FEL TEMP Friday! A Fallen Horseman thread.

If I had to pick a single favourite FTR-FH issue it would be this one!

The LXXII is one of the rare instances of the actual weight standard appearing on a Roman coin (for 1/72nd of a Roman pound) plus it provided a key to the dating of the end of the third / start of the fourth series because it follows a very rare and short-lived non-FTR type immediately after Constantius took Aquileia from Magnentius.

(I also had a wonderful lunch once in Aquileia but that is less relevant.)

I like your coin with the lighter were on the dark toning.

SC

 

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My constantius fallen horseman , and a Constans ship for good measure! Both from Alexandria from a similar date

Constantius II , Alexandria mint
C348-350 AD
Constans , Alexandria mint
C348-350 AD
23.4mm 5.6g

 

I love those @Tony1982 but then I have a real soft spot for Alexandria.

Here is a slightly earlier issue of the falling horseman which is my most recent addition.

Obv:- D N CONSTANTIVS P F AVG, pearl diademed, draped and cuirassed bust right
Rev:- FEL TEMP RE-PARATIO, Helmeted soldier left, shield on left arm, spearing falling horseman; shield at ground to right. Horseman falls forward clutching his horse. He is bare headed
Minted in Alexandria (* | _ // ALEA). A.D. 348-350
References:- RIC VIII Alexandria 46 (R)

5.77 gms. 23.72 mm. 180 degrees



And one much like yours...



A galley similar to yours but with a * in field.

Obv:- D N CONSTA-NS P F AVG, Pearl diademed, draped & cuirassed bust right
Rev:- FEL TEMP-REPARATIO, Emperor in military dress standing left on galley, holding Phoenix and labarum, Victory sitting at the stern, steering the ship
Minted in Alexandria; (_ | * //ALED), A.D. 348-350
Reference:– RIC VIII Alexandria 53 (R)



I would recommend looking out for a Hut type and a 2 captive type to create a FEL TEMP Type set for the mint since you have such a good start.

Obv:– D N CONSTANTIVS P F AVG, Pearl diademed, draped and cuirassed bust left, holding globe
Rev:– FEL . TEMP . REPARATIO, Soldier advancing right, head left, holding spear and leading small figure from hut beneath tree
Minted in Alexandria (* //ALED).
Reference:– RIC VIII Alexandria 66 var (RIC 66 rated S, Not listed for this officina in RIC)



Obv:- D N CONSTA-NS P F AVG, Pearl-diademed, draped, cuirassed bust left, globe in right hand.
Rev:- FEL TEMP REPARATIO, Emperor standing left, holding labarum and shield, two captives, kneeling and leaning left before him,
Minted in Alexandria, officina A; (// ALEA), A.D. 348-350 A.D.
Reference:– RIC VIII Alexandria 56 (C)

 

The LXXII coins are certainly interesting. The Christogram variant is always highly sought after and I have failed to obtain one. I have obtained some of the more common variants from Aquileia and Siscia.

Siscia

Aquileia - S in centre

Aquileia - wreath in centre

 

Wow, I really love the LXXII issues (especially the Chi-type, of course!), but have yet to add one myself. Here are three others (including one from Aquileia, a Thessalonica, and Sirmium) with other field/control marks that I find interesting.

And a little Julian II because his little AE3s don't get much love. According to Kent (RIC VIII pages 55-67, esp. 66), Julian's "AE 3 (small)" issues may have had a theoretical weight of 132 coins to the pound (2.46g), compared to the 72-per-lb. marked on the AE 2 types from Aquileia above (I guess they couldn't fit "CXXXII" on such a small flan!).

(As always, if anyone notices an ID mistake I'm always grateful for the heads-up, and, of course, grateful to Dane Kurth for her work cataloging and making her examples accessible, as well as the work of everyone else on the FTR FH series, including several who've commented above.)

Constantius II, Aquileia, RIC 113, AQS· in ex., A behind bust, A in field on rev.
I really enjoy the dramatic field symbols for Aquileia. This one also has a rather distinctive portrait of C-II:

Constantius II. Thessalonica, RIC 129, TSЄ in ex., A behind bust, A in field on rev.

Constantius II. Sirmium, RIC 44, BSIRM, Δ behind bust, A beneath horse (·S· left?).
This is one's in rough shape, but I didn't have an "A" beneath horse yet. (There should also be a "·S·" but I think its off-flan and/or worn flat.)


Julian II. Antioch, RIC 189, ANЄI in ex.
Julian II was the last of the primary four (five counting Magnentius) to be named on Fallen Horseman types, all struck after 361, once the flans had been reduced substantially in size from "AE 2 (Large)" to "AE 3 (Small)" (there are also series categorized as "AE 2 (Small)" and "AE 3 (Large)" in RIC VIII, and further variations for different rev. types, rulers, and mints, according to the theoretical number per lb.).

Julian's are all small like this one (16mm, 2.26g, 6h).

 

Nice coins , I always liked the style from the Alexandria mint , although I like the style of this one from Constantinople RIC VIII
Mm-CONSH

 

Got this from their latest auction:

Constantius II, Fel Temp R-eparatio, CONSIA*, 24 mm, 6.70 gr

just because, although is exactly the same type as the one I already had, below, is such a different style.


Constantius II, Fel Temp R-eparatio, CONSIA*, 22 mm, 5.01 gr

 

Ambianum for Constantius II, autumn to early winter 353:

 

Got two of those! I just wish I could mix the best attributes of each into one coin!

The obverse of coin 1, most of the reverse of coin 2, with the mint mark of coin 1 and the more even dark brown of coin 2!


Constantius II - Amiens/Ambianum

 

Awesome stuff! Sorry I don't post much, just finishing up school then state stuff. . . and probably more school :}

 

I just bought this Constantius Gallus Fallen Horseman on Ebay (seller's picture with background removed).

I'm pleased with the purchase. The coin was quite cheap (39 EUR + postage) and it turned out to be quite large (25mm) and heavy (5 gm). Also, I like the bust type.

DNCONSTANTI VS NOB CAES // FEL TEMP RE PARATIO - ANS (Antioch)





Below is my only other Constantius Gallus (24mm, despite larger picture):

 

This is probably my favorite FEL TEMP in my collection. Note the wonderful medallic surfaces and the great portrait:

Does anybody know what the Gamma in the field stands for?

 

Another favorite of mine from the mint of Alexandria. Note the scruffy barbarian with his long beard and unkempt hair. I wonder if the celator hat a particular group of barbarians in mind when he produced this image:

 

While I appreciate kind words, the link provided is to my overall FTR page. I also have a larger page just for FH coins:
https://www.forumancientcoins.com/dougsmith/fh.html
I need to be working on an update to my pages and will want to redo this one. I would appreciate error corrections as you find them.

 

I have never understood why they made the silver coins of the period with the relatively boring Vota reverses and used the best reverses for the base metal coins I could afford. Maybe they liked me???

Those field letters usually referred to the series/weight standard. The first ones with A are easy to find, B is less so and they made millions with gamma. There is one exception where Thessalonika put the workshop letter in the reverse field but they just did that to confuse collectors in the distant future. I cover that on my page linked above.

 

This is a fantastic resource! So the letter Gamma in the field indicates the denomination or weight standard.

I wonder if it would be possible to identify the barbarians that are depicted on the FEL TEMP series, for example by comparing them with depictions from other sources. Below are are four pictures of barbarians. The first two I stole from Doug Smith' website, the last two are from my coins.

I think the first two pictures may show the same type of barbarian in different poses. The distinctive features are the hairdo, with long curls in the back and the wide trousers with decorations running along the legs.

The third picture shows a barbarian with beard and unkempt hair. He is also wearing trousers, but without the decorations.
The fourth pictures shows a barbarian with a very distinctive headgear, i.e. a cap with three (?) points.
Romes' main enemies in the 4th century were: 1) the Parthians, 2) the Scythians (an anarchic term that actually referred to Germanic Goths; and 3) Germanic Alamans and Franks.
I guessing, but I think pictures 1 and 2 may show Parthians, picture 3 may show an Alamanic or Frankish warrior and picture 4 a Goths.

However, it may be more likely that these images depict barbarian topoi. Hence, they may not represent particular peoples, but just Roman cliches of barbarians.

Alternatively, picture 1, 2 and 4 may show eastern barbarians and picture 3 may show a northern barbarian.

 

I found this picture of a statue of a Parthian. Note the wide trousers, just as on the coins.

 

Could this be the most grotesk bust on a Fallen Horseman coin? (Not my coin, found it on Ebay)

 

Hi @Tejas,

The cap on the fourth coin looks like a Bashlyk .

- Broucheion

 

Good point. I think you are right. The cap is indicative of an eastern enemy of Rome. This is also confirmed by Aurelian's ORIENS AVG series, which celebrates his victories in the east and which shows the defeated enemies with these caps.

Therefore, I think the barbarians on the FEL TEMP series are only of two types: eastern barbarians (Parthians)



and northern barbarians (Germans)