Last year was an odd one for me, and I found far fewer interesting coins than in the previous year, which, combined with our purchasing of our first house, led to me posting here a lot less. Now we're moved in, and I am starting to have a bit of time to myself, I thought I'd post a few of my purchased from last year, and one from this year, to share where my collection has been going. RIC 124 IMP C ALLECTVS P F AVG LAETITIA AVG QC 3.03g, 20mm A nice and complete Laetitia galley coin of Allectus to complement my other Allectus coin with the figure of Laetitia on the reverse. LMCC 7.08.001 (VAR) CONSTANTINVS P F AVG SOLI INVICTO COMITI -/*/PLN 4.53g, 23.33 A little soft on the strike, but I couldn't resist a Superman Sol. In most of the many issues of Sol coins at London, Sol's cape drapes only to the right. Commonly in this particularly issue, for an unknown reason, Sol gets to play the super hero with a full flowing cape. LMCC 7.11.003 CONSTANTINVS P F AVG PRINCIPI IVVENTVTIS - Prince standing right, head right, in military dress, cloak hanging behind, spread, right holding transverse spear, left globe. */-/PLN 3.74g, 21.5mm Found Sleaford, Lincolnshire, purchased from the detectorist A rough but scarce coin in the star series that I actively collect, I was glad to add an unrepresented new type to my collection. LMCC 9.02.001, RIC 191 CONSTANTINVS AVG VIRTVS EXERCIT - Standard inscribed VOT/XX in two lines, standing on ground, captive seated on either side. PLN 3.77g, 19mm Found in Somerby, Lincolnshire, September 2012, purchased from detectorist. A nice example of a common type, but a type not yet represented in my collection. Other than some minor surface issues, which my photograph exacerbates, the strike is strong and looks like it was minted yesterday. Slightly off centre on the reverse, but that is very very common at London from the 9 series coins as the flans became smaller. LMCC 9.04.022 CRISPVS NOBIL C BEATA TRANQVILLITAS P/A/PLON 2.97g, 19mm A rare Crispus, and surprisingly my first Crispus coin. It's a shame that the strike is a little weak on the front, making the plume of his helmet faint, but again this is a common issue with these 9 series coins as they became more fiddly to handle. Otherwise it's in superb condition, and I'm happy to add it. LMCC 9.01.010 CONSTANTINVS P AVG VICTORIAE LAETAE PRINC PERP - Lozenge with dot pattern on altar 3.48g, 19.mm Ex Lodge Antiquities, VCoins Another series which I really like, and a very rare obverse legend variety not in the British Museum and known from a handful of examples, with a great strike in great condition. The first picture is mine and reflects the colour quite well, and shows the remaining silvering on the obverse. The second image is from the vendor which helps show the existing detail far better than mine. Not a bad haul, and I'm glad to have them all. Unfortunately an exciting addition, an 'Invasion Follis' of Constantius, had a massive outbreak of bronze disease in transit, and had to be returned. Hopefully another with crop up this year. Please share anything you feel relevant.
thejewk, That's an exceptional group of London Mint folles . My favorite is the Constantine I, VOT/XX follis. Both dies were superbly engraved & the coin was struck from fresh dies. Having the found info makes this coin extra special . Another nice feature with the last 5 coins is they all have the London mintmark. Dealers charge a hefty premium for that mintmark. My last coin of Constantine I is pictured below, it was struck on a large flan & also has the PLN mintmark. Constantine I, (struck AD 307-310), London Mint. Billon Nummus: 28 mm, 6.57 gm, 8 h. C & T 5.04.003. Ex Italo Vecchi Collection.
@Al Kowsky That's a lovely example. I only have the Maximianus 'second reign' issue of the early Genio Pop ROM types, so it is on my list. Nice provenance too.
Here's a couple additional types of Constantine I from the London mint: London mint, A.D. 307-310 RIC 108 Obv: IMP CONSTANTINVS P F AVG Rev: MARTI PAT-RI PROPVG - Mars, holding transverse spear and shield PLN in exergue 24 mm, 7.4 g. A.D. 310-312 RIC 195 Obv: CONSTANTINVS P F AVG Rev: CONCOR-D MILIT - Concordia holding standard in each hand PLN in exergue; star in right field 23 mm, 4.2 g. A.D. 312-313 RIC 246 Obv: CONSTANTINVS P F AVG Rev: FELICIT-A-S AVGG NN - Roma, helmeted, seated left, holding globe in left hand, raising branch with right PLN in exergue; star in left field 23 mm, 4.2 g. A.D. 312-313 RIC 277 Obv: CONSTANTINVS P F AVG Rev: SECVRI-TAS AVGG - Securitas, standing, head turned left, with legs crossed; holding right hand on head and leaning left arm on column PLN in exergue; star in left field 23 mm, 4.5 g.
You should be able to track down the first two types without too much difficulty. The second two are more challenging.
I just got an example of a London minted ancient. It's my first from London and the first ancient I identified by myself. It was listed as a follis of Licinius I. I had to figure out the rest. I know for some, it isn't that difficult to do, but I'm new to ancients, so I was pretty proud of myself. My terrible photos plus an example of the coin from Numista with info.
Nicely done! It's good practice to attribute coins yourself, and it gets easier the more you do it. Here's my example of that type: