Another VRBS ROMA

That's been my experience too.

 

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Yeah, that didn't come out very well. The difference I had in mind was based on module size, since the GE and Vota pieces in RIC VIII (after death of Constantine in 337) are all smaller than the same types at the tail end of of RIC VII while the old boy was still kicking. So I tend to consider anything struck in his name after Sept 9, 337 as commemorative for him, though I do not know if that was the thought or the motivation to keep those things in production back in the day. And as I said, the point of differentiation is the shrunken modules. But, more to your point, the types were already in production, and SOME of the GE struck with family on the obverses were contemporaneous with the GE reverse city commems, etc. However, it is the shrinking of the module that crowded off the mintmarks and that was the real focus of my comment.

Did that make it easier to see what I was thinking, or just make it worse?

 

I like this Commem too...


Rome VRBS ROMA commem 330-331 CE Æ reduced centenionalis, 16mm, 2.5g, 12h; Trier mint, CE 330-331 She-wolf RIC VII 529


RI commem AE Follis Urbs ROMA She-wolf Rom Rem Stars RIC VII Lyons 242


RI Commem Urbs Roma AE Follis Thessalonika 330-333 CE She-Wolf Rom-Rem stars Sear 16516R

 

Hello,

this is one of my, but from Treveri (Trier, Germany). RIC VII, p. 215. no. 529

 

Nice Coins! Here you are:

RIC VII Siscia 240, VF, 2.387g, 16.1mm, 180o, Siscia (Sisak, Croatia) mint, 334 - 335 A.D.; obverse VRBS ROMA, helmeted bust of Roma left wearing imperial mantle; reverse she-wolf standing left, head turned back right, suckling the infant twins Romulus and Remus, two stars above, •BSIS• in exergue

 

Here is a much scarcer iteration of the she-wolf motif on a provincial bronze of Macrinus from Laodicea. I've attempted to photograph this coin several times now without much success. The surfaces are finely porous, but the the detail is outstanding, with a very black patina. The surfaces obviously suffered somewhat from the effects of time, but it doesn't appear that the coin actually circulated much. Here is yet another photo attempt, slightly more successful than the last two...

 

Great coins and info all!
@zumbly Really like the imitation !
I think I'll start looking for one myself...
Paul

 

When we are trying to find UR or Constantinopolis coins in a catalog, the first step is to weigh or otherwise evaluate the size of the coin. The types were issued in parallel with both the heavy two standards coins and the lighter one standard type. I am sure that there are a few abnormal coins from each group and I am no expert in the series so I may be wrong placing a 2.1g coin (light for a two standard and heavy for a one). The easy answer is never to buy a commemorative over 2g and under 2.2g but that seems to be cheating just to make it easier to find in RIC. If you have a pile of these coins spread out before you most play nicely and join the big ones or small ones groups nicely. The problem comes when you have just one and have to weigh it.

 

Come again? That = 0

 

Finally received this coin. It's much better in hand than the sellers photos. The fields appear proof like to me. There is still some Ancient encrustations on it, but I will leave it be. Happy collector here.

 

@old49er that is a great looking example!

 

Very nice coin, old49er. Let me nudge you: Can you tell where its from, and when?

 

Thanks guys, Yes its attributed. CONSTANTINE I THE GREAT (307/10-337). Commemorative series. Follis. Lugdunum.
Obv: VRBS ROMA.
Helmeted and cuirassed bust of Roma left.
Rev: Lupa Romana standing left, suckling the twins Romulus and Remus; two stars above; ✷SLG.
Ref RIC 267

 

it's the same coin that started this topic

 

Okay on the general attribution, but I was referring to the "S" and the star. The "S" stands for the Latin ordinal number secunda (second), and refers to the officina (workshop) at the mint which did the work to make it.

The star is more complicated, but is a "series mark" that tells approximately when the coin was made. This mark was used in 333-334. You would need RIC volume VII for that information.

 

Hi Irbguy,Thanks for the interesting information.

 

or look in the best best reference on the Lyons mint- Bastien Le Monnayage de L'Atelier de Lyon: De La Reouverture de L'Atelier en 318 a la Mort de Constantin (318- 337) for dates of A.D. 334-335

 

...or better yet, get Victor to translate Bastien into English so you can move beyond the dated but otherwise best scholarship on the subject in your native tongue.

To Victor - I am aware that Pierre Bastien has done important work, and I wish I could access it. But years ago I put out some hefty chunks of money for books by Babelon, Mionette, de Morgan, and a couple of others in the original French, and have utterly failed in my efforts to make good use of them because I don't read French. It was not among the nine languages I did study, and I didn't have time for it. Now, at this stage I will enjoy the hobby to the limits of my English, and save my thanks for those who are willing to help me do so. And I will not know why Bastien interprets the data differently than Bruun (who was Finnish but wrote in English).

 

Resurrecting this zombie thread to show one I just acquired, from the Cyzicus mint, an example of which has not yet been shown in this thread. The she-wolf's nipples look ... umm ... weird:

Constantine I, AD 307-337.
Roman billon reduced centenionalis, 2.09 g, 17.4 mm, 1 h.
Cyzicus, AD 331, 333-334.
Obv: VRBS ROMA, bust of Roma, left, wearing plumed helmet and imperial cloak.
Rev: Lupa Romana standing left, suckling the twins Romulus and Remus; two stars above; SMKS in exergue.
Refs: RIC vii, p. 656, 91; LRBC I 1232; Cohen 17; RCV 16523.

 

I have a really nice one from Trier that is in desperate need of rephotographing. It has a glossy patina, and I am not yet able to photograph those type of coins well.