I'll preface this by apologizing for my picture quality as these were taken with my plucky iPhone 8. I have a USB microscope on the way, but it's sadly on back order. Hopefully the iPhone will suffice for now! Leo I Æ2 457-474 20mm (3.9g) DN LEO PE-RPET AG, diademed and draped bust right D (-ominus) N (-oster) Leo Perpet (-uus) AG (-ustus) "Our Lord Leo, Perpetual August" SALVS R-PVBLICA, Leo standing right, holding standard and globe, foot on captive Salus Rei Publicæ "Salvation of the State" Mintmark CON RIC X 660v? (the seller listed it as RIC X 659) I could use some help with identification, as locating the correct RIC number has proved elusive thus far. The opportunity to acquire a Cherson AE2 of Leo I, despite the overall poor condition was too much for me to pass up on. It looks a lot better in hand, but isn't as nice as other examples I've seen for sale and on display. Overall, a fairly nice large coin of an Eastern Roman Emperor from the 5th century who died just 2 years before the overthrow of Romulus Augustulus by Odoacer in 476. Feel free to share coins of Leo I or his 5 western counterparts, which should be pretty rare!
Majorian, Western Roman Empire AE nummus Obv: D N IVL MAIORIANVS P F AVG, pearl-diademed, draped bust right Rev: VICTORI-A AVGGG, Victory advancing right, holding palm branch and trophy Mint: Milan Mintmark: MD Date: 457-461 AD Ref: RIC X 2642 Libius Severus, Western Roman Empire AE nummus Obv: D N LIBIVS SEVERVS P F AVG, pearl-diademed, draped bust right Rev: Monogram of Ricimer within wreath Mint: Rome Date: 461-467 AD (Libius Severus reigned 461-465 AD) Ref: RIC X 2715 Since Odoacer was name-dropped, figure I might as well post him also. Odoacer, Kingdom of Italy AE nummus Obv: OD[O-VAC], bare-headed, draped bust right Rev: Odoacer's monogram (letters ODOVA: “Odovacar”) within wreath Mint: Ravenna Date: 476-493 AD Ref: RIC X 3502
Gonna be honest, that’s amazing. I didn’t even know they were making them that large at that point in time. Lovely coin thanks for sharing
Nice coin for the type. I only have a couple of crude AE4's: Identification based on reverse monogram. Poorly visible lion on the reverse. Need cleaning. Rev: Leo standing facing, head right, holding long cross and grasping captive to right. Need cleaning. Leo I on obverse (?), Leo II on reverse (?).
I think your coin might be RIC 662, with the reverse inscription SALVS R-PVBLCA (no "I" between the L and C). But I don't understand why you say it is from the Cherson mint. CON is the mint mark for Constantinople, and it is listed as such in RIC. Has some new information come to light?
I decided to try to answer my own question. I searched "Cheson Constantinople" and this page was the first hit: http://augustuscoins.com/ed/Cherson/
It's unusual to see an AE 2 of Leo. I have two coins of Leo, both AE 4s, and this one is the most photogenic: Leo I, AD 457-474. Roman Æ Half Centenionalis, 0.82 gm, 10 mm, 6 h. Constantinople, AD 457-474. Obv: DN LEO, diademed and draped bust, right. Rev: b E, Verina standing, holding transverse scepter and globus cruciger. Refs: LRBC II 2272; RIC 714; Sear 21436; Vagi 3739; MIRB 30.
Good coin and large for the age. Very interesting. I have a handful of unidentified coins with monograms that I have yet to attribute.
Congrats on your find, @Magnentius ! And welcome to the Ancients Forum of Coin Talk. LEO I RI Leo I 457-474 CE AE 4 10mm Salus Emp stdg hldg Globe and Standard His Wife, VERINA RI Verina wife of Leo I AE2 20mm 457-475 Victory inscribing CHI RHO - RIC X 656 R3
My Leo: AE4 Thessalonica mint? Obv: D N LE-ON VG? Rev: Monogram #1, within wreath. THS in exergue? RIC 681? 11mm, 1.3g And my Leo with an Empress Verina reverse: AE4 Constantinople mint? (Possibly Vandalic imitation) Obv: D N L-EO? Rev: [B/e] - Empress Verina, standing facing forward, holding globus cruciger (cross on globe) and transverse spear RIC (Leo) 714? 12mm, 1.1g
From what I've been able to gather, the coins were minted in Constantinople but distributed to Cherson, as many AE2 of Leo are found in the Crimea and Ukraine. I don't think I specifically said that the coin was minted in Cherson, as that wasn't my intention.
While I didn't purchase this coin from Warren, the basis for my attributing it to Cherson came from his site and the seller. Still, a great site and you can even find a Leo similar to mine listed on his store.
Great coins and discussions! Here are a few of mine. All coins left to right, and by rows. And too late have I realized that I failed to include diameter measurements, which would have been helpful, for the photographs are not true in size to one another. Mea maxima culpa! Top row: Libius Severus. AR 1/2 Siliqua. 0.79 gr. Rome. 461-465. RIC X 2712 Julius Nepos. AR 1/2 Siliqua. 0.81 gr. Ravenna, 474-475. RIC 3216 Leo I. AR Siliqua. 1.29 gr. Constantinople. AD 457-474. RIC X 647 var. LEO I. Æ 5.00 gr. Constantinople. AD 457-474. RIC X 661. Middle row: Aelia Verina. Æ 3.96 gr. Constantinople. AD 457-474. RIC X 656 variety. “P” for “R” in RE – (PVBLICAE). Basiliscus & Marcus.Semissis. 2.22 gr. Constantinople.475-476. RIC 1028; MIRB 9. Aelia Zenonis. Æ 1.31 gr. Constantinople mint. 476. RIC X 1017 Basiliscus. Æ 0.75 gr. Constantinople. 475-476. RIC X 1014 Bottom row: Basiliscus. Æ 0.60 gr. Constantinople. 475-476. RIC X 1016 Zeno. Æ 4.52 gr. Constantinople. 476-491. RIC X 948 Zeno. Æ 0.79 gr. Cyzicus, 476-491. RIC X 953 2020.17
I love these large Cherson bronzes. I have a few, including a Leo: Theo II: Valentinian III: Leo I: Zeno: Sadly they are often tooled - both my Theo and my Leo suffer a bit from this. I don't see any evidence of tooling on yours.
Wow, very nice! That Valentinian III looks great. It's a shame that more coins haven't been found of an emperor that reigned for 30 years.
Theodosius II Valentinian III There is absolutely no way that these are the product of the metropolitan mint. They are most likely an imitation coinage after the AE2s of the 380s struck locally at Cherson or thereabouts for the romanized population that preferred these maiorinae. A similar situation was in pre-visigothic Spain, where the AE2s of Magnus Maximus were imitated in the early 400s and became the blueprint for the semi-official coinage of Maximus of Barcino in 410: