Since the year began, most of my preferred 'Plan A' bids have proven to be unsuccessful forcing me to proceed to 'Plan B'. Consequently, several coins were chosen as an alternative based upon their respective eye-appeal and variety of devices. Unsurprisingly, the reverses once again convinced me to 'pull the trigger'. The sharply detailed captive (Parthian, if the pants, beard and headgear are a clue) and the bust of Sol were specific devices missing from my collection and so the decision was an easy one. I'll just briefly note the following allowing those with further interest to google to their hearts content The ties between Licinius (father and son) to Constantine are interesting. Licinius I married Flavia Julia Constantia, a half-sister of Constantine, so the elder was his brother-in-law while Licinius Junior, his nephew. Both were later executed by Constantine. It appears Licinius Sr was about 55 years of age at the time of his death but the unfortunate Licinius II was only 9 years old. While most of us think of Constantine as the 'First Christian Emperor', he was a product of his times, a devout worshipper of Sol Invictus for most of his life and baptised as a Christian only on his deathbed presumably then incapable of 'sinning' further. Please share any coins of the type or any that you may have purchased as 'Plan B' AE Follis of Licinius II; Antioch, 2.36 grams. 19 mm: circa 317-320 AD Laureate, robed bust with mappa, globe and scepter DN VAL LICIN LICININIVS NOBC Jupiter standing with victory and scepter, captive at his feet IOVI CONS ERVATORI CAESS SMANT Z to right RIC 29 AE Follis of Constantine I; Trier, 4.54 grams, 23 mm: circa 310- 313 AD Laureate, draped and cuirassed bust right IMP CONSTANTINVS AVG Radiate and draped bust of Sol right SOL INVICTO COMITI (Claiming the Unconquered Sun as a companion to the Emperor) RIC 890 (no mintmark)
There are actually quite a few letters written by Constantine from around A.D. 313, sent to various people including bishops, talking about their worship of God. Just because Sol still appeared on coins for a few more years, it does not mean that Constantine worshiped SOL. Compare the number of Christian churches he is known to have built versus temples to Sol his is credited with building. a bit from my MA thesis on this topic- "Of course the old gods did not disappear from the coinage over night; it was a gradual transition that took years. For many of Constantine’s early years as an emperor though, he shared rule of the Roman Empire with others and did not have complete authority over the types of coins that the mints issued. Shortly after the Battle of the Milvian Bridge, when Constantine consolidated his power in the West, the old pagan imagery started to disappear from Roman coinage. Constantine certainly realized that he could not change the people’s religion immediately, it would take many years to win their hearts and minds…and eventually convert them. Constantine had to exercise some caution and not upset too many people, especially the army. "He was careful, and that was why his Christianization of the empire was only gradual...reflected in the slow and for a long time minimal infiltration of the coinage by Christianity." (Grant, Constantine the Great: The Man and His Times) He continued to occasionally utilize Sol on his coinage until circa A.D. 320, when Sol was eventually supplanted by generic reverses such as soldiers holding military standards. By this time, Constantine had a pretty firm hold in the western half of the Roman Empire and there had been almost a decade for the Christianity of Constantine to trickle down through the ranks. It was extremely important for Constantine not to alienate the military. Since the army was responsible for putting him on the throne, it could have just as easily removed him. In reality, Constantine owed his position to the army, regardless of his trust in God, and he surely realized this. Constantine professed to being a Christian, but the army at this time was mostly pagan"
Two very good looking coins! Sometimes, Plan B turns out pretty well, eh. I picked up this Galerius argenteus at an auction which had a good run of them. It was my third choice after having lost out on the first two. A Plan C coin, then? Whatever... important thing is I love it!
Interesting point @Victor_Clark I suspected my 'devout' description probably went a bit too far and i forgot to 'edit' it Thanks for sharing and clarifying that aspect of Constantine's 'dilemma'. That's a super example @zumbly !!! Plan 'C' works for me too
fantastic plan B coins! i'd LOVE to get one with the sol bust reverse, that's high on my list. my problem isn't going to a plan B so much, as it is narrowing down my many candidates to the actual coin i want to get! here's a interesting book about constantine and christianity you can bet for less than a buck on amazon (Constantine and the Conversion of Europe)... https://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/0802063691/ref=dp_olp_all_mbc?ie=UTF8&condition=all thanks to dougsmit for suggesting it a while back in another thread...i dug it.
I suppose I should mention that my 'Plan A' coins are almost always varieties of Greek, Roman Republic and perhaps a few stretching into the early Imperial period. "Plan B' usually are those before and after the Tetrarchy....and so I rarely get to any others that would fall into 'Plan C'.....perhaps next year Thanks to all for the comments and clarifications!!
Here's a good example, minted by Maximian Herculius in Constantine's name: Cyzicus mint, A.D. 311-312 RIC 89b (var., unlisted officina) Obv: IMP C FL VAL CONSTANTINVS P F AVG Rev: HERCVLI VICTORI - Hercules, leaning on club covered by lion skin MKV in exergue; Γ in left field 21 mm, 4.2 g.
Gorgeous Plan-B ... congrats, Mikey-Z Ummm, here is an example of a Plan-B: I was gunnin' for this amazingly cool Plan-A over-strike, but Clio swooped-in and stole it from me at the last minute ... https://cngcoins.com/Coin.aspx?CoinID=322900 => but I ended-up scoring this sweet Plan-B deal ... https://cngcoins.com/Coin.aspx?CoinID=322540 Man, although I love my Plan-B, I still love that trident over-strike!
A recent auction of ex-Dattari coins led to plan B and plan C purchases. Here are some of those coins which were plan A: Domitian diobol, Agathodaemon riding a horse. I was the immediate underbidder but of course have no idea how much higher the winner would have gone. Sigh. Trajan obol with piggorhinophant . Hadrian obol with panther. I'm sure you can guess who outbid me on this one ...and 11 other failed bids from that auctions, some Plan A and some Plan B. I'm still happy to have these Plan B and C coins though: Tiberius obol, hippo Marcus Aurelius diobol, uraeus Antoninus Pius obol, Horus falcon
WOW !! The Plan B and C's that have been posted are fantastic. Congrats @stevex6 and @TIF !! Most recently, I lost out on a Brutus denarius, a gorgeous Tet of Alexander and a few others---not to mention those I posted in other threads a few weeks ago. But there's always tomorrow. right? LOL
That is the hobby as we know it. I know it is hard not to get attached to coins not yet won but we have to realize that there may be a dozen other people out there with their mouths set on those same coins. Some of them will be willing to pay more so I really suggest not loving coins too soon unless you plan on outbidding Clio and the rest of humanity with tastes like yours. I currently have bids outstanding on a dozen coins but they will not be mine for several weeks (if ever) and it will take but a second for someone to decide they want it worse than I do. Should I bid ten times what one coin is worth to me just to be sure I win something? Should I sell the house and pay too much for every one of them just to be sure I get them? Get serious. I have had the opposite situation. A year ago, I paid what I considered a fair price for a coin I wanted. Today there is an substantially equal example of the same basic type in a sale yet to close that stands at about 70% of what I paid and I have seen several others sell for less than I paid. Has there been a hoard? Was I confused as to the proper price to pay when I bought that first one? Should I buy the second on the theory that it is a bargain and a little better? Should I try to sell the first one to you for what I paid so I can buy the second one for less? Bid too little today, you don't get a coin. Bid too much and you risk seeing one tomorrow you like better. Stop worrying about the one that got away and hope that the coin you wanted ended up in a home where it will be loved even if the winner discovers you bought one like it that hits the market next week at a discount price. There is no guarantee of sense in the ancient coin market. Last week one of our number posted a coin that she got much too cheaply from a major seller. Funny how this works!
That's funny you mention Clio, he out bid me on this lot where it went almost 9 times estimate. It seems he has done that to you as well? It is one of two I need to complete my persecution set. As Doug said I will wait for another to pop up, even if the condition is worse.
