Auction win: with 'serpent'

The mail delivered today my one and only win from the recently closed VAuction in which I paid too much but got the coin I wanted. Did anyone else buy something there?

We usually pay too much when we insist on getting what we want. I know who the underbidder was and it surprised me that they were willing to pay as much as they bid so perhaps I am just completely out of touch with the realities of the auction world. Other coins in the sale went cheaply but this was the one I wanted for my 'set'. The photo is about correct. The obverse has some roughness but the reverse is better. Overall the tone is brown. The seller used black and white photos and I can not say that color adds anything to the appeal of the coin. Here I copy and past the 'catalog' description.

Constantine II. As Caesar, A.D. 317-337. Æ follis (19 mm, 2.90 g, 12 h). Rome, A.D. 320. CONSTANTINVS IVN NOB C, laureate, draped and cuirassed bust of Constantine II right / ROMAE AETERNAE, Roma seated right on shield, holding another shield inscribed X/V in two lines; R(coiled serpent)CS. RIC 200. Dark brown patina, reddish deposits on obverse. Good very fine.

I admit being more than a little grossed out by the description in one regard but I'm still happy to have it. RIC dodges the question of the serpent but I have never been a grand fan of RIC. They also talk around for a page on the order of the issues of 320 without addressing why coins of the Augusti and the Caesars show XV on the shield while the other issue of the day (below) used appropriately different Vota numbers for the two classes of rulers. I do not understand many things and RIC is on my list.

To avoid starting an argument of global warming proportions, I'll delay explaining the 'serpent' here and ask one of you to help me out. Below are the others in my set. I totally lack Licinius II who also issued 'serpents'.

 

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Great looking coin Doug....

My sole Licinius II is of no help....

The 'coiled serpents' are something I have never heard discussed or mentioned before in any auction i browsed through. Naturally, I just reexamined what i have and they are not among my modest holdings---my sole Licinius II with a standard campgate reverse and Heraclea mint....Sorry.

 

what a cool mint mark, i was not even aware of the serpents.

now on the list!

 

I have to admit I'm in the company of Mikey and Chris. I've not seen nor heard of the coiled serpent mintmark

 

Never seen that mintmark either, cool!

 

It's a cryptogram.

 

An anagram, a pallindrome and a pun all in one.

 

The Roma-Seated coins of the Constantines are by no means common. I passed on one of Constantine I recently, because the desert patina looked fake. Very nice find, and a marvelous set of snakes.

 

I have posted on each of mine a I have acquired them but realize I am in the minority of finding them interesting enough to pay a premium for the mintmark. Whether they sell for nothing or a lot depends on how many people are bidding on that sale.
The 'serpent' is a ligate form of the Greek letters epwc or eros = love. Latin for that is amor which spelled backwards is roma or the name of the city that struck the coin. There are very few imagination heavy mintmarks. Probus has the EQVITI series; Diocletian and Maximianus have the I O VI and HP KOY LI series. I collect them when I can.

 

Have to admit I wouldn't have known I was looking at a coiled serpent without being told exactly what it was. But I'm finding it a desirable LRB even without the serpent.

 

That is indeed fascinating! Thanks for sharing this information, although you just raised the type's desirability (read: cost) considerably by pointing out this unusual feature .

 

Nice!! => yah, I'm a super-fan of that sweet coiled serpent!! (well played, my coin-friend)

... it is not obvious (I admit that I didn't immediately see the coiled serpent, but now that I know what I'm looking for => "bam" there it is!!)

... again, it's pretty cool (congrats) ... no, I didn't score anything in that auction (I'm on a budget!!)

 

I had my first one for several years before I first posted on them but no one reads my pages so the secret is safe. There is a horrid condition Licinius II out there now but I'm not that desperate. The underbidder on mine has a lesser one for sale on his site for less than he bid. They are not as rare as I once thought.

 

Great find Doug! I'd post mine but I traded it

 

I believe it became a denarius of Commodus which 99% of sensible people would prefer. I hope you still like it.

 

Still do