FEL TEMP Friday! A Fallen Horseman thread.

Glenn, that's a wonderful Magnentius -- and a fascinating idea! I would love to find out it's the case. I went to check my few examples of “Emperor on horseback spearing enemy” types. When I flipped over my Magnentius -- lo and behold -- it turned out to be a Constantius II of the same type as yours (though usually attributed as “struck under Magnentius,” and in the name of Constantius II, not sure if there's any significance to that).


Roman Imperial. Constantius II (337 – 360) AE Maiorina (5.97g, 24.5mm, 12h). Rome, under Magnentius, 350.
Obverse: D N CONSTANTIVS P F AVG // A to left. Draped and cuirassed bust of Constantius to right, wearing laurel rosette diadem and holding globe in right hand.
Reverse: GLORIA ROMANORVM // * in upper right field // R B in exergue. Constantius on horseback to right, his horse galloping right over a shield and broken spear, spearing kneeling barbarian enemy wearing a Phrygian helmet with outstretched arms.
Reference: RIC VIII Rome 195-196, B.
Pedigree: Ex-Antonio Hinojosa Pareja (Lucernae Numismática, Alcalá la Real, Spain), purchased c. 2009-2014. (My description page for this coin.)

Even so, I’d be very interested to learn whether any particular conflicts were intended by the design. Relatedly, Nick Vanderveegh’s (2017; Revue Belge Numismatique) article on fallen horsemen argues that those issuing such bronze coins (I believe he says it’s procurator monetae or comites sacrarum largitionum in this period) often viewed the military as their primary audience. These were meant to celebrate the military's achievements and glory, and thus help build morale and loyalty to the emperor.

This particular image seems to be built upon an older design that appeared under various "VIRTVS..." legends, beginning with Probus (if not earlier). The Tetrarchs added a second fallen enemy underneath the horse (mine is a Galerius, Aquileia, c. 305). Constantine I also used this type (link to a CNG example, Aquileia, c. 306) – one that I’d love to pick up some day. (All of these fall under the umbrella term I use, “Barbarians, Captives, and Enemies”; in fact, I realize I need to update my collection page to include these ones.)


Roman Imperial Galerius (305 – 311) AE Follis (7.65g, 27mm, 6h). Aquileia Mint, 1st officina, struck 305/6.
Obverse: IMP MAXIMIANVS P F AVG. Laureate, helmeted and cuirassed bust left, holding spear over right shoulder, shield on left arm.
Reverse: VIRTVS AV-GG ET CAESS NN // AQP in exergue. Galerius on horseback right, holding round shield and spearing fallen enemy to lower right; another fallen enemy to lower left.
Reference: RIC VI 66b.
Pedigree: Ex-Nathan Hochrein / Holding History Coins (DiPere, WI USA; 15 Sep 2013). (My description page for this coin.)

Seems Magnentius re-adopted the design but replaced the second enemy with shield/broken spear, and switched the legend from VIRTVS AVG to GLORIA ROMANORVM.

One thing I seem to remember learning from collectors of the Tetrarch/Constantine types is that they may have had an at least oblique reference to Roman civil war. If so, it would makes sense that it would be used under Magnentius, since we know the Romans liked to pay homage to past coin designs and apply their meaning to current events. The fallen enemy, kneeling with outstretched arms, does appear to be wearing a helmet or cap (possibly Phrygian, but perhaps not?) that could provide a clue.

Designs showing civil war always seem a very touchy topic, even a bit taboo, for the Romans. The emperor would want to emphasize his victory, of course, but wouldn’t want to portray himself as fighting other Romans, even disloyal rebellious ones. Nonetheless, numismatic images presumably did, at times, allude to internal conflict and were read as such by the public. Even with Judaea c. 69-71, being a rebellious Province rather than a barbarian land, Vespasian (et al.) were cautious in how they portrayed the conflict on coins, despite Vespasian being obviously proud of it (e.g., depicting mourning Judaea Capta, but de-emphasizing the military combat itself, and rarely even portraying the captive with bound hands, though on some issues she/they were bound).

 

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I love the artwork on the fallen horsemen variety, I don't own any yet but I'm always on the look out for a nice one. I might even try to go for all the mints at some point.

 

Why didn’t they make these in silver ?

 

This coin was struck by Magnetius and Nepotian and when assigning RIC numbers, it is a bit arbitrary since the biggest difference between the issues is size, and there is overlap, i.e. Second series first group (Magnentius) RIC 195- 197 dia. 25- 26mm, second group (Nepotian) RIC 198- 200 dia. 23- 25mm, third group (Magnentius) RIC 204- 205 dia. 22- 24mm. There is likely no actual way to tell these coins apart.

 

A small hoard of Falling Horsemen, purchased from a Belgian collector, who originally bought it in Tunisia. From the fourth series of FHs and mostly from the Rome mint.

SC

 

Billon coins are essentially a small amount of silver in a conveniently-sized base metal carrying case.

 

Someone has already posted the academia.edu link to my article on Falling Horsemen.

Here is the link to an article on the coinage of Nepotian, and related chronological issues, in case it is of any interest.

https://www.academia.edu/41214464/Redating_Nepotians_Usurpation_and_the_Coinage_of_Magnentius

SC

 

This is great, can we have a Sol Sunday?

Constans I
AE Maiorina

constansi1 by Caesar_Augustus posted Feb 19, 2021 at 5:51 PM

348 - 350 A.D., Antioch Mint, 4th Officina
5.50g, 24.0mm, 12H

Obverse: D N CONSTA-NS P F AVG,
Bust of Constans, pearl-diademed, draped, cuirassed, right

Reverse: FEL TEMP REPARATIO,
Constans, draped, cuirassed, standing left on galley, holding phoenix on globe in right hand and standard with Chi-Rho on banner in left hand; steering the ship, seated Victory

Exergue: ✱/-//ANΓ

Provenance: Ex. Victor Clark 2019

Reference: RIC VIII Antioch 124

 

Wow, that's quite a group! Rome mint are not easy to find. It looks like at least 13 of the note cards show mintmarks for the Rome mint (most of the top 3 rows).

 

Great examples all. I have more of these than I'd care to state due to their prevalence in unclean "hoards". I'm intrigued by the shield types and wonder about the significance. In the Notitia Dignitatum some decades later there is a distinct shield type for each military unit depicted, so one wonders if this was in practice yet in the time of Constantius II.

For example:



Above image came from this website, which attempts to portray each shield type. If you google Notitia Dignitatum you can get distracted for hours reading all of the information contained in the document. With regard to the shield types, one of the issues is that the images are copies of copies, largely made in the Middle Ages, so accuracy can be a problem. The original Notitia Dignitatum was found in the parish cathedral of Speyer, Germany in the 16th century I believe, and this source document was inevitably a copy of earlier works.

 

Thank you for that. It's my first time really looking into this type (i.e., GLORIA ROMANORVM; Emperor on horseback). I just checked RIC VIII and I see what you've described (I copied the Second Group part, RIC 195-200 at the end for anyone interested, though it's the earlier paragraphs from p. 239-240 that really got my attention).

Reading the paragraphs at the start of the Rome section, Kent (p. 239-240, copied below, underlined in red) pointed out something important that I hadn't fully registered when looking at @gsimonel 's example (RIC 197, I think), above, and others online: The ones in the name of Constantius all have pointed caps/helmets (in the tradition of 3rd-4th century coins, suggesting an "Eastern" or Persian enemy, although Goths were occasionally portrayed with pointed caps), while the coins of Magnentius are all bareheaded enemies.



On this point, I'm reminded of @otlichnik 's article (2019, "Back in the Saddle Again...", linked earlier), and others', such as Failmezger's, regarding the different helmets and hairstyles of the FEL TEMP Fallen Horsemen. Perhaps Magnentius' bareheaded enemies are Germanic (as I seem to recall Caza & Failmezger identified the bareheaded fallen horsemen on the FTR series).

It's always one of the most fascinating details to me about "barbarians, captives, and enemies" on Roman Imperial coins: Little cultural details like armor often suggest the identity of the tribal/ethnic group being depicted.

For me, that revives my curiosity about @gsimonel 's point. Were they bareheaded because Magnentius' coins were depicting Germanic tribes, or perhaps even meant to suggest the mercenaries of Constantius II? (I thought I recalled both sides using "barbarian" mercenaries heavily, Franks on the side Magnentius, Goths / Germanic on the side of Constantius, but I don't know much about the details.) Of course, one would need other kinds of evidence, so it's just speculation. But, to paraphrase Kent, the difference does seem "remarkable" and quite worth taking note of.

(Below, just a section of RIC VIII, p. 265, identifying a few GLORIA ROMANORVM AE2s from Rome mint, including mine (195-6; and @gsimonel 's Magnentius, RIC 197). "Cs1" is Constantius II's obverse; "M1" for Magnentius; "N2" Nepotian.)

 

Interesting. I hadn't noticed this before. Surely there must have been some reason for this. I wonder if the average citizen handling these coins immediately grasped what the intended meaning was, even if this meaning is lost to us today.

 

I have gathered a few Rome mint FTR horsemen over the years. Here are some of the slightly more interesting ones (to me at least).

Constantius II

Obv:– D N CONSTANTIVS P F AVG, Pearl diademed, draped & cuirassed bust right; B behind bust
Rev:– FEL TEMP REPARATIO, Helmeted soldier to left, shield on left arm, spearing falling horseman; shield on ground at right. Horseman wears a Phrygian cap and falls forward clutching his horse.
Minted in Rome (S | _ //RQ).
Reference:- RIC VIII Rome - (Hybrid of RIC255/256 (Obverse) and RIC 266 (Reverse))

20 mm. 4.5 gms

Ex Collection Freimut Hüther (1935-2016)



Obv:– D N CONSTANTIVS P F AVG, Pearl diademed, draped & cuirassed bust right
Rev:– FEL TEMP REPARATIO, Helmeted soldier left, shield on left arm, spearing falling horseman; shield at ground to right. Horseman turns to face the soldier, and reaches his left arm up towards him. He is bare headed
Minted in Rome (//R Wreath P).
Reference:- RIC VIII Rome 309



Obv:– D N CONSTAN-TIVS P F AVG, Pearl diademed, laureate draped and cuirassed bust right
Rev:– FEL TEMP REPARATIO, Soldier spearing falling enemy horseman, soldier is bare headed, reaching towards the horseman
Minted in Rome (//R DOT M DOT Q).
Reference:– RIC VIII Rome 314 (S)



Constantius Gallus

Obv:– DN FL CL CONSTANTIVS NOB CAES, Bare, bust draped and cuirassed right (D behind bust)
Rev:– FEL TEMP REPARATIO, Soldier spearing fallen horseman, who is wearing a Phrygian cap, falling forward clutching his horse.
Minted in Rome (Gamma | _ // RE), 26th September A.D. 352 - 6th November A.D. 355. Third Series
Reference:– RIC VIII Rome 265 var (Listed for P and S both of which are R, Dane Kueth has a matching coin with E from different dies)


Julian II

Obv:– D N CL IVL-IANVS N C, Bare headed draped and cuirassed bust right
Rev:– FEL TEMP REPARATIO, Soldier spears a horseman on left, one hand holding the neck of the horse & the other back at his attacker
Minted in Rome (// R dot M dot S),
Reference(s) – RIC VIII Rome 315 (S)



Martin

 

Looks to me like he's strangling his horse.

 

Why isnt @randygeki in this thread? As I recall these fallen horsemen are his specialty. I have only one issued by Constantius II. It was part of the Bridgnorth hoard.


The hoard of almost 3000 coins contained a couple hundred of the double centenionalis with the Chi-Rho reverse that were struck by Magnentius that were well beyond my price range. It was a FTR fallen horseman for me.

 

AGREED! Great collection to Fallen Horseman. Where IS that Guy!

He has EVERY shield known to mankind!


Here are two Warriors fighting over a FALLEN Warrior

Roman Republic Minicuis Thermus 103 BCE AR Den Mars 2 Warriors fighting fallen S 197 Cr 319-1 Left

 

I protest the violence/animal cruelty (even if none were hurt in the making of this thread) with a FTR Ship O' State from Constans as the ice is already broken:



RIC VIII 99 Constans FTR from Aquilea, the city which saw the demise of Constantine II and Constans inheriting the West.

 

Indeed, @randygeki 's past posts on FH shields (among many other excellent details) are what prompted me to look for one, and thus how I ended up buying the first coin above and starting the thread (the decorated shield from Cyzicus).

Fantastically well-chosen example, @TheRed for a single Fallen Horseman! Not only a beautiful one, and a less-common PARL exergue, but from a noted hoard. Very cool coin.

I just looked around among all the AE3s I've got handy and it seems I don't have any (obvious) Rome examples. Well, I have to get working on that, Amiens, and a "barb" (I've got at least one ruler from the other 13 I'm aware of from Dane Kurth's list, though I could stand some improvements).

I'll just throw out what is perhaps my favorite in part because of the extraordinary weight (7.67g), at the very high end of the distribution for these (as noted below). Still need better photo and a bit more research:


Coin-in-hand video available here.

“The Gran Constantinople.” Roman Imperial. Constantius II (337 – 360) AE Maiorina (7.67g, 25mm, 12h). Constantinople mint, 348-351.

Obverse: D N CONSTANTIVS P F AVG. Pearl-diademed, draped and cuirassed bust, surrounded by border of dots.

Reverse: FEL TEMP REPARATIO // Γ to left // CONSE* in exergue. Soldier standing left, holding long oval shield and spearing fallen horseman; bearded horseman still astride his fallen horse, turning and reaching back with left arm (FH3), wearing short-brimmed Scythian helmet and ornate tunic and trousers. "Centering dot" between soldier and horse.

Reference: (EDIT, "Centering dot," and RIC 82 for FH3, not RIC 81) RIC 82

Pedigree: Ex-Bertolami Fine Arts Auction 37 (Rome, 19 September 2017), Lot 699 (corr.; print catalog, page 124) & Auction e-92 (London, 2 October 2020), Lot 1554.

Notes: Unusually large example, in terms of diameter (unusual to see virtually the entire “pearl-ring diameter” struck within the flan), but especially in terms of weight. Only a few larger examples of “Fallen Horseman” issues have been noted. Of approximately 405 (?) “Large AE2” (probably “Pecuniae Maiorinae”) examples from the Münzkabinett at Vienna measured by Kent (RIC VIII, p.65-71), one weighed approx. 7.7g and one 8.2g. However, this number included not only “Fallen Horsemen,” but also an unknown number of examples from the often-heavier issues such as the “Emperor Holding two Standards” type. Including also acsearch.info auction records of Constantius Gallus (of whom an 8+ g example was sold at Gitbud & Naumann) and Constans (for whom there are none), there seem to be only a handful of heavier examples published. Additionally, an exceptionally large 9.5g example from Cyzicus was reported by Doug Smith / @dougsmit , circa 1997.

 

that's a centering dot and does not affect the RIC number.

http://www.constantinethegreatcoins.com/dots/

 

I'm late to the party. :-o (And is tomorrow REALLY already Friday again?)

Below is my favorite FEL TEMP Fallen Horseman. It isn't exactly in stellar shape, but it is clear and complete enough to have brought me happy-times when I snagged it. As you can see it includes the LXXII mark and a Christogram. It falls in the "Fourth Series, September 352 - November 353" as per page 127 of the helpful and well-researched "Back In The Saddle Again: A re-examination of the FEL TEMP REPARATIO Falling horseman type" by @otlichnik


Ruler: Constantius Gallus
Mint: Aquileia (struck ca. 352-353 AD)
Obv.: D N CONSTANTIVS IVN NOB C: Bust of Constantius Gallus, bareheaded, draped, cuirassed, right; A behind bust.
Rev.: FEL TEMP RE-PARATIO: Soldier, helmeted, draped, cuirassed, advancing left, spearing fallen horseman with r. hand and wearing shield on l. arm; shield on ground below; horseman turning to face soldier, raising l. arm; AQP in exergue.
Diam.: 21 mm. Weight: 3.43 gr.
Attrib.: RIC VIII Aquileia 196.