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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Nathan B., post: 7950533, member: 112852&quot;]Well, I said I&#039;d post my Divus Constantine quadriga coin.&nbsp; It turns out that for some reason, I actually have five!</p><p><br /></p><p>This is the first one that I purchased:</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1377393[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>The reverse design has an angularity and a stylization, even a sense of urgency, that just really appeals to me.&nbsp; I find it incredibly beautiful.&nbsp; On another note, on this coin, I can only see three horses&#039; heads.</p><p><br /></p><p>My next coins sort of all arrived at once:</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1377397[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>I like the above coin.&nbsp; It&#039;s different than the first because the horses are rendered smaller, so they take up less of the field. They are also appear to be goose-stepping, which I suppose is the ancients&#039; way of showing them to be both impressive and galloping fast--and up, to the heavens. Interestingly, the emperor appears to have bags under his eyes. He looks very gaunt, even depressed and ghostlike, which I guess is what passed for spirituality in some quarters back then.</p><p><br /></p><p>Here&#039;s another:</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1377398[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>What&#039;s interesting to me about this coin is that Constantine&#039;s face is fleshed out. It&#039;s much rounder and more healthy looking than the coin above.&nbsp; I like the reverse because it&#039;s also more fleshed out as well.&nbsp; It&#039;s quite different than the more stylized types above, although I like those, too.</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1377399[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>The above coin has the most detail of any of mine.&nbsp; You can see the fingers very clearly, the star (or is it a sun?) and its rays, some of the harnessing or reins on the closest horse, more detail in the wheel and even on the chariot.&nbsp; As for the portrait, Constantine&#039;s cheek is fatter than the coin above, but less gaunt-looking than one of the others above.&nbsp; The emperor wears a sombre expression.</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1377400[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>The last coin is characterized by Constantine&#039;s very healthy looking cheek, and he doesn&#039;t seem to look so sombre; I almost see a hint of a smile.&nbsp; The reverse is interesting in that there&#039;s really only one horse shown--and a whole pile of limbs from the (implied) others.&nbsp; At the top, space has been freed up by not including the star/sun (not sure if it&#039;s off the flan, or just not part of the design at all.)&nbsp; That allows for more of a focus on the near meeting of Constantine&#039;s hand, raised in a salute, and God&#039;s, thus supplying a Sistine-chapel ceiling type of moment.</p><p><br /></p><p>All in all, I love these coins.&nbsp; They are really quite cheap (although I did definitely pay too much for one of them--not the first), and I think they are quite underrated in terms of their popularity, and thus ridiculously affordable.</p><p><br /></p><p>To be honest, I bought the first one simply because I couldn&#039;t (and will never) afford the nicer quadriga coins, let alone the gorgeous tetradrachms from Syracuse.&nbsp; But I managed to fall in love with the design on that coin, and the type, so I actually feel very good about having them even though I will never be able to afford the more famous quadriga coins on the market.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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