I got another FH in the mail today witn an "interesting spear puncture area" to quote Mat. I feel kinda bad for the horse. Constantius II DN CONSTAN-TIVS PF AVG Constantius II pearl-diademed, draped, cuirassed bust right, Delta behind. FEL TEMP RE-PARATIO soldier spearing Horseman, bare-headed, reaching, reaching ALEΓ in ex. Alexandria 75 var (headwear) I also picked this one up, nothing special but it took me a while to find oficina Theta. I'll have to check but I think I'm 14/15 oficina for Antioch. I need "AN Delta I" now. Constantius II AE 2, (5,39 g / 21 mm) obverse D N CONSTAN-TIVS P F AVG, pearl-diademed, draped and cuirassed bust right; reverse FEL TEMP RE-PARATIO, Gamma in left, soldier spearing Horseman,hair in braids, bearded, reaching back towards soldier, AN Theta in ex Antioch 132
@randygeki that coin is so sweet. Constantius II has quite the long face, and the poor horse either had an unfortunate battlefield wound or the guy is a vet with a thermometer checking the temperature of the horse. I'd love to think it's the later rather than the former.
Perhaps we might consider these an addition to FH1 through FH4 and invent a term for Roman the veterinary services shown. "Vaccinators?" I'm not sure what number it would get since we have so many other coins that show differences from the usual 1-4 types.
Truth be told, I've always had difficulty discerning the difference between the fallen horseman and his mount. They always seem such a blobby mass with assorted limbs sticking out.
We could use fh1-4 but add numbers and letters to indicate differences. Like FH 3.4A. http://www.forumancientcoins.com/dougsmith/fh.html
Cool coin @randygeki - I checked my FTR's and didn't find any with the horse being speared, so the veterinarians out there don't have to be worried. Not so sure about the horsemen though, those guys look like goners to me.
I'd like to get some info on this coin.... Cannot find the M on any of the listed images here, but there are on some on the web. Can anyone give me the facts of this coin, time frame of coin and it's monetary value to the Romans, and today's value...
The M marked fallen horseman coins are late in the series, maybe after Gallus even. So I think your choices are it’s either Constantius II or Julian.... and with the diadem, it’s Constantius II. Oh and my guess at mint Mark may be ANE? Antioch... I have no idea if this is right but it seems to end in “ANE” **Edit addition: that would make this coin RIC 190. As for value... taking a wild guess: Ancient times=loaf of bread... Now=loaf of bread.
Thanks for the fast reply and I like the value quote... for then and now... got a chuckle from me.... Where did you see the ANE... If that is what is below the horse it looked more like AN and the symbol like the one on the FH3 image above....Not sure what the symbols stand for since all four in the image above are different...
Yep, it’s actually not an “E” but the Greek letter epsilon. AN=Antioch, Epsilon=workshop 5 (A=1, B=2, Gamma=3, Delta=4, Epsilon=5). Also yes below the horse and rider at the bottom of the reverse. These coins are packed with fun little details.. you could (and many here do) spend years studying them! The FH1, FH2... images above... FH=fallen horseman=this type of coin or in the image’s case the actual position of the fallen horseman (ie: fallen, on his back, reaching, clutching the the horse.. etc.) Your’s is FH3 or reaching back at the guy spearing him.
I like the Roman veterinarian idea. A well-armed Roman veterinarian. Taking the horse's temperature. That should make it PETA-friendly.