Recent pickups: A silvered Helena Follis, and a Stag Biga

Want to share two coins I recently picked up. The first is a Helena follis. I am looking for Roman Empress coins other than Faustina and Julia Domna, so a Helena coin seems a good start. Although the coin is just with ok quality, the silvering attracts me to it.

My second coin is a stag biga. It has a small flan size, but I somehow really like the grasshopper (a control mark?) on the reverse. Looks like running alongside with the stags.


Helena, Augusta, 326-328 AD.
Follis (19 mm, 3.24 g, 6 h)
Thessalonica, Γ = 3rd officina.
Obv: FL HELENA AVGVSTA Draped bust of Helena to right.
Rev: SECVRITAS REI PVBLICE / SMTSΓ Securitas standing left, holding olive
branch in her right hand and fold of drapery with her left.
LRBC 823. RIC 159. Significant silvering remaining.
From the Berliner collection


C. Allius Bala Denarius. 92 BC.
Rome. 3.66 g.
Obv: BALA, diademed head of Diana right, V below chin
Rev: C • ALLI, Diana driving galloping biga of stags right, spear and reins in left hand, torch in right, grasshopper right below.
Crawford 336/1b; Sydenham 595; Babelon Aelia 4.

You are welcome to show any related coins. Thanks!

 

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Lovely Helena! I'm always on the lookout for well done portraits and hairstyles of her:


Great grasshopper. A hard type to come by and yours is a beauty

 

Helena AE 3, 3.1 grams, Alexandria mint...



Also, she sponsored the construction of St. Catherine's monastery at the base of Mt. Sinai in Egypt....

 

Here's mine! Haha. There is about 1-2% silvering left on this one.

 

Very nice coins! I'm still missing Helena, but here's my Allius Bala:

Roman Republic, C.. Allius Bala, AR Denarius, 92 BCE, Rome mint. Obv.: Diademed female head (Diana?)* right, wearing necklace; BALA behind, control mark "R" below chin / Rev.: Diana in biga of stags right, holding sceptre and reins in left hand and flaming torch in right, with quiver over shoulder; control-mark (grasshopper) below stags; C•ALLI in exergue; all within laurel wreath. Crawford 336/1b; RSC I Aelia [Allia] 4 (ill.), Sear RCV I 221 (ill.), Sydenham 595, BMCRR 1742-1771 [no control-letter "R"]. 17 mm., 3.88 g.**



* Varying identifications of obverse head: Crawford ("female head r., wearing diadem"); RSC I ("female head (Diana?)"); BMCRR (same); Sear RCV I ("female deity").

** Moneyer otherwise unknown. See BMCRR p. 238 n. 2: "This type may refer to the annual festival in honor of Diana held on the Aventine, where her temple stood, and at which torch races occurred. . . . C. Allius Bala was apparently the first moneyer to introduce a symbol as a mint-mark in conjunction with a letter."

 

Great acquisitions, @happy_collector !

Helena, was a remarkable person. Archeology articles and a History Channel episode about her effort to find the “True Cross” in Jerusalem, fascinated me — fueling my interest in Holy Relics and Biblical coins.

 

Thanks, Ryro. Your Helena coins have great portraits.

Great additional information. Thanks!

Imagine how many commercial transactions the coin must have gone through...

You also have one with the grasshopper! Nice! Thanks for the additional info regarding this coin design.

I read more about the history regarding Helena after my purchase. Great effort to locate the "True Cross". This reminds me of the "True Cross Tokens" that come up onto the coin market once a while. I wonder if the background history of the tokens (part of True Cross burnt to ash, mixed and pressed into tokens) is real, or it is just a marketing strategy to promote these tokens.

 

Great coins, @happy_collector!

Here's a stag biga that will probably make my top 10 list this year.


Julia Mamaea, AD 222-235.
Roman provincial Æ 28.5 mm, 11.90 g, 5 h.
Ionia, Ephesus, AD 222-235.
Obv: IOVΛIA MAMAIA CЄB, draped bust, right, wearing stephane.
Rev: EΦЄCIΩN ΠΡΩTΩN ACIAC, Artemis driving biga of stags right, holding bow and drawing arrow from quiver.
Refs: RPC VI, 4975 (temporary); Karwiese 804; SNG von Aulock --; SNG Copenhagen --.
Notes: Ex-Plankenhorn Collection of Ionian Coins, ex-Naumann Auction 91, lot 927, 7 May, 2020.

 

Yours is a very nice stag biga, @Roman Collector.

 

Excellent coins. Congratulations.
I particularly like the C. Allius Bala denarius although I hate insects. But not on coins. Interesting design!

Here is my only Helena coin. On the last auction I joined I wanted to add some LRBs from rulers that were missing from my collection. I picked the first one in the list and bought it, I would have preferred a coin with a different hairstyle but judging after the trend in auctions, I chose to pick this one and make sure I win it if the price remains decent. Usually I say "nah, I'll get the next one as it is better" and end up losing all.
This one has some silvering remaining on the reverse.



Helena. Augusta AD 324-330. Antioch
Follis Æ
19 mm, 3,71 g
From the Tareq Hani collection
RIC VII Antioch 82
Date Range: AD 327 - AD 329
Obv: FL HELENA – AVGVSTA, bust of Helena, wearing necklace and mantle, right / Rev: SECVRITAS – REIPVBLICE, Securitas, draped, standing left, raising robe with right hand and lowering branch with left hand. MintMark: -/-//•SMANTS

 

@happy_collector......Nice coins!
I don't own a stag biga but here's my Helena from the Siscia mint...

Helena AE3 (19mm, 3.30g). Struck 326-327 AD
Obv- FL HELENA AVGVSTA, Diademed and draped bust right.
Rev- SECVRITAS REI PVBLICE, Securitas standing left, holding olive branch in extended right hand.raising hem of robe with left hand. Mintmark dot ΓSIS dot. RIC VII Siscia 204; Sear 16609.

 

Cool coins.
No stag biga here, but Helena, yes !


Heraclea mint, 5th officina
FL HELENA AVGVSTA, draped and diademed bust right
SECVRITAS REIPVBLICE, Helena standing left, holding branch and raising her dress. dot SMHE dot at exergue
2.9 gr
Ref : Cohen # 12, LRBC # 879

Q

 

Nice Helena coin with silvering. The reverse design has good details.

Your Helena has a similar hairstyle as compared to mine, but from different mint. Nice!

Great portrait. I like the detailed reverse design, with a lot of silvering.