Just received this coin from @John Anthony... It's an AE3 from Cyzicus of Licinius II, who served as Caesar under his father Licinius. Unfortunately for the Licinii, the second war fought with Constantine ended up in their defeat and executions. Obverse: Draped and cuirassed bust of Licinius right. DN VAL LICIN LICINIVS NOB C Reverse: Jove standing left with cape, holding Victory in his right hand. JOVI CONSERVATORI CAESS Please share your coins of the Licinii. (ex the @dougsmit collection). I think it's interesting the the prefix DN was used, whereas their earlier coinage featured IMP.
Great coin. Licinius II (317 - 324 A.D.) Æ3 O: DN VAL LICIN LICINIVS NOB C, helmeted, cuirassed bust left holding spear and shield. R: IOVI CONS-ERVATORI, Jupiter standing left, chlamys across left shoulder, holding Victory on globe and eagle-tipped sceptre, eagle with wreath left, captive right. X over II Mu in right field. Mintmark SMHB. Heraclea Mint 20mm 3.3g RIC VII Heraclea 54
Nice coin! I bought mine for the incredibly awful portrait – this is what I'd call a truly botched engraving job. Was there a "bring your kid to work"-day at the Antioch mint? Licinius II, Roman Empire, AE3, 317–320 AD, Antioch mint. Obv: DN VAL LICIN LICINIVS NOB C, laureate and draped bust left, holding mappa, globe, and sceptre. Rev: IOVI CONSERVATORI CAESS, Jupiter standing left, holding Victory on globe and sceptre, captive at feet left, delta in right field. 18mm, 2.82g. Ref: RIC VII, 29 delta.
This coin was listed in RIC VII as Heraclea 50 by Bruun, because he thought the mintmark read SMHTA instead of SMATA. This error was addressed by Pierre Bastien in his article “Coins with a Double Effigy Issued by Licinius at Nicomedia, Cyzicus, and Antioch.” NC 13 (1973) : 87. Licinius I & Licinius II A.D. 318 21mm 4.2g D D N N IOVII LICINII INVICT AVG ET CAES; laureate, draped and cuirassed 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 –-
I don't think it's that bad. Bear in mind that Licinius II was only born in 315 AD, so at time this coin was issued c.317-320 AD he was only 2-5 years old ! This is basically a baby-face portrait !
If I remember correctly, Licinius II is said to have ended up as slave in a tannery or something similar: These are my two favorite coins of Licinius II. I love the high relief bust with mappa on the first coin.
Yes - a sign of the changing times. Not very Roman really! Here's another Licinius II Jupiter reverse, but this one issued by Constantine I from Arles c.318-319, with an unusual captive mintmark. Nearby Lyons would also use captives mintmarks for the following VLPP series of c.319. It's not obvious what the historical reason (if any) is for these captives.
Wiki - may or not be accurate The younger Licinius was executed by his uncle Constantine in 326.[6] He fell victim to the augustus's suspicions and died at Pola, possibly in the context of the execution of Crispus.[16] Like his father, Licinius II was the subject of a posthumous damnatio memoriae and their names were expunged from official inscriptions.[4]
A speculative reason may be the victories of Crispus over the Franks and Alamanni in a series of campaigns that started in A.D. 318.
Nice, @ancient coin hunter . Mine reminds me of an angry monk. RI Licinius II 317-324 CE Folles Jupiter w Eagle sinister left Antioch
I don't usually buy so many of people who are inconsequential to history but Licinius II has some attractive busts and tends not to be terribly expensive. I sold a few but still have enough.
My only coin from his reign is this very sandy coin I possibly should clean one day when I feel ready for this challenge: Follis - Licinius II. Caesar - IOVI CONSERVATORI - Antioch Mint - Military bust
Nice coins!..... Licinius II (320 ad)Follis.Siscia 3.00gr 20mm dia. Obv.LICINIVS IVN NOB C.(Laureate head right) Rev.CAESARVM NOSTRORVM (Wreath inscribed VOT.V Mintmark (delta)SIS(star) RIC VII Siscia #162 (Rated scarce) Licinius II (Caesar, 317-324). AE Follis, 2.96 gram, 19.0mm, Antioch (Antakya, Turkey) mint, Obverse..D N VAL LICIN LICINIVS NOB C ("Our Lord Valerius Licinianus Licinius, Noblest Caesar"), helmeted, cuirassed bust left, shield in left hand and spear in right held over shoulder; Reverse..IOVI CONSERVATORI ("To Jupiter the protector"), Jupiter standing facing, head left, nude but for chlamys over shoulder, Victory on globe offering wreath in his right hand, eagle-topped scepter vertical in left, eagle with wreath in beak on left, X/IIΓ (12 1/2) on right above bearded captive at feet seated right with head turned looking back at Jupiter, SMANTZ in exergue (7th officina) RIC VII Antioch 36 (R3), SRCV IV 15410, Cohen VII 21,
View attachment 1320656 Licinius II, Caesar, 317-324 AD. Æ Follis (19mm). Heraclea mint, struck 321-324 AD. Obv: D N VAL LICIN LICINIVS NOB C, Helmeted and cuirassed bust l., holding spear over shoulder and shield. Rev: Jupiter standing l., holding scepter and Victory standing r. on globe and holding wreath.Eagle standing l. at feet, head to right, holding wreath in beak; bound captive seated r. at feet, head reverted. Number in right field is X over IIIIΓ (?...maybe not), not Χ over IIΓ. Not in RIC with that number. SMHB in exergue.