This FEL TEMP barbarian and hut type has been around!

This one has been passed around like a doobie at a Phish concert! Formerly owned by @dougsmit and purchased from @John Anthony , it now resides in my collection. These coins are common and were produced by every mint in the empire for both Constans and Constantius II.

I know we have a thread about this a couple of times a year, but I wanted to show this one off. I like the Antioch style of this one.

Even though this issue has been well-studied, a number of questions about its reverse iconography remain. I encourage you to read this excellent article by our own @Gavin Richardson about these coins and how the reverse might be interpreted in light of book 2 of Vergil's Aeneid.

Post your FEL TEMP barbarian and hut types or anything you feel is relevant!


Constans, AD 337-350.
Roman billon light maiorina, 3.88 g, 19.6 mm, 5 h.
Antioch, sixth officina, AD 348-350.
Obv: D N CONSTA-NS P F AVG, pearl-diademed, draped and cuirassed bust, left, holding globe in right hand.
Rev: FEL TEMP REPA-RATIO, soldier advancing right, looking back, leading barbarian (child?) out of a hut beneath a tree and holding a spear in the left hand; * in upper left field, ANS in exergue.
Refs: RIC 128; RCV 18700; Cohen 19; LRBC II 2617.

 

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Great coin @Roman Collector . Here is another one from Antioch.



I think this reverse image could be a reference to Constans’ policy of taking high born barbarian hostages, which was probably effective considering how successful he was as a military leader. The iconography seems to make it clear that the larger figure is the emperor himself and an analysis of the mint activity indicates that this scene was clearly a reference to an achievement of Constans and not Constantius II who appears less frequently on the type. I think this hostage taking policy might then have been weaponized by his enemies who were opposed to his homosexuality. Aurelius Victor accuses him of indecent behavior with “handsome barbarian hostages” which pretty much confirms that he took hostages from the tribes he campaigned against.

 

There was a time I intended to get a set of these by mint and emperor but interest waned and I started selling off the ones I found less appealing. My page on the FTR coins was written in 2000 which was when I was photographing the Failmezger book plates and trying to convince myself that there was a place for me in the fourth century.

Part 3 - The Barbarian and the Hut




The middle denomination of the FEL TEMP REPARATIO group was distinguished by the use of left facing bust portraits holding a globe in the hand. These AE2 coins were only slightly smaller than the largest denomination but contained less silver in the alloy and were probably valued at half the large Galley and Falling Horseman coins they accompanied. The reverse scene shows a soldier leading a small barbarian from a hut located under a 'tree'. The interesting point on these coins is that they were issued by 13 different mints and each used a different type tree (branch, shrub or plant). Perhaps botanists will be able to identify the species intended. Coins without mintmarks can be placed by the style of the tree and hut. The type was used more commonly for Constans but Constantius II versions also exist. Our illustration above shows an obverse of Constans (far left) and Constantius II (second coin) followed by reverses from six different mints. Like the Falling Horsemen, these coins often show field letters or stars that distinguish issues but, like the Galley type, the Huts were discontinued on the death of Constans so the variation in sizes is much more limited than with the Falling Horseman series.

 

I have far too many of these hut coins (more than 40 anyway) after starting to avidly collect them a few years back. I haven't bought one in a while.

Here are my three Antioch mint examples. All Constans. Three different officina. The second showing the cape flowing behind the emperor.

 

Here is my mixed emperor set.

 

Here my mint set for Constans














And an imitative