Constantine ready for battle (or if the helmet fits, wear it)

TIF, Nice artwork. The two angels on the reverse look like they may be telling dirty jokes .

 

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Arles too knew this type. Like Siscia there are a lot of different decoration types of the altar; they mark the various different issues. This one is not known in RIC nor in Ferrando.

Frans

 

Rated R5 all the way, and posted by myself before, the following coin was also struck in Siscia, @Archeocultura. From my old folders, I can't resist to post the Great Warier in the History of Rome.

 

Thanks so much for the benie creation, it's just to much fun for words; I really got to laff out ,loud. Made my day. I love that style as well.

Attached is a Roman version of a pencil neck geek.

 

I do. The last I'd heard, the general consensus was that the coin was legitimate. Do you know if that is still the glearned opinion? Because it always bothered me that the letters in his name appeared squashed above and near the hat. I've never seen or heard of a coin of Constantine's where the letters in his name were squashed to accommodate the obverse portrait.

By the way, it's been a long time since I've heard anything from/about Zach Beasly. Is he still active, perhaps on another forum? He always had a lot of interesting coins.

 

Bronko would approve

 

"I'd go into battle myself, but see, I've just spent 2 hours polishing this helmet..."

 

Fancy one yourself? The seem to turn up with regularity. Here is one currently for sale.

 

Lest someone think the Zach Beasley example is also fake, some would say so, but the evidence seems to favour genuine. See e.g. this discussion on @Victor_Clark's LRB forum: http://www.lateromanbronzecoinforum.com/index.php?topic=571.0

 

Nice OP


Constantine The Great, AE3 - Ticinium mint, 3rd officina
IMP CONSTAN - TINVS MAX AVG, Draped, cuirassed bust of Constantinus right, wearing laureate helmet
VICTORIAE LAETAE PRINC PERP, Two victories, holding shield on wich is written VOT/PR, resting on cippus. TT at exergue
3.2 gr
Ref : RC #3883 var

Q

 

Nice helmeted busts of Constantine I. Here are three from Siscia:

 

Nice helmutts everyone
Another one from Arles, right facing on this one.

A nice reverse to compliment the OP's coin, also from Siscia.

 

I think Constantine was a Shriner...

 

Yes, this is an interesting and attractive coin type. Here's a nice Siscia example:



I tried to look it up here, but there are too many varieties, and I can't quite read the exergue.

One can find dozens of nice barbarous imitations, too:

 

These coins have always interested me I basically have two of them. The first is one of the billon Argentii???? from the mint of Trier. The second is an aes from Sisca. The interesting part about this one is the small horseman riding down an enemy on his shield

 

So many nice helmeted examples.
Here is my favorite:

 

Quite a plain looking coin but fairly well preserved in decent style

Constantine the Great - AE3

Obv:- IMP CONSTAN-TINVS MAX AVG, Laureate helmeted cuirassed bust right
Rev:- VICTORIAE LAETAE PRINC PERP, Two Victories holding shield inscribed VOT PR over Altar. Star on Altar
Minted in Ticinum, (//ST). A.D. 319
Reference:- RIC VII Ticinum 87

 

There are some emperors where the appearance of a helmet is a bit scarcer.....





And then there's Probus who must have had a whole truck full of different helmets......

 

Here's a example with a decorated helmet on a D6 bust (Laureate, helmeted, cuirassed). This is special because the helmet on this type is usually plain.




here is the standard type






though sometimes you can find a star





or a plain dot