Newp: Constantius II Phoenix

My first phoenix reverse. How'd I do?

 

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Whooo-Doggy => well, I think that it's gorgeous!!

 

Nice coin. Is it that green?

 

I don't know - it was tonight's eBay score. Seller's images - we'll see. I'm not overly concerned about the color since the coin has nice surfaces and good detail.

 

Oh, I agree. The surface looks very nice. It appears to have a hard patina which, in my mind, is a good thing. But they usually come in brown or green, and I suspect this one will be green. That being said, I have purchased what appeared to be green patina but turned out to be brown in hand. Either color is fine. I think the color is very dependent on where it has laid for the past 2K years.

 

Good color and detail, another fun coin for the collection...

 

Great patina!

 

Nice coin but I am confused by the quote above moved in from the Probus post. RIC lists your coin as #231 on page 366 of volume VIII and assigns it a C2 frequency rating. Constans is #232 and C4. I don't have either. I do have a Constans 242 with the rosette diadem and is not listed for Constantius. The Rosette model needs a chain of rosettes along the diadem not just the big central jewel. Mine is one with the officina letter repeated at the end in the local alphabet. See update below.

 

Well see Doug, that's the problem with talking about RIC without owning it. I'm using one dealer's comments to correct another's - the blind leading the blind. Thank you for the clarification, and I'm going to shut up about RIC now until I have the volumes in hand.

So is mine pearl-diademed?

 

Yes.

 

that's a fine lookin' coin (yours also DS), the patina looks looks awesome.

 

Update/retraction:
Looking again I am suspecting that the OP coin is not showing the asterisk/star following the SIS but is also what RIC calls a 'strange group of signs, apparently equivalent to numerals 1-5.' Between patina on yours and roughness on mine the exact match seems uncertain but I really believe they might be a match for the E=5 workshop squiggle. I that is right, your coin would be RIC 240 rather than the 231 which needs the less fancy dot. I apologize for my error but this shows that using RIC with the book in hand requires care, too. I'd like to see a really nice example with clear marking just to be sure. RIC has a small pen and ink drawing of the mark but no photo. acsearch has a couple from shop 4 with a different final symbol but no shop 5.
http://www.acsearch.info/record.html?id=151358

 

I'll take as clear a pic as I can when I get it - it was shipped today.

So if the last sign is a number, what is the script? Some sort of ancient Celtic, or Proto-Slavic? Or something unique to the coins?

 

As I understand it, the theory is the letters were local to Siscia before Roman times but I am not sure if that language survives today. That would require research.

 

From wildwinds


Symbols used by the Siscia mint.
* = vars not in RIC

 

Hey, thanks Randy. Looks decidedly like a variation of Phoenician, which would make sense for the area.

 

Constans AE3
Siscia Mint
337-350 AD
Diameter: 19 mm
Weight: 2.36 grams
Obverse: D N CONSTANS P F AVG, pearl diademed draped and cuirassed bust right
Reverse: FEL TEMP REPARATIO, Phoenix radiate, standing on rocky mound




Hey, I'm no Indiana Jones, but I think this example of mine goes like this:

Bust = 5
Obverse = 10
Reverse = 5
Type = 31
Mint = 12

ΓSIS and then a symbol in exergue

=> ummmm, your guess is as good as mine on the symbol?

RIC 241 (VIII Siscia) LRBC 1134

 

Randy's list shows Steve's symbol as #3.

 

So after I won this piece, the dealer contacted me and said he had put another variety up for auction: a phoenix-on-globe type. I managed to secure that one as well.



I'm quite pleased with myself over these two coins. I looked at listings for all the phoenix types I could find, and most dealers were charging twice as much for coins with significant problems. I guess this type is less common than others?

 

I almost bid on that last one but am glad I did not since it went to a good home. The Phoenix is less common that the other FTR types because it was the smallest of the three original denominations. Inflation being worse then than it is now, it was no time until the smaller coins were not considered useful and the larger denominations were reduced in size. The Phoenix types should be of similar scarcity to the falling horsemen with A in the fields that weigh close to 5g. Picky people would say this last coin has a problem with those edge nips but the fact that I was considering bidding on it should suggest that I thought it was a deal. I might have been swayed a bit by the fact I have a couple similar coins so I might prefer a really significant upgrade if I am buying another. IMHO the two should look nice together to demonstrate the rocks and globe options. Congratulations.