This spontaneous "snack" for €10 arrived today, and I thought I'd take the opportunity to post it: Constantius Gallus, Roman Empire, AE2, 351–355 AD, Constantinople mint. Obv: DN FL CL CONSTANTIVS NOB CAE; bust of Constantius Gallus, bare-headed, draped, cuirassed, r. Ref: FEL TEMP REPARATIO; Roman soldier l. spearing fallen horseman; in in fields, Γ•; in exergue, CONSB. 24mm, 4.20g. Ref: RIC VIII Constantinople 107. Constantius Gallus was a nephew of Constantine the Great. In 351 AD, during the reign of his cousin Constantius II, he was raised to the rank of Caesar, probably because the childless emperor needed a representative in the east. Yet, Gallus proved to be a much less capable ruler than expected, soon got into conflict with Constantius, and finally was deposed and executed in 354 AD. Gallus' brother Julian later became the last pagan emperor of Rome. Despite his short reign, coins of Constantius Gallus are far from rare though not as abundant as those of most other members of the Constantinian dynasty. Portraits of Gallus and Constantius II can easily be distinguished since the former is always portrayed bare-headed. Apart from the new coin above, which is the larger AE2, I also own this smaller AE3 from Siscia. A comparison of the two coins might illustrate the superior style and workmanship of the Constantinople mint: Constantius Gallus, Roman Empire, AE3, 351–355 AD, Siscia mint. Obv: DN CONSTANTIVS IVN NOB C; bust of Constantius Gallus, bare-headed and draped, r. Ref: FEL TEMP REPARATIO; Roman soldier l. spearing fallen horseman; in exergue, BSIS. 18.5 mm, 2.38g. Ref: RIC VIII Siscia 351. Please pile on your coins of Constantius Gallus!
Nice narrative, and great coin @Orielensis ! CONSTANTIUS GALLUS RI Constantius Gallus Caesar 351-354 AE21 FEL TEMP REPARATIO soldier-spearing-fallen-horseman RIC 348 Siscia
Constantius Gallus A.D. 351- 354 22x23mm 4.9gm D N CONSTANTIVS IVN NOB C; bare-headed, draped and cuirassed bust right, A behind bust. CONCORDIA MILITVM; emperor diademed and in military dress, standing facing, head left, star above, holding labarum in each hand inscribed with a Chi-Rho. III in left field in ex. ✶SIRM RIC VIII Sirmium 22 Ammianus Marcellinus didn't have anything nice to say about Constantius Gallus-- "The Caesar, whose recklessness had now taken a wider scope, which made him hateful to all respectable people, henceforth threw aside all restraint, and made his oppression felt through all the regions of the East..."
This is definitely true but ALWAYS is a word we use with care. The old saying is that a rule is proven by it's exceptions. The coin below is not high grade and cost me $5 on eBay but I had to have it. At obverse right the legend is clearly NTIVSNOBCAES. The left legend is less clear due to the rough surfaces. The portrait clearly has a diadem. The reverse is the standard FH4 falling horseman from Constantinople (rump up more than most) and the CO of the mintmark is clear. NOBCAES means this has to be Gallus or Julian but the coin is too large to be Julian and the NTIVS also eliminates him. How do we have a diadem on a portrait of the Caesar? The coin is double struck. The left side (back of head with diadem) belongs to Constantius II Augustus while the face and right side legend belong to Constantius Gallus Caesar. The alignment was slightly rotated making the head shape a bit too large at the top. I do so very much wish this coin had smooth surfaces but, as it is, the coin is a ton of fun.
I was also watching that one, but you snatched it faster, good job. Looks like it also has some nice silvering, feel like trying to bring that more into light?
Another favorite Gallus coin is this AE2 of Amiens (AMB) with enough flan problems and die clash damage that no one but me wanted it. This is the most rare mint for these. This one has a great style portrait with three curls bound together and smooth surfaces. I ask you to show your smooth Gallus from Amiens. The trier below should be an AE2 but the flan is so oversize that, technically, it is AE1 size. How many falling horsemen have you seen with full dot circles on both sides? Trier is also a mint herder to find for Gallus. I am also fond of this AE2 Gallus from Aquileia. It was from the single issue openly marked LXXII indicating 72 of these should weigh a pound. Constantius Gallus was something of a cad and rare for a Caesar in being executed for bad job performance rather than revolting against his Augustus. Those who believe only in collecting coins issued by nice guys will not have a Gallus.
Ruler: Constantius Gallus (Caesar) Coin: AE2 DNCONSTANTIVSNOBCAES - bare-headed, draped, cuirassed bust right. FEL TEMP RE-PARATIO - soldier standing left, knee raised, spearing fallen horseman who is wearing a Phrygian helmet, clutching horse's neck. Exergue: Mint: Constantinople (351–354 AD) Wt./Size/Axis: 5.25g / 22mm / - References: RIC VIII Constantinople 107 var (obv. legend). Acquisition/Sale: $0.00 Notes: Sep 19, 18 - Photo courtesy of budgies-beak I had to go to Dane to identify this, it wasn't in her RIC lists or on Wildwinds. This is what she said.... You're right - I can't find it either. The odd thing is that there is no break in the obverse legend and the engraving is very well done. Now, seeing as the FL CL is missing, I wonder whether this is a very late issue from Constantinople. Or the die was engraved by what I call an exchange engraver who was used to doing this legend (engravers from Trier were often swapped with those from Lyons, for example, so this may be a Rome engraver sent to help out at Constantinople). The only ones in my Fel Temp xls list with this obv. legend and without an obv. break are Lyons 188 Lyons 192 Rome 284 Rome 284 Thessalonica 191 var (officina) Thessalonica 191 Very odd. I will add it to my xls list and also to wildwinds. I have since seen more on vcoins.
Nice coins of a not-so-nice Caesar, everyone! Especially @dougsmit 's example is truly extraordinary. I had secretly hoped that someone might be able to show a Gallus that breaks with the usual "no diadem and a soldier spearing a barbarian on the back"-pattern, and this definitely happened! In this case, I'm glad I could get it, and since I very much appreciate your taste in coins, I also consider this a compliment! As far as the silvering is concerned, I'm not planing on removing the ligght encrustations. First of all because I kind of like the "natural patina" look of it, and secondly because I'm not very good at cleaning coins – my previous cleaning attempts often had rather mixed results, and I don't want to ruin this one. Therefore, buffing it up will remain a task for the next collector who'll own it (i.e. in the hopefully distant future).
Here are a few of mine:- Constantius Gallus Obv:– DN FL CL CONSTANTIVS NOB CAES, Bare, bust draped and cuirassed right Rev:– FEL TEMP - REPARATIO, Soldier spearing fallen horseman, who is bare helmeted, reaching back towards emperor Minted in Constantinople (dot //CONSD), Reference:– RIC VIII Constantinople 122 var (Soldier headwear and legend break are both unlisted) 18.29 mm. 2.37 gms, 0 degrees Obv:– DN CONSTANTIVS NOB CAES, Bare, bust draped and cuirassed right Rev:– FEL TEMP - REPARATIO, Soldier spearing fallen horseman, who is bare headed, reaching back towards the emperor Minted in Lugsunum (//GSLG), Reference:– RIC VIII Lugdunum 192 (R2). 1.85 gms. 17.74 mm. 0 degrees. Harder to find than I imagined Obv:– DN CONSTANTIVS IVN NOB C, Bare, bust draped and cuirassed right Rev:– FEL TEMP REPARATIO, Soldier spearing fallen horseman, who is bare headed, reaching backwards Minted in Sirmium (// ASIRM Dot), September A.D. 352 - Winter A.D. 354 Reference:– RIC VIII Sirmium 53 Obv:– DN FL CL CONSTANTIVS NOB CAES, Bare, bust draped and cuirassed right Rev:– FEL TEMP REPARATIO, Soldier spearing fallen horseman, who is bare headed, reaching back towards the emperor (Rider with hair straight up, no beard, reaching (hair type not in RIC)) Minted in Nicomedia (//SMN Delta), Reference:– RIC VIII Nicomedia 97 var (hairstyle/headwear) Ex Lanz. Ex Kunker 288, ex. Collection Dr. Rainer Pudill 3,13 g. 16.55 mm Obv:– DN FL CL CONSTANTIVS NOB CAES, Bare, bust draped and cuirassed right (D behind bust) Rev:– FEL TEMP REPARATIO, Soldier spearing fallen horseman, who is wearing a Phrygian cap, falling forward clutching his horse. Minted in Rome (Gamma | _ // RE), 26th September A.D. 352 - 6th November A.D. 355. Third Series Reference:– RIC VIII Rome 265 var (Listed for P and S both of which are R, Dane Kueth has a matching coin with E from different dies) Obv:– DN CONSTANTIVS IVN NOB C, Bare, bust draped and cuirassed right Rev:– FEL TEMP REPARATIO, Soldier spearing fallen horseman, who is bare headed, reaching backwards Minted in Antioch (Gamma | _ // ANA), A.D. 350-355 Reference:– RIC VIII Antioch 134
This is my best, and probably the last C-Gall I will ever need. For $10, I don't think I could have done any better.
I love coins with patina like this. Is this what happens when a coin is cleaned back to the bare metal on the highpoints and then left to retone? I struggle with another explanation. Regardless, they look very atractive.