van der Chijs VI, 2 ,de Mey 159, de Wit Collection 878. Provenance: Ex. private collection; acq.: 02-2020 An interesting and scarce type.
Yes, that does look very similar to mine. I guess you would expect Martinian to look similar to Licinius considering the circumstances of his "reign". My bug-eyed radiate was sold to me by @Victor_Clark for $10. That Martinian is on sale on vcoins for 3500 euros. Such is the difference caused by a few words in the obverse legend and the short and doomed nature of Martinian's career I guess. Personally, I don't have $3500 for a coin, and if I did, I would want expert opinions before buying that one!
