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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;John Anthony, post: 1828644, member: 42773&quot;]I was digging through my gallon jar of LRB’s (you’ve all got one, right?) and came across a few fairly respectable Constantines with <i>votum</i> reverses. I thought it might make a good thread to post coins that feature <i>vota</i> types. I found some succinct definitions on David Sear’s site...</p><p><br /></p><p>&quot;<i><b>Vota:</b></i>&nbsp; (plural of <i>votum</i>). A vow made to a god in order to obtain a divine favor stipulated in advance. The granting of the request obliged the vower to fulfill his promise. This usually took the form of a sacrifice to the deity or an offering to his (or her) temple. Public <i>vota</i> in Imperial times were normally for the welfare of the emperor over a stated period of time (five or ten years) and were regularly undertaken (<i>vota suscepta</i>) and hopefully paid (<i>vota soluta</i>). Sometimes they were more specific, relating to the safety of the emperor on a particularly hazardous journey or military campaign, or the current state of his health. The undertaking and fulfillment of these public vows was frequently recorded on the coinage and in the late Empire especially may provide useful evidence for the chronological arrangement of issues.&quot;</p><p><br /></p><p>“May provide” are key words here. I’ve read (I’m not sure where - probably in RIC) that if a particular <i>votum</i> was not associated with the celebration of an emperor’s anniversary of rule, using numbers to date the coin can be problematic, unless the <i>votum</i> in question is recorded to have occurred on a specific date. David Sear also gives a simple explanation of the the anniversaries...</p><p><br /></p><p>&quot;<i><b>Decennalia:</b></i>&nbsp; the tenth anniversary of an emperor&#039;s rule, marked by the redemption of previous vows (<i>vota soluta</i>) and the undertaking of new ones (<i>vota suscepta</i>). It was often commemorated on the coinage by a depiction of the emperor sacrificing at an altar or by an inscription within a votive wreath. The <i>quinquennalia</i> (five years) and <i>vicennalia</i> (twenty years) were similarly celebrated, the latter of course far less frequently.&quot;</p><p><br /></p><p>In the case of the following coin, the appearance of the inscription VOT XXX follows directly on the heels of Constantine’s <i>vicennalia</i> of July 325, and it’s assumed with confidence that this <i>votum</i> is associated with his 20th anniversary celebration.</p><p><br /></p><p>Constantine I, 272-337</p><p>AE3: 20mm, 2.7g, 12h; Heraclea mint: 326</p><p>Obv.: CONSTANTINVS AVG; Laureate head right</p><p>Rev.: D N CONSTANTINI MAX AVG; laurel wreath enclosing VOT/XXX // SMHBdot</p><p>Reference: RIC VII, Heraclea 82 (p. 552)</p><p><br /></p><p><a href="http://postimage.org/" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://postimage.org/" rel="nofollow"><img src="http://s28.postimg.org/env037q3x/vot2700.jpg" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /></a>[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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