The Emperor Game! Can WE do it?

Diocletian
AE Follis
Antioch mint, 302-303 CE
28mm, 10.3 grams
RIC 56
Ken Dorney, Jan 2021

Maximianus
AE Follis
Nicomedia mint, 294-295 CE
30mm, 13.23 grams
RIC VI 29B
Savoca, June 2021

Carausius
AE Antoninianus
286-293 CE
27mm, 3.52 grams
Free gift from Jamesicus

Allectus
AE Antoninianus
293-296 CE
22mm, 3.21 grams
RIC V-II 35
Treasure Island, May 2021

Galerius
AE Follis
296-297 CE
27mm, 11.1 grams
RIC V-II 73B
Jan 2021, Ken Dorney

Constantius I
AE Follis
Rome mint, 296-297 CE
29mm, 9.21 grams
RIC 66
Savoca, April 2021

Severus II
AE Follis
Cyzicus mint, 305-306 CE
30mm, 7.38 grams
RIC VII Cyzicus 20A
Demos, April 2021

Maximinus II
AE Follis
Heraclea munt, 305-306 CE
28mm, 10.53 grams
RIC 26
Civitas, Jan 2021

Maxentius
AE Follis
Rome mint, 308-310 CE
26mm, 6.3 grams
RIC VI Rome 210
Victor's imperial coins, 2021

Licinius I
AE Follis
Nicomedia mint, 313-317 CE
20.5mm, 3.86 grams
RIC VII Nicomedia, 13E
Treasure Island, 2021

Licinius II
AE Follis
Heraclea mint, 321-324 CE
21mm, 3.06 grams
RIC VII Heraclea, 54
Musa, 2019

Constantine I
AE Follis
Trier mint, 317 CE
22mm, 3.48 grams
RIC VII Trier, 132
Jencek, 2015

Crispus
AE Follis
Thessalonica, 324 CE
19mm, 2.96 grams

 

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Oops ! My mistake.

 

A question: Which of these two coins would be better to represent Constantine II? The vast majority of his coins were issued when he was Caesar but he died soon after becoming Augustus making those 'emperor' coins harder to find. Perhaps, next time this list is done, we should just do Caesars or just Augusti or just women in order. Some men would appear on two lists but differ on which list they are more common due to the relative time they spent in each status.
Constantine II as Caesar, London


Constantine II as Augustus, Alexandria


I don't have a really high grade C2 Augustus.

 

Constantius II

Solidus (Gold, 21 mm, 4.23 g, 6 h), Nicomedia, 355-360. Depeyrot 5/1. RIC 74.

 

Sorry to break the one post per member per 24 hour rule, but I forgot to add this siliqua of Constantius II.

 

Constantine II



Constantius II

 

I suspect Constans is next?
My only coin from this emperor - I really liked it when seeing it in an auction so bought it.



Constans AD 337-350. Siscia
Follis Æ
19 mm, 2,06 g
RIC VIII Siscia 232
Date Range: AD 348 - AD 350
Obv: D N CONSTA-NS P F AVG, b ust of Constans, pearl-diademed, draped, cuirassed, right / Rev: FEL•TEMP•REPARATIO, Phoenix, radiate, standing right on rocky mound. Mintmark ΓSIS•

 

I'm a little late, but here are a few recent acquisitions....

Galerius follis (photo by CNG)

Constantius I follis (photo by Kunker)

Licinius I follis (photo by CNG)

 

Here's a nice one of Constans. RIC VII - ANT- 111.

 

Emperor Constantin and his Caesars (except Hannibalianus who wasnt Caesar anyways)
Emperor Constantin I. - SPQR OPTIMO PRINCIPI - Rome mint

Crispus Caesar - PROVIDENTIA CAESS - Antioch mint

Constantin Junior Caesar - PROVIDENTIAE CAESS - Treverorum mint

Constantius II. Caesar - PROVIDENTIAE CAESS - Thessalonica mint

Constans Caesar - GLORIA EXERCITVS - Constantinople mint

Delmatius Caesar - GLORIA EXERCITVS - Constantinople mint

 

Constans 4x

 

Constantine II
AE Follis
Ticinum mint, 317-318 CE
21mm, 3.6 grams
RIC VIII Ticinum 80

Constans
AE 3
Alexandria mint, 347-348 CE
15.5mm, 1.79 grams

Constantius II
AR Siliqua
Arelate mint, 353-355 CE
18mm, 1.89 grams
RIC VIII Arles 207

Delmatius
AE3
Siscia mint, 335-336 CE
18mm, 1.32 grams
RIC VII 256

Constantius Gallus
AE2
Constantinople, 347-355 CE
23mm, 5.92 grams

Vetranio
AE2
Siscia mint, 350 CE
21.5mm, 4.54 grams
RIC 285
Note: Very recently made this purchase, I haven't seen it in hand yet.

Magnentius
AE2
Arelate mint, 350-353 CE
20mm, 4.32 grams

Decentius
AE2
Lyons mint, 350-351 CE
21mm, 5 grams
RIC VIII Lyons 137

 

After Constans, comes Constantius II.

 

The four sons of Constantine I -- the oldest by Minervina, and the other three by Fausta.

1. Crispus Caesar (son of Constantine I), Billon reduced Centenionalis, Arelate [Arles] Mint (3rd Officina) 321 AD. Obv. Laureate bust right, CRISPUS NOB CAES / Rev. VOT • V in three lines within laurel wreath, CAESARVM NOSTRORVM. In exergue: T [Crescent] A. RIC VII ARLES 235 (p. 260), Sear RCV IV 16747, Cohen 30. 20 mm., 2.73 g.


Ever since I first read about the fates of Crispus and then Fausta, I've found it extremely odd that those events so closely parallel the myth of Hippolytus and Phaedra, which I vividly recall from reading Mary Renault's The Bull from the Sea. Which makes me wonder if some elements of the Crispus-Fausta story as it has come down to us were invented after the fact to fit the myth.

2. Constantine II Caesar (son of Constantine I), Æ reduced Follis, small bust type, Heraclea Mint (5th Officina), 317 AD. Obv. Small laureate half-bust of young Constantine II left, wearing imperial mantle, holding mappa in right hand and globe and scepter in left hand, D N FL CL CONSTANTINVS NOB C / Rev. Camp gate with three turrets and no door, PROVIDEN-TIAE CAESS; in exergue, mintmark MHTЄ [Epsilon = 5th Officina]. RIC VII 20 (p. 545), Sear RCV V 17140, Cohen 107. 18 mm., 3.31 g. (Purchased from Kirk Davis.)



3. Constantius II Caesar (son of Constantine I), silvered billon centenionalis, Trier Mint (2nd Officina) 326 AD. Obv. laureate, draped and cuirassed bust left, FL IVL CONSTANTIVS NOB C / Rev. Camp-gate with no door and two turrets, star above; PROVIDEN-TIAE CAESS. In exergue: STR followed by pellet in crescent. RIC VII Trier 480S (p. 209), Sear RCV V 17618. 19 mm., 3.09 g.



4. Constans (son of Constantine I), AE Centenionalis, Alexandria Mint (1st Officina) 348-350 AD. Obv. Draped and cuirassed bust left, wearing pearl diadem and holding globe in right hand, D N CONSTA - NS P F AVG / Rev. Emperor in military dress, standing left and holding labarum in right hand and shield in left, placing right foot on leg of one of two captives before him with hands bound behind their backs, wearing Phrygian caps and kneeling facing with their heads turned towards one another, FEL TEMP REPARATIO. ALEA [Alexandria Mint, 1st Officina] in exergue. RIC VIII 56(A) (p. 542), Sear RCV V 18706. 20 mm., 3.45 g. (Purchased from Harlan J. Berk.)

And a nephew:

Delmatius Caesar (nephew of Constantine I), Billon reduced Centenionalis, Antioch Mint (10th Officina), 335-337 AD. Obv. Laureate and cuirassed bust right, FL DELMA-TIVS NOB C / Rev. Two helmeted soldiers, standing facing one another, reversed spears in outer hands, inner hands on shields resting on ground, one standard between them, GLOR-IA EXERC-ITVS; in exergue, SMANI [Antioch, 10th Officina]. RIC VII Antioch 112, p. 697; Sear RCV IV 16901; Cohen 4. 15x16 mm., 1.7 g.

 

I find it interesting that both Probus and Crispus have coins that survived in such high states of preservation.

 

For completeness:


Which brings us to Julian II:


and Jovian:

 

@Severus Alexander Damn thats one of the most beautiful Emperor Julian coins I have ever seen!
Anyways here Constantines sons as Augusti and some late Constantinians from me:
Emperor Constantin II. - GLORIA EXERCITVS - Siscia mint

Emperor Constans - FEL TEMP REPARATIO - Alexandria mint (Btw I really love this bust style but wonder why it went out of fashion after the murder of Constans)

Emperor Constantius II. - FEL TEMP REPARATIO (Fallen horseman)- Constantina mint

Constantius Gallus Caesar - FEL TEMP REPARATIO (Emperor on Galley) - Sicia mint

Emperor Julian - VOT X MVLT XX - Rome mint

 

@Severus Alexander I can't compete on the Julian II, yours being so beautiful, on the other hand my Jovian.....


Jovianus, AE 1 - Antioch mint, 3 rd officina
D N IOVIAN VS P F AVG, Diademed, draped and cuirassed bust of Jovianus right
VICTORIA ROMANORVM, Jovianus standing, holding victory on a globe and labarum, ANT gamma at exergue
8.46 gr
Ref : RIC # 228, Cohen #22, RC #4085, LRBC #2645

Q

 

My Julian II coin can compete with any coin in the world in terms of ugliness.


However I consider this one of my best buys (one of the cheapest Julian II double maiorinas). I strongly suspect that the remarkable ugliness in Julian's portrait is not caused only by wear/damage, I think the coin did not exactly resemble an accurate Julian image from the dies.

Here is my very first ancient coin



Julian II as Caesar
RIC VIII Arelate 270 or 271 or 273 or 274
Date Range: AD 355 - AD 360
Obverse Legend: D N IVLIAN-VS NOB CAES
Type: Bust of Julian, bareheaded, draped, cuirassed, right
Reverse Legend: FEL TEMP - REPARATIO
Type: Soldier, helmeted, draped, cuirassed, advancing left, spearing fallen horseman with right hand and wearing shield on left arm; shield on ground to right; horseman wearing a pointed cap, turning to face soldier, extending right arm. M in field

 

That is indeed a beautiful Jovian, @Cucumbor! The two coins would make a nice pair, wouldn't they? I'll pm you my address...

Have you noticed that on your reverse, Jovian is the spitting image of Otho?