AE4 of Marcian - Monogram reverse

Added another scarce 5th century Roman bronze to my collection, this time its of Eastern Roman Emperor Marcian (ruled 450-457 AD), and will be my second coin of him. If you notice, it still has a clear mintmark, unlike many other coins of him (or most other late Roman nummi for that matter) which lack it partially or completely.

Interesting fact about Marcian: Unlike his predecessor, Theodosius II, who gave gold tribute to the Huns to keep them off the Eastern Romans' backs, Marcian actually stood up to Attila the Hun and, instead of gold, offered him iron (in the form of weapons, which was his way of saying "bring it on!").

More on his life and reign: http://www.unrv.com/emperors/marcian.php

Obv: DN MARCIANVS PF AVG
Rev: Monogram of Marcian within wreath, CON in ex, Constantinople mint

 

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that's cool VK, i hadn't even heard of this guy. nice! :thumb:

 

:hail:

"Bring It On!!"

... cool coin, Jango (oh, and great tid-bit of knowledge)

 

Hard to find. Congrats.

 

Thanks fellas!

 

BTW nice coin.

 

A fascinating piece..

Especially the History

:thumb:

 

Thanks Anoob and windchild!

 

I like everybody's choice of coins on this forum, but I'm particularly interested in yours, VK. I think we have a kindred spirit in searching out unusual, off-the-beaten-path collections. The link in your first post was a good read. If more Roman rulers were interested in avoiding conflict and developing civilization, like Marcian, the empire may have lasted longer. He even has the rare distinction of being a Roman emperor that died of natural causes.

 

The pressures from outside of the borders of the Empire is a major reason for the collapse. Appeasement has never been the answer.

 

No indeed. I agree completely. And Marcian stood up to Atilla, as well he should have. I should have clarified my comment by commending him for avoiding internecine conflict, with which the Romans seemed plagued throughout their history. It could be said that they were in a constant state of civil war.

 

You are so correct when referring to the internal conflicts of Roman history. Power and greed!

 

Update: Soon after I bought it, the seller offered to send me a better looking Marcian for no extra charge. I accepted and here is the coin I got. I think he was right; IMO it looks more attractive than the above coin:


Kind of hard to see, but the tops of the letters CHE are visible, indicating it's from Thessalonika.

 

Yah, I think this version has a bit more detail and it looks like it may be a bit better centered as well?

=> thumbs-up, Jango

:thumb::thumb:

 

It's definitely a grade above the one you originally bought, and the patina is beautiful.

I wish I could find a dealer that sent me free upgrades!

 

Did the seller offer a reason for the change? It's most unlikely he would upgrade just because he's a nice guy even though we all can hope there are still people like that in this world.

 

I find interesting the fact that the editors of RIC Volume X that covers this period realized the fact that so many coins are missing the mintmark that a volume like VI-IX requiring you to first know the mint would be very hard to use. In this case page 282 shows first a set of drawings of the 7 reverse monograms followed by listings of the six mints that issued this type coin. It really was the only way that makes sense for these coins. We are lucky that these monograms can be read when there are no letters left on the obverse. It is rare to find a coin that has obverse legend, reverse mintmark and is good looking (surfaces). RIC lists 35 variations on these coins but I'd guess fewer than 5% of the coins you see could be attributed clearly to which variation showing the details that separate them.

Constantinople is most common. My example is RIC 545 (monogram 2, cross above and a trace of the CON mintmark) and most common of all the types. I bought it for the obverse.


The free gift coin confirms as RIC 535 (CHES and cross but monogram 1). Monogram 1 differs from #2 in that it lacks the L at the bottom of the right leg of the M seen on the common CON variation.

 

I've known him a long time now and he has helped me loads with my collecting, through selling me coins and giving me tips and info. He's been very nice to me and has always come through with my collecting needs. I feel I have a very good dealer-buyer relationship with this seller. So I'm sure he just did it out of being nice.

 

Also, just to be clear, the second coin wasn't a freebie. I paid for the first one, but then I got the second coin sent instead of the first one.

 

I have that kind of relationship with a couple of dealers/sellers. Good for you. :thumb: