Inspired by the similar thread started by Orange Julius:- https://www.cointalk.com/threads/fallen-horseman-ric-82-constantinople.340283/ I thought it would be interesting to see a similar thread of the equivalent issues from Antioch. RIC 132 is the reaching type and RIC 135 is the clutching type from the prolific Gamma issue. I have several officinae of each but will post one of each as a starter. Obv:– D N CONSTANTIVS P F AVG, Pearl diademed, draped, cuirassed, bust right Rev:– FEL TEMP REPARATIO, Helmeted soldier to left, shield on left arm, spearing falling horseman; shield on ground at right. Horseman is bearded and falls forward reaching towards emperor (type FH3) Minted in Antioch (Gamma | _ //ANS). A.D. 350-355 Reference:- RIC VIII, Antioch 132 Obv:- DN CONSTAN - TIVS P F AVG, Pearl diademed, draped and cuirassed bust right Rev:- FEL TEMP RE - PARATIO, Helmeted soldier to left, shield on left arm, spearing falling horseman; shield on ground at right. Horseman is bearded and falls forward clutching horse's neck (type FH4) Minted in Antioch. (Gamma | _ //ANB). A.D. 350-355 Reference:- RIC VIII, Antioch 135 How many officinae, sub-types and variations can we gather here?
I am sure that someone out there is building officina collections for these types. Something that should be fairly possible with enough time and determination. These are very common (Rated C4 by RIC) and come from 15 officinae (see scan from RIC below). If one is sufficiently interested then you can find several other details that can be found of interest in this series. The raching arm of the horseman is found in a variety of poses, the spear is seen in various positions relative to the horse and horseman, there are some minor variations in the shield being held by the emperor..... I am sure that more will not care about such detail but I think them an interesting insight into the freedom that was given to the engraver. If I take the RIC 132 (//ANS) example above as the base reference example then we have:- Reaching arm slightly bent passing thr spear, which is aimed at the base of the spine of the horseman, the shield being oval in shape with a small central boss, edged with a border of dots. Now //ANE and //ANI, which are almost identical in every regard except the reaching arm is to the left of the spear. Now //AN Theta, where the spear is being driven through the shoulder of the horseman Now a pair of //ANH, the first shows the horseman has his arm bent to 90 degrees and appears to be grabbing the spear, the shield has an additional ring of dots as decoration, the horsemans shield has some depth rather than being a simple oval of dots. the second horseman has his arm bent beyond 90 degrees with his hand almost shielding his face, the shield showing no evidence of a central boss.
A lot of great coins above! I like these types of threads and looking at the differences between coins of the same types. I have quite a few of these but apparently only two (poorly) photographed. RIC 135 where the horseman is clutching the horse’s neck and being speared in the back. RIC 132 where the horseman is getting a belly full of spear. I’ll see if I can photograph some more later!
The RIC 135s seem more homogenous. The minor deviations seem to occur in the detail of the shield on the floor and the hair of the horseman. My //ANB above shows the horseman with his hair in a single bunch; the rear leg of the horse extending past (in front of) the shield; the right foot of the emperor rests on the hind leg of the horse Here is an //ANS where the hair is in three bunches; the leg of the horse is tucked awkwardly (vertical) under the horse but away from the shield; the emperor rests his foot on the shield Here is an //ANH with the hair in two bunches; the horse is more compressed but the hind leg seems n a more natural position but still away from the shield An //ANGI with similar attributed but only two bunches Now an //AND, again with the hair in three bunches; the rear leg of the horse extends past the shield again but the right foot of the emperor rests on the shield
