Hi all, Reading through this forum it would appear that many here like mystery coins. I have one that has bugged me for weeks now. The Obv is a standard Constantinople commemorative and the Rev is similar to many of the Victory standing left patterns on WildWinds. The real sticking point is the mark in ex. on the Rev, it appears to read SMANI, SHANI, or SNANI. I can find nothing even close to this anywhere and it is really bugging me. It can out of a lot I bought off of ebay in 2002 and am just now getting around to. It had some really nice pieces including an AE3 of Constantia (Obv identified, still working on Rev.) I tried to get a good photo of the coin but since I have only been taking coin pictures for about three weeks now, please don't judge to harshly. Thanks!
Celibate1,I can't tell whether or not that is either a Roman coin or a Byzantine coin,as early Byzantine coins are very similar to Roman coins in terms of style. Aidan.
Reply to Aidan Work Thanks for the quick response. If you go to the "WildWinds Graphical Partial Legend Search Engine" and type in CONSTANTINOPOLIS you will find many examples similar to mine, only the lettering in ex. is different. I have been thinking maybe it is a provincial issue of some type or possibly a barbaric counterfeit.
The name 'Constantinopolis' appears on Greek Imperial coins that were issued under the Romans,as well as on those issued by the Byzantine Empire. Aidan.
Thanks Thanks Aidan Work, I will add those categories to my things to check. I thought there might possibly be a connection with early Byzantine myself but found very little info. The Greek angle I had not thought of. Thanks!
Celibate, The mintmark is Antioch,one of which is SMAN.As is the case of the Siscia mint described below,sometimes an extra letter was added to the mint mark to identify the officina or workshop.I suspect that the "I" is one of these. Constantinople Commemorative / Victory with shield on prow of ship. Siscia mint 334-5 AD RIC 241 For several years following the founding of the city of Constantinople a series of coins was produced honoring the event. The obverse shows the helmeted personification of the city and bears the legend CONSTANTINOPOLIS. The reverse shows Victory with spear and shield and her foot on a prow. The only reverse legend is the mintmark: here .BSIS combines the workshop #2 'B' with the first three letters of the mint name. These coins were produced by the millions and are common from SEVERAL mints. The second pic is yours: http://www.ruark.org/coins/Roman/6Constantinian/CityCommem.html
Mikjo0, Bullseye! That is the coin. Figures I would spend so much time and effort on not only a common type coin, but one that is a pretty poor specimen. The one in the resource picture (the resource you very kindly provided, thank you) is many grades superior to my coin. Thanks again for the info and the new resource!
Hello celibate1 I think Mikjo0 has got it almost in every way. The only thing is the mintmark : I think it is SMANT and not SMANI. Sometimes the T looks like an I (and M looks like H) and it stands fo Sacra Moneta ANTioch Cucumbor
Right,in fact there were two city commems issued beginning in 330 AD,one for Constantinople and one for Rome,so they wouldn't feel left out. In all the excitement,I almost forgot I had this one. Cucumbor,can you make out the mintmark on it? I want to say Siscia but what do you think? http://tjbuggey.ancients.info/mints.html
Hello Mikjo0 You're right for Siscia. Your mintmark is .BSIS. Siscia mint, second officina. According to LRBC (late roman bronze coinage) it is #751, minted circa AD 330-335 Hope it helps Cucumbor
