I thought this one was lost in NY ISC (tracking still shows it there) and was happy to find in the mail today. Theres a few neat things about this one I like, but one feature that stood out enough for me to want to buy it. I thought it would interesting to let you all guess why Constantius II 5,55g // 22mm. D N CONSTAN-TIVS P F AVG, diademed, draped & cuirassed bust right / FEL TEMP REPARATIO, soldier standing left, spearing a fallen horseman, bearded, bare-headed, reaching, Gamma left, SMKB in ex. Cyzikus 95 A larger pic from the seller: And a few other coins Cyzikus to compare with:
Because the soldier is looking straight at us instead of the mimi-barbarian and tiny horse he is spearing?
I can appreciate Mat's beard answer but did you notice the horse does his hair in a matching three prong manner? I fear the soldier might have scalped a previous conquest because he has three similar prongs flying from the sword just below his shield. This coin has strange style. I have seen nothing like it. The soldier wears the fancy tasseled boots we've seen before but they are much less detailed than others. On the other hand, the portrait is very standard style and well done. Some coin!
Yes it was the three lines for the beard, on the horses head, and behind the sword that were to main feature I found most unusual making me wan't to buy it. The fancy boots were just a bonus. I like the cris-cross line work on bust too. The lines behind the sword are probably the cape, but I did entertain the idea that they were just line meant to convey motion (like in manga or anime). The horse also reminds me a bit of wile e coyote.
