Finally, I received a Licinius I coin in remarkable shape, but yet I cannot get the picture right of the coin, it looks extremely fine in hand Licinius I Reduced Follis 317-320 AD, IMP LICI-NIVS AVG, laureate, draped bust left holding globe, sceptre and mappa IOVI CONS-ERVATORI AVGG, Jupiter standing left, chlamys across left shoulder, holding Victory on globe and leaning on sceptre, eagle with wreath left, officina letter A to right, SMK in ex. 19 mm 3.6 grams RIC VII Cyzicus 9
Licinius I (308 -324 A.D.) Æ Follis O: IMP C VAL LICIN LICINIVS PF AVGG; Laureate bust right. R: IOVI CONS-ERVATORI AVG; Jupiter standing left, chlamys across left shoulder, leaning on scepter and holding Victory on globe in right hand, eagle holding wreath to left on ground // HTΔ Heraclea mint, 15-316 A.D. 4.26g 22mm RIC VII Heraclea 12, p. 543 (unlisted officina)
I always admire a LRB in excellent condition since 99% are under VF. My Licinius, from my first lot of ancient coins. Probably Siscia but the flan is a little small.
Nice! Looks like a really nice Licinius. I actually like his coins quite a lot, so I’ve ended up with a few. Here are some:
Looks to be a nice coin! I'll always have a soft spot for this Emperor as his coinage led me into ancients.. Here's a few...
That is a very well stuck and attractive coin of the emperor who gets as little respect from collectors as he did from Constantine. Were it not for Licinius being married to Constantine's sister he would have been killed much earlier on in the game. I do not have an exact match or an equal grade to your coin but below are a few Licinius offerings I like for one reason or another: London (a common coin from a popular mint under the control of Constantine in the time the two were getting along relatively well) Rome (special epwc mintmark) Heraklea (nice style) Heraklea (more silvering than most) Nikomedia (same mint as yours but with the eagle option) Alexandria (While the patchy green on red color may not be all that great, this is the same issue that included the rare coins for Valerius Valens which I will never have making this my spacefiller.) Who has a 'real' Valerius Valens? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valerius_Valens
Very nice new pickup, I always like a good left-facing portrait. This bronze from Cyzicus is my favorite coin of his. Licinius I, AE Follis (23 mm, 3.81 g) Cyzicus, 316-317. IMP C VAL LICIN LICINIVS P F AVG Laureate head of Licinius I to r. Rev. IOVI CONS-ERVATORI / II // SKM Jupiter standing front, head to l., holding Victory on globe in his r. hand and long scepter in his l.; at his feet, eagle to l., holding wreath in beak. RIC 6
This is currently my favorite Licinius-- Licinius I & Licinius II A.D. 318 21mm 4.2g D D N N IOVII LICINII INVICT AVG ET CAES; laureate and draped confronted busts, together holding trophy of arms. I O M ET VIRTVTI DD NN AVG ET CAES; Jupiter stg. Left, chlamys across l. shoulder, leaning on scepter, in front of trophy, at foot of which two captives are seated on either side. In ex. SMATB RIC VII Antioch – This coin was listed in RIC VII as Heraclea 50 by Bruun, because he thought the mintmark read SMHT[A] instead of SMAT[A]. This error was addressed by Pierre Bastien in his article “Coins with a Double Effigy Issued by Licinius at Nicomedia, Cyzicus, and Antioch.” Numismatic Chronicle 13 (1973) : 87.
Great coin a little more lighting would be appreciated, *not that my pics are any better Here's my best Liceman, bought at a lowly coin show in SLC:
Great coin Doug! It gives me the opportunity to pull out my two best coins from the same issue. …but no Valerius Valens for me either! Licinius I - Alexandria - RIC VII 18 Constantine I - Alexandria - RIC VII 17
This thread really showcases some great Licinius issues. Mine is pretty cruddy, but I really like the portrait, scowly and clutching the emblems of office: Licinius I Æ 18 (317-320 A.D.) Nicomedia Mint IMP LICI-NIVS AVG, laureate, draped bust left, holding globe, sceptre and mappa / IOVI CONS-ERVATORI AVGG, Jupiter standing left holding Victory on globe and eagle-tipped sceptre, palm left, Δ right, SMN in ex. RIC VII Nicomedia 24. (2.10 grams / 18 mm) eBay Mar. 2022
OP coin looks like it's a great one. Well preserved late Roman bronze coins like that can be wonderful. I've got a couple of Licinius' AE3s in my collection of "Barbarians, Captives, and Enemies" on Roman coins. For good measure, the second one below is Licinius II. The third one is (I believe) a barbarous imitation. Handsome looking Licinius & two captives and standard. Aside from the nice detail and surfaces, I liked this one for the (relatively) large flan (I love whenever the full border is visible): Roman Imperial. Licinius I AE Reduced Follis or Nummus (3.17g, 21mm). Ticinum, 319-320. Obv: IMP LICINIVS AVG. Bust of Licinius, helmeted, cuirassed, right. Rev: VIRTVS EXERCIT / TT. Standard with VOT/XX inscribed on drapery, flanked by two seated captives. Ref: RIC (VII) 116; OCRE (RIC 116). Prov: Ex Jesus Vico EA 11 (15 Dec 2020), 276 Aside from being from the Giovanni Dattari (1858-1923) collection, I really loved the detail on the (Sarmatian?) captive on the following coin's reverse: hands bound in back, depicted with usual “barbarian” features -- wild beard, baggy trousers, shirtless, and pointed Eastern cap (of Phrygian or Parthian style). I considered this a really lucky find when I saw it at Victor's Imperial Coins (his photo): Roman Imperial. Licinius II AE Reduced Follis or Nummus (3.6g, 20 mm, 6h). Antioch mint, 317 – 320 CE. Obv: DN VAL LICIN LICINIVS NOB C. Bust of Licinius II, laureate, draped, left, holding sceptre in right hand and mappa in left hand. Rev: IOVI CONSERVATORI CAESS / H (right) / SMANT (exergue). Jupiter standing left holding Victory on globe and sceptre, bound captive to left. Ref: RIC (VII) 29; Sear RCV 15415; OCRE (RIC 29). Prov: Ex-Giovanni Dattari (1858-1923) Collection of Late Roman Bronze Coins; CNG e-Auction 470 (17 June 2020), Lot 641 (part of); purchased from Victor’s Imperial Coins (Victor Clark, 6 February 2021). Last: An ironic example of a “barbarous imitation” of a Licinius II AE from Trier depicting “barbarian” captives (compare some similar examples on acsearch, esp. the Leu e-10 example; although most of those get the spelling of EXERCIT correct!) These Bastien type Licinius confronted busts / captives AEs are fantastic -- definitely some of greatest LRBC captives types. I've spotted a few on the market since first learning of them, but haven't yet tried to get one. (For now, I've been admiring them in photos and the article cited, available free on JSTOR for anyone interested, though you have to do free registration if you don't have a library membership.)
I've got examples of the other confronted bust types, though these don't have captives Licinius I & Licinius II A.D. 320 21x22mm 4.2g D D N N IOVII LICINII INVICT AVG ET CAES; laureate and draped confronted busts, together holding Fortuna. I O M ET FORT CONSER D D N N AVG ET CAES; Jupiter standing left, chlamys across left shoulder, holding Victory on globe in right hand, leaning on sceptre; Fortuna standing right crowned with modius, holding cornucopiae and rudder set on globe. In ex. SMNΔ RIC VII Nicomedia 38 Licinius I & Licinius II A.D. 320- 321 22mm 3.4g DD NN IOVII LICINII INVICT AVG ET CAES; laureate and draped confronted busts, together holding Victory on globe with wreath in each hand. I O M ET VICT CONSERV D D N N AVG ET CAES; Victory stg. r. palm branch in l, hand, offering wreath to Jupiter stg. l., chlamys across left shoulder, holding sceptre. In ex. SMKΔ RIC VII Cyzicus 13
Very nice coins, everyone. I had never seen the ones with confronted busts before. My only Licinius I: Licinius I, silvered AE Follis, Siscia Mint (4th Officina) 315-316 AD. Obv. Laureate head right, IMP LIC LICINIVS P F AVG / Rev. Naked Jupiter standing and facing left, chlamys across left shoulder, holding Victory on globe in right hand and leaning on scepter held in left hand; eagle with wreath in beak at his feet left, IOVI CON-SERVATORI. Δ [Delta] in right field, • SIS • in exergue. RIC VII Siscia 17 (p. 424), Sear RCV IV 15212, Cohen 66. 21 mm., 3.36 g. And my only Licinius II, looking very realistically young: Licinius II Caesar, AE follis, Cyzicus Mint (1st Officina), AD 318-324. Obv. Helmeted and cuirassed bust left, holding round shield over left shoulder and spear over right shoulder, DN VAL LICIN LICINIVS NOB C / Rev. Jupiter standing facing, head left, chlamys over left shoulder, holding crowning Victory with right hand and eagle-tipped long scepter with left hand; at his feet to left, another eagle standing left, head right, holding wreath in beak; at his feet to right, bound captive with beard, seated right, head turned back to left; IOVI CONS-ERVATORI around; X/IIμ [μ = lower-case M or mu] in right field [mark of value signifying 12 ½?*]; in exergue, mintmark SMKA (Cyzicus, 1st Officina). 19 mm., 3.48 g., 12 h. RIC VII Cyzicus 18[A] at p. 646; Sear RCV IV 15409, Cohen 21. Purchased from London Ancient Coins, Feb. 2022. Reverse die match (see https://www.wildwinds.com/coins/ric/licinius_II/_cyzicus_RIC_018_A.jpg) to example posted at Wildwinds,com, which is ex. CNG March 2015.
My favorite Licinius because it was a Saturnalia gift from my Secret Saturn. Licinius I, AD 308-324. Roman billon follis, 2.71 g, 18.3 mm, 11 h. Heraclea, second officina, AD 317-18. Obv: IMP LICI-NIVS AVG, Laureate and draped bust right, holding globe, scepter and mappa. Rev: PROVIDEN-TIAE AVGG, three-turreted gateway of military camp; Λ in right field; SMHB in exergue. Refs: RIC vii, p. 547, 48 var. (bust right); Cohen 145; RCV 15268.
Ironically it was a recent inexpensive purchase of Licinius from Forum(still in long process of cleaning) which has revived my interest in my collection after a year of dormancy. Yet I am puzzled why he felt the necessity of having Diocletion's wife and daughter murdered? Constantine revenged them I suppose by having him hanged. Seems strange to me that so many of his coins have survived if he ran afoul of Constantine-one might have thought he would have had them remelted and refitted to something more suitable.
Well, bear in mind that the coins that have survived to today are just the ones that got taken out of circulation either by being lost or buried in hoards. They all escaped the process of recycling, whether it happened due to damnatio or periodic coinage reforms.
Despite a so-so picture, the OP seems to be a great coin Licinius, Follis - Alexandria mint, 3rd officina, c. AD 308-310 IMP C VAL LIC LICINIVS P F AVG, laureate head right GENIO IMPE - RATORIS, Genius standing facing, head left wearing modius, Chlamys over left shoulder, holding cornucopia and patera. ALE at exergue, K | P in lower field, Γ in right field 9.02 gr 24/26 mm Ref : RIC VI # 101b, RCV # 15179 (65), Cohen # 43 Ex Voz collection of Roman imperial Q