Not of Troy but from Trier: An attractive Helena

Here is my latest acquisition, a late Roman bronze coin minted at Trier under Constantine the Great. It shows the emperor's mother Helena. Christian tradition credits Helena with discovering the True Cross during a journey to Jerusalem in 327 and arranging for the construction of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. She is revered as a saint.


Helena, Roman Empire, AE3, 327–328 AD, Trier mint. Obv: FL HELENA AVGVSTA; bust of Helena, wearing necklace and mantle, r. Rev: SECVRITAS REIBUBLICE; Securitas, draped, standing l., raising robe with r. hand and lowering branch with l. hand, in exergue, PTRE. 19mm, 2.88g. Ref: RIC VII Treveri 508.

I paid more for this coin than I would usually consider fair for an LRB. Can you see why?

Please post your coins of Helena and/or exceptionally attractive late Roman bronze coins!

 

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I'm gonna say you bought it because of the hair style & clothing? It's a wonderful coin & portrait.

My only one of her.


Helena (324 - 330 A.D)
Æ3
O: FL HELENA AVGVSTA, Draped bust right.
R: SECVRITAS-REIPVBLICE, Securitas standing left.
Siscia Mint, 5th offcina
19mm
2.8g
RIC 218

 

Nice addition, @Orielensis.
Your coin has a clear and wonderful Helena hairstyle. Mine is not as sharply-defined, but has some silvering.

 

Beautiful!

Her coinage is consistently well made - it was a good time for Roman coinage.

Mine is from the Rome mint - despite the problems I found that it had a very distinctive portrait, depicting a woman in her 70s, rather than a youthful idealization

 

Very nice! I seem to recall the reason the cross is venerated is due to her supposedly finding a piece of it.
I do enjoy the differences in hairstyle in some of these:

 

Would it be because instead of the regular drapery, this bust type shows the imperial mantle with decorations?

 

Is it because of the 3 turret crown on top of the head?

 

Orelensis, Nice score ! Helena has that "eyes to Heaven" gaze so often seen on the coinage of Constantine . Pictured below is the last Constantine nummus added to my collection.

 

There was a time I was buying a Helena from each mint but never finished the project and sold a couple of the ones I did not like as much. I never had a Trier. If you rotate my photo of the Rome coin you might claim it has "eyes to Heaven" but the OP coin could be rotated a bit clockwise and look 'normal' to me. Every mint had a distinctive portrait for her (and for Fausta) even more than for the male portraits. If I were into late Roman and set filling, I would consider it a worthy goal to have a full set.

 

The Siscia coin is a real beauty, Doug.

I still haven’t found my Helena. I like this one, but I would like one better:



I have several high grade late Roman bronzes. But here are two that give me much joy, although they are only good VFs:


Licinius I, 308-324 AD

BI follis, Alexandria 308-10 AD

Obverse: IMP C LIC LICINNIVS P F AVG, laureate head right

Reverse: GENIO IMPERATORIS, Genius wearing modes, holding patera and cornucopia,

left; K - P, right, ALE in exergue. Officin: A (1)

Reference: RIC VI 101b, 105b, 107b, 121b

Size: 23,9mm Weight: 6,48 g, 7 h. Conservation: VF


Constantius Gallus, 351-54 AD BI Maiorina, Constantinople 351-52 AD.

Obverse: D N FL CL CONSTANTIVS NOB CAES; Bust of Constantius Gallus, bareheaded, draped, cuirassed, right

Reverse: FEL TEMP RE PARATIO; Soldier, helmeted, draped, cuirassed, advancing left, spearing fallen horseman with right hand and wearing shield on left arm; shield on ground to right; horseman wearing pointed cap, facing soldier, extending left arm. Γ in left field. Mint mark: CONSθ.

Reference: RCV 18983, RIC VIII 107

Size: 23mm Weight: 5.4 g Conservation: gVF

The heavy maiorina of Constantius Gallus is not a coin you run into all the time.

 

@Orielensis ....Very nice coin!
Helena AE3 (19mm, 3.30g). Struck 326-327 AD
Obv- FL HELENA AVGVSTA, Diademed and draped bust right.
Rev- SECVRITAS REI PVBLICE, Securitas standing left, holding olive branch in extended right hand.raising hem of robe with left hand. Mintmark dot ΓSIS dot. RIC VII Siscia 204; Sear 16609.

 

Helena! Ran a style show for her here a few years ago.
https://www.cointalk.com/threads/helena-style-show.316613/

Nothing much has changed since then.

 

This Helena was a Christmas present from my parents 20 years ago or so. It was attributed a long time ago when I did more wild guessing than I do now, so it might need some tweaking:


Helena Æ Follis
(328-329 A.D.)
Siscia Mint (Series 4)
FL HELENA AVGVSTA, diademed, mantled bust right / SECVRITAS REIPVBLICE, Securitas standing left, with branch and raising hem of robe, ЄSIS double-crescent in exergue
RIC Siscia 218; Sear 16610.
(3.19 grams / 19 mm)
Xmas parents c. 2000

 

Only 1 Helena in my collection.
I try to add all the affordable emperors and empresses and not being a LRB specialist, Helena was missing.
Got this Helena, countless better examples are on the market but this was in the (very modest) budget I wanted to allocate for one of her coins


Helena. Augusta AD 324-330. Antioch
Follis Æ
19 mm, 3,71 g
From the Tareq Hani collection
RIC VII Antioch 82
Date Range: AD 327 - AD 329
Obv: FL HELENA – AVGVSTA, bust of Helena, wearing necklace and mantle, right / Rev: SECVRITAS – REIPVBLICE, Securitas, draped, standing left, raising robe with right hand and lowering branch with left hand. MintMark: -/-//•SMANTS




As for attractive LRBs, the one I like the most is this Constans, bought in the same auction.




(real color of the coin is something in between)


Constans AD 337-350. Siscia
Follis Æ
19 mm, 2,06 g
RIC VIII Siscia 232
Date Range: AD 348 - AD 350
Obv: D N CONSTA-NS P F AVG, bust of Constans, pearl-diademed, draped, cuirassed, right / Rev: FEL•TEMP•REPARATIO, Phoenix, radiate, standing right on rocky mound. Mintmark ΓSIS•


This was another LRB I wanted a lot and was very happy for winning it. Although the obverse leaves something to be desired, the reverse is in great condition and, in my opinion, one of the most artistic designs in the period.

Constantine I the Great AD 306-337. Constantinople
Follis Æ
18 mm, 3,25 g
AD 328-329
CONSTANTI-NVS MAX AVG, bust of Constantine I, rosette-diademed, draped, cuirassed, right / CONSTANTINI-ANA DAFNE, Victory, winged, draped, seated left on cippus, head right, holding palm in each hand; before her, trophy; at foot of trophy, kneeling captive, head turned, being spurned by Victory
MintMark: A/-//CONS dot; OfficinaMark: ∈
RIC VII Constantinople 38 note

 

RIC mistakenly describes the reverse as palm in each hand but it is actually a palm in left and laurel in right.

 

Thank you - correcting my catalogue.

 

Bronze Coin (AE3) minted at Nicomedia for HELENA, Mother of CONSTANTINE I, The Great between 325 – 326 A.D. Obv. FL.HELENA.AVGVSTA. Diad. & draped bust right. Rev. SECVRITAS.REPVBLICE. Securitas stg. l., lowering branch, raising robe with r. hand. RCS #3908. RICVII #129 pg.621. DVM #3. LRBC #1091.

 

my only Helena



Helena
A.D. 318- 319
18mm 3.1g
HELENA N F; draped bust right.
REV: eight rayed ✶ in laurel wreath.
in ex. TSA
RIC VII Thessalonica 48

Ex-Failmezger

 

Here, Helena is wearing a band-like diadem decorated with what appears to be various jewels:


Helena, Augusta AD 324-329, issued under Constantine I.
Roman billon Æ 3 centenionalis, 2.97 g, 18.3 mm.
Nicomedia, AD 325-326
Obv: FL HELENA AVG, diademed and mantled bust right with necklace.
Rev: SECVRITAS REIPVBLICE, Securitas standing left, lowering branch, raising robe with right hand; ΝΜΓ in exergue.
Refs: RIC 129; RCV 16620; LRBC-I 1100; Cohen 12.

 

Helena, Augusta, AD 324-328/330. Æ Follis (18.5mm, 3.68g, 6h). Thessalonica mint, 3rd officina. Struck AD 324. Obv: Diademed and draped bust right. Rev: Securitas standing left, holding olive branch in extended right hand; SMTSГ. Ref: RIC VII 134. Good Very Fine, green and brown patina. From the John L. Cowan Collection, purchased from Mike R. Vosper, 25 May 2011. Ex CNG eAuction 469 (3 Jun 2020), Lot 539.