I have this AE3 of Magnentius that clearly has the enemy 'standing'. I can find references (in RIC) to the enemy 'kneeling', but not 'standing'. The closest I can get is RIC VIII Lyons 115, but that refers to an enemy 'kneeling'. What do I do? Do I just put (Var.) after the reference? Or do I put "Not in RIC."? Or am I missing something altogether? With 'P L G' in the mintmark I am comfortably certain that the mint is Lyons. Any help is appreciated. (Tesorillo has a 'standing' enemy but ascribes that (rev.) to the Aquileia mint.) EDIT! AE18mm., 2.6gm.
Pretty cool! Maybe an unlisted type or a barbarous copy. The dude on the reverse is going to get it right in the thigh.
The OP coin is surely barbarous. Magnentius is known for having many imitations. Here is one. AE18. 6:00. 3.04 grams. Distinctly smaller than the originals. Very well executed. All the letters of the legend are in their proper postions, but not quite with official letter forms. Mintmark prototype from Lyons, RIC Lyon 117, with a U-like shape followed by PLC, where here the U is upside down. Prototype struck 350-Spring 351 before the elevation of Decentius. From a dealer in England who said it was from Spain. Here is another: A few milimeters smaller than the originals. The "A" behind the head is almost an "H". The portrait style is not far from official. Many letters on the reverse are reasonably well-formed, but the initial "G" of GLORIA is backwards. The prototype mintmark is RPLC of Lyons, RIC 115, plate 5.115. This is a faithful copy of the types. From a dealer in Spain. For other imitations of Magnentius and Decentius, see http://augustuscoins.com/ed/imit/imitmagnentius.html
