Prior to doing my first coin show in almost two years this weekend (FUN in Orlando) I actually spent months going through all the coins I've put away over the nearly 25 years I've been in this hobby. Going through the myriad of boxes I came across a coin that I presented in a different forum many years back, and the resulting negative discussion made me just put the coin away. Here it is: Constantia, wife of Licinus I (326-327 AD) : Ae Follis, Constantinople mint : 18mm, 1.9gms Obv: CONSTANTIA N F; Mantled bust right wearing necklace Rev: SOROR CONSTANTINI AVG; PIET / ASPVB / LICA in three lines within wreath; CONSB(dot) in exergue Ref: RIC 15 Just hoping to get a newer perspective on whether this coin (or any coin of Constantia) is legit. What do you think?
OK, but why ... and do you think all coins of Constantia are fake? BTW, I'm not disagreeing with you.
I haven't seen them all...but I've seen yours and it is fake. The style is wrong, the portrait is not good and the letters are clunky. You don't have to try to compare this coin with any other Constantia coins, just compare it with other Constantinople coins from the same period.
Truthfully, pretty much every one I've seen I could say that about. I personally do not believe any published coin of Constantia is legit, but who knows.
There is a plate coin in RIC that does not look the same. I am not going to speculate on the authenticity of the plate coin from the black and white picture; but the style is much nicer than your example. If yours was genuine, despite the horrible style, you might expect it to be a die match with RIC, since it is so rare. Like I said, compare with other issues at the time for style. Constantinople issued some fantastic coins. This is RIC 7, issued about the same time, compare the lettering and overall quality of the engraving, also compare flans and beaded border. This is RIC 17, issued just after
What I can say is this is not some horrible Bulgarian copy. Somebody took the time (and I'm sure it took quite a bit of time) to do the overall design somewhat properly. What's odd is there's only a few examples out there. Seems like a lot of work for a couple of coins.
It's a modern fake for sure - here's a couple more examples of the same type. Whether there is a genuine Constantia type is questionable. RIC notes two coins, one in Paris (BnF) and another in Lennigrad (The Hermitage museum). According to Lars Ramskold, the Hermitage coin is either fake or heavily tooled, and the Paris coin has been missing for a number of years. No other specimens have come to light (other than at least 3 varieties of modern fakes).
