An interesting Constantius II Campgate

As you guys probably know, I'm not really big into Late Roman bronzes. But every once in a while I see one that really catches my attention.


Constantius II
Ae3 Trier Mint
18.83 mm, 3.46g
326 CE
Obverse: bust laureate draped and cuirassed left.
Reverse: PROVIDENTIAE CAESS: Camp gate, STR (pellet in crescent) in exergue.
RIC VII 480, S

Although the reverse is fairly typical of the time period, the bust here is not your usual Constantius II bust from later in his reign. This one is fantastic in that it shows plenty of armour and cape on the prince, and also a cool Beatles haircut 1700 years before it became fashionable amongst the 1960s youths. And that's what I look for Late Roman Bronze coins, a wow factor that is able to overcome my usual apathy for these coins.

And here's daddy and brother Constantine II...




Feel free to post anything you deem relevant.

 

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Constantius II
Ae3 Cyzicus mint SMKA.
326-327 CE
Obverse: FL.IVL.CONSTANTIVS.NOB.C. Laureate, draped & cuirassed bust left.
Reverse: PROVIDENTIAE.CAESS. Campgate with 7 rows, two turrets, no doors, star above. RICVII #48.

 

@Sallent .. those are spectacular coins... I started with uncleaned LRBs (as many do) . Kind of got the "done that" feeling and moved to other areas of collecting - which is super enjoyable... but I have recently started to appreciate the fine quality LRB coins you can obtain at reasonable prices. Yours are amazing and above mine, but I certainly enjoy being able to acquire coins with nice portraits and full legends that I cannot readily afford in most other categories...

But man - that Constantius II is another level!!

 

I agree, some really nice coins to be had for a lot less money than other Roman eras.

I really love your Licinius I. I'm properly jealous.

Anyway, here's my current Licinius I, which is nice, but doesn't have the imperial bust with tiny hands (like yours). That style is one which is in my want list.


Licinius I

 

Nice baby faced Constantius II, great pick up Sallent.

CONSTANTIUS II, as Caesar. 324-337 AD. Æ Follis (20mm - 3.5 g). Arles/Constantia mint. Struck 329 AD. FL IVL CONSTANTIVS NOB C, diademed, draped and cuirassed bust left / VIRTVS CAESS, camp-gate with open doors and four turrets, star above; T-F//PCONST. RIC VII 335 (r4); LRBC 345.

 

Great coin @Ancient Aussie .. that Campgate with doors open is really special.

 

A very similar one caught my eye a while ago... good taste! Mine has more poodly shoulder pads & therefore looks somewhat sillier IMO.

 

Great coin @Severus Alexander !!... haven't seen "shoulder pads" like that on a coin.. haha - really excellent.

Reminds me of the '80's/early '90s .... awesome!


Oh to be in my twenties again!

 

@Clavdivs

I looked in my collection and remembered I have a Crispus just like yours too. Different Officina though.




And since I never get to post my LRBs (given that I don't have many to share to begin with), might as well also throw my Maximiam out there for everyone to see. This is probably only the third time over the last 2 years that I share this coin.



Maximian is an early Follis though, so it's huge. This was right before they shrunk the Follis down, so it's thin, but roughly the size of an As I think.

It's like you say, these coins really do present a golden opportunity to add superb examples for not a lot of money. The most expensive of my LRBs was around $80, but most are around $50 or so.

 

Yeah, I'm picky about the LRBs that I buy. Since they are not really my cup of tea, I like for the ones I do buy to really stand out. For other periods, such as earlier Roman coinage and Greek coinage, I don't mind having some worn or "roadkill" coins with defects. Those are the periods I collect, so I take whatever comes my way and I'm not too picky. But LRBs have to be super eye catchy for me to collect.

 

That's a great obverse. I really like the Trier mint busts from this period.

This ex stevex6 campgate is one of elder bro Constantine II from Arles. Quite a different style!

 

I love the open gates. Stevex6 had some fantastic coins. I miss the guy.

 

Great coin! I have a matching one of Constantine II. These Trier campgates do have some great busts.



I have another one with a cool bust from Antioch. The surfaces are a bit weird due to some some old harsh cleaning but it's still a cool obverse bust of Constantius II.

 

No Beatle here.. Call him what you guess.

 

Now that is a very nice LRB coin @Sallent !

Yesterday I was doing my coin BD check and I came across this coin I forgot I had, I don't think I ever took a pic of it so I just did this today.



Constantius II, 326-327 AD
O: FL IVL CONSTANTIVS NOB C, Laureate draped cuirassed bust left, R: PROVIDEN-TIAE CAESS, Camp gate with two turrets, star above; SMANT(gamma) in exergue. 3.2 g, 20 mm.

 

Wonderful coins!!

 

Here's another interesting and rare campgate. If I'm not mistaken it is the only bare-headed bust campgate and is not in RIC. My coin is linked on this "Not in RIC" page:
https://www.forumancientcoins.com/notinric/7nic-158_d.html


Here's a bit more modern coin with an ancient campgate. Got this for a cool 10 cents at a coin show.

 

Got it in the mail today, all the way from the UK. Coin is much brighter, photo was taken indoors.