This heavy siliqua series is rather rare and dates around 342. The short mintmark and the headdress on the obverse suggest a date prior to 343, when the pearl-diadem started to become the most used headdress on imperial busts. The type is possibly celebrating the victory of 339 against the Sarmatians or the one in 342 against the Franks. This specimen presents very few signs of wear but it has two holes from ancient times, holes which have been filled with pewter(?) or another alloy, probably to put the coin back into circulation. This fast fix of the earlier holes might relate to the return of Constantius II to oust the revolt of Magnentius and Decentius in 353. Specs: 20x19mm 2.91g OBV: FL IVL CONSTAN - TIVS PF AVG; laurel and rosette-diademed draped cuirassed bust r. REV: PAX AV - GVSTORVM; Emperor bare-headed, standing left in military dress, holding standard with Chi-Rho on banner. TR in exergue. REF: RIC VIII Trier 163, Cohen 149 The preservation state of the coin is quite interesting, it seems that someone took it off circulation by drilling two holes into it soon after the coin was minted and put into circulation. The pewter (?) filling dates probably later, possibly in the 350s, when the usual siliqua weight had been lowered and a heavy siliqua was a rather worthy addition to a purse or hoard. So someone decided to fill the drills and put the coin back on the market.The dating of the repairs around 353 makes sense when you consider the market's need of silver coinage, following the Magnentius and Decentius civil wars and the arrangement between Constantius and Chnodomar, which seems to have been rather expensive. The coin did not circulate much though, as per Gresham's law, it probably ended up being hoarded soon after it's restauration. Some material has flaked off and the coin is probably quite brittle at this point.
