I just posted a minor web page about long Roman Imperial mintmarks. http://esty.ancients.info/longmm/LongMintmarks.html The Julian coin is new and was the inspiration. If you have any coins with long mintmarks, we'd love to see them!
Nice lineup on that webpage. How about: CONSTANTINE I AE2 Follis OBVERSE: CONSTANTINVS P F AVG, laureate head right REVERSE: IOVI CONSERVATORI, Jupiter standing left, holding globe & sceptre, wreath left, E right, dot SM dot TS dot in ex. Struck at Thessalonica 312-313 AD 5.5g, 26mm RIC VI 50b
Or: CONSTANTINE II AE3 Follis OBVERSE: CONSTANTINVS IVN NOB C - Laureate, draped, and cuirassed bust left REVERSE: PROVIDENTIAE CAESS - Campgate with two towers, 10 rows and star above. SMANTB in ex. Struck at Antioch, 325-335 AD 2.81g, 18mm RIC VII 65
My favorite mintmark is the Eros added series of Constantine, Licinius and their sons. Between the R for Rome and the final letter indicating the officina is a ligature of EPWC (eros) which is Greek for Amor in Latin. Amor spelled backwards id Roma which is where the coin was made. I've shown my Crispus pair before so I'll show two less high grade ones from the Augusti.
Another good one is this Septimius Severus small one assarion of Nicopolis ad Istrum which in Greek is NIKOpiOLIT piPO around the edge and continued retrograde in exergue CICTPO. Nicopolis pros Istron (on the Ister river) was a long name and combined with magistrate names sometimes resulted in strange placements. Below is a Gordian III which finished the name in three lines in exergue and another that stacked the overflow letters in the left field. Creativity was required; consistency, not so much.
Thanks for starting this thread and posting your link Valentinian. I learned a lot by reading your new page. I've recently started collecting the Constantinian Vrbs Roma Commemoratives. While not as long as some mintmarks posted above, here's one from the Siscia mint with a "longish" mint mark. It just arrived in the mail yesterday from a seller in Hungary. Haven't had the chance to photo it yet, so I'll use the seller's photo. Constantine Vrbs Roma; 334-35 AD Rome City Commemorative, Siscia Mint(dot BSIS dot) Bronze, AE3, 18mm/2.3g Obv; VRBS ROMA; helmet with plume, mantled bust of Roma Left Rev; She-wolf standing left, suckling Romulus and Remus, two stars above, RIC VII, 240
XXIΓ•ΛI Maximianus Herculius - Antoninianus Obv:- IMP C M A VAL MAXIMIANVS P F AVG, Radiate, cuirassed bust right Rev:- CONSERVATOR AVGG, Emperor & Hercules sacrificing at altar Minted in Ticinum. -/-/XXIΓ•ΛI Reference:- RIC 580 Part of the coded HP - KOY - LI series
We should show the other two parts of the series HP and KOY. Actually this one comes in three versions for each so a set is nine coins. The officina letter can be in the field, before or after the XXI. I have been trying to get a set of these and the Diocletian parallel IOVI set but someone always out bids me.
man that Julian ii coin in the OP is fantastic! long mint marks are pretty darn cool.. how about this this Julian ii? CONSPA (palm branch)..7 characters isn't to shabby.
