I got outbid on everything at Leu and Cayon so I bought myself a little snack from Marc Breitsprecher with some of the money I saved. I have always enjoyed these Constantinopolis commemoratives and their sister issue, the VRBS ROMA wolf and twins type. These Constantinopolis commemoratives come in two sizes -- an earlier one (AD 330-335) struck at 132 per pound and a later one (AD 336-337) struck at 196 per pound. This one is the earlier, larger size. David Sear uses the term centenionalis to denote the denomination, but other sources use follis or nummus. Constantine I, AD 307-337. Roman billon centenionalis, 2.76 g, 18.3 mm, 5 h. Thessalonica, AD 330-333. Obv: CONSTAN-TINOPOLIS, bust of Constantinopolis, laureate, helmeted, wearing imperial cloak, left, holding reversed spear in left hand. Rev: Victory, winged, draped, standing left on prow, holding transverse scepter in right hand and shield in left hand; SMTSΔ in exergue. Refs: RIC vii, p. 524, 188; Cohen 21; LRBC I 839; RVC 16470. Let's see your CONSTANTINOPOLI(S) coins!
Good addition, RC. Very nice toning. I also bought one last year - I think it is an emblematic 4th century type of coin City Commemoratives AD 330-354. Siscia Follis Æ 17 mm, 2,31 g RIC VII Siscia 224 Obv: CONSTAN-TINOPOLIS, bust of Constantinopolis, laureate, helmeted, wearing imperial cloak, left, holding reversed spear in right hand / Rev: Victory, winged, draped, standing left on prow, holding spear in right hand and shield in left hand. Mintmark BSIS Interesting fact - due to the wear on my coin (and not studying properly this type of coins) I thought on mine Victory is looking right. Incorrect)
The portrait of Constantinopolis on your coin is very attractive. It's not easy to find examples that are both well-preserved and have skillfully engraved helmet and cloak details. City Commemorative under Constantine I, Roman Empire, AE 3, 331–334 AD, Cyzicus mint. Obv: CONSTANTINOPOLI; bust of Constantinopolis, laureate, helmeted, wearing imperial cloak, l. holding spear in r. hand. Rev: Victory, winged, draped, standing l. on prow, holding long sceptre in r. hand and resting l. hand on shield; in exergue, SMKE. 18mm, 2.49. Ref: RIC VII Cyzicus 92. Ex “Maridunum” collection; ex Forvm Ancient Coins; ex “The Red” collection; ex AMCC 2, lot 256.
A beautiful example. I bid at Cayon as well -- they had a large number of nice Roman Republican coins -- and actually succeeded at one bid, although it was more than I really wanted to pay. (I just got the invoice this morning. Even with only a 16% buyer's fee, those Euros add up! I'm not in any great hurry to pay it, although I will fairly soon, given that according to their website it can take them several weeks to get the necessary export permit.) My one Constantinopolis coin from the time of Constantine the Great: Constantine I, Billon reduced Centenionalis, Siscia Mint 334-335 AD. Obv. Bust of Constantinopolis left, wearing laureate helmet and imperial robes, & holding scepter over left shoulder, CONSTAN-TINOPOLIS / Rev. Winged Victory standing left, right foot set on ship’s prow, holding transverse scepter in right hand and resting left hand on shield; • BSIS • [Siscia, Second officina] in exergue. RIC VII 241 (p. 456), Sear RCV IV 16469. 18 mm., 2.5 g. A couple of later depictions: Theodosius I, AE3 (Sear: Centenionalis), 379-383 AD, Alexandria mint, 3rd Officina. Obv. D N THEODOSIVS P F AVG - Diademed (Pearls), draped and cuirassed bust right / Rev. CONCORDIA AVGGG - Constantinopolis, helmeted, seated facing on throne, head right, holding spear and globe, right foot on prow. ALE(Γ) [gamma] in exergue. RIC IX 11 (p. 300), Sear RCV V 20535. 17.72 mm, 1.9 g. Eastern Roman Empire, Arcadius (son of Theodosius I and older brother of Honorius), 383-408 AD, AV Solidus 397-402 AD, Constantinople Mint (9th Officina). Obv. Helmeted and cuirassed bust facing three-quarters right, holding spear over right shoulder and shield on left arm bearing image of horseman right; D N ARCADI-VS P F AVG / Rev. Helmeted Constantinopolis seated facing on throne, head right, with right knee bare and right foot resting on prow, holding long scepter with right hand and, on left hand, Victory with wreath standing on globe; CONCORDI-A AVGG Θ [Theta, for 9th Officina]; in exergue, CONOB [for Constantinople Mint]. RIC X 7 at. p. 240 (1994); Dumberton Oaks Catalogue, Late Roman 207-217 (217 = 9th Officina) and Plate 8 [P. Griessen. & M. Mays, Catalogue of Late Roman Coins in the Dumbarton Oaks Collection, etc. (1992)]; Sear RCV V 20706 (ill. p. 431) (1994). 20 mm., 4.44 g. Purchased from Dr. Busso Peus Nachf., Frankfurt, Germany, 1 April 2021. Ex. Auktionen Münzhandlung Sonntag Auktion 33 Lot 36 (23.11. 2020); ex. Auktion 116 München Münzhandlung Karl Kreß [Kress](Otto Helbing Nachfolger), Lot 729 (28.10.1960).
Two via the generosity of CTer @tenbobbit last fall - Antioch and Trier. The Trier has a sporty green beard and the most awesome eyebrows in all of antiquity:
Not the nicest examples but among my rarest for Constantinople city commemoratives.. Constantinopolis with Pax, Victoria AVG and the same type as Victoria but without the text (RIC VIII Rome 19 or 41):
Constantinopolis, AE 3 - AE 3 struck in Siscia, 2nd officina CONSTANTINOPOLIS, Helmeted Constantinopolis left Anepigraph, Victory left leaning on shield, BSIS at exergue 2.64 gr Ref : RC #3890 var, Cohen #21 Q
Your remarks made me thinking just re-examined my collection of constantinople and Vrbs Roma coins and the only ones with silvering were these 2 from Alexandria. 5 minutes on the web showed me only silvered examples of.. Alexandria. Maybe they were only silvered over there or the quality was better. A little enigma
Nice coins everyone! I like these coins and have many of them. Somehow though, I haven’t taken pictures of many of them. Here’s one that I photographed last week. Alexandria RIC VII 64
I added another to my growing collection of CONSTANTINOPOLI(S) and VRBS ROMA coins. It's a fun series. Constantine I, AD 307-337. Roman billon reduced centenionalis, 2.58 g, 18.1 mm, 11 h. Rome, AD 330. Obv: CONSTANTI-NOPOLIS, bust of Constantinopolis, laureate, helmeted, wearing imperial cloak, left, holding scepter at left shoulder. Rev: Victory, winged, draped, standing left on prow, holding scepter in right hand and resting left hand on shield; R F Є in exergue. Refs: RIC vii, p. 336, 332; LRBC I, 536; Cohen 21; RCV 16463.
Here is my page on CONSTANTINOPOLIS and VRBS ROMA: http://augustuscoins.com/ed/CON/Founding.html Here is an VRBS ROMA from Alexandria with some silvering: 18-17 mm. 2.95 grams. SMALB in exergue. RIC VII Alexandria 63B. Sear IV 16527.
Did you notice how the coins posted here with weights given were from the earlier, heavy series? Nice examples of the later, lighter coins seem harder to find. The mints were very rushed and many are just not that nice even when in 'mint state'. I only have one. At a very light 1.0g is this Antioch RIC 92 page 693 var. with spelling error? (NI for IN). Unofficial? Who has a high grade, attractive coin from the later period?
