That is the question. 9.05.013 (cuirassed) or 9.05.015 (trabea) - RIC VII 271 CONSTANTINVS AG - Laureate and cuirassed or trabeate bust right, holding eagle tipped sceptre in right hand BEAT TRANQLITAS - Globe on altar inscribed VOT/IS/XX in three lines; above, three stars -/-//PLON 19mm, 3.71g, 321 AD ex Alan Cherry, London Coin Fair 2019, purchased from MostlyBronze on ebay 2020 I couldn't resist having a bid on this one, and happily won it. Although it is slightly off centre on both the obverse and reverse, it is an excellent strike and the picture doesn't do the surfaces of the coin justice. It is wonderfully smooth and glossy in hand. Although coins of this type show up fairly frequently with the more common legend of CONSTANTINVS AVG, they are a lot more scarce with AG. They are listed in RIC as being trabeate, but Cloke and Toone distinguish between cuirassed and trabeate examples. In reality, however, it seems to me that there is a good deal of artistic licence used by the die engravers at London during the whole time that the mint was open, and that describing bust types is far less precise as a result. Here we have a right shoulder piece that extends about half way up Constantine's neck, higher than the usual B2 cuirassed bust of the time. However the parallel lines coming down from the dotted band look more like a cuirass than other coins of this issue showing a trabea, where the lines bend downwards to give the appearance of cloth. But then a close look at the chest of the bust shows irregular, cloth like folds or a cloth like pattern which is again rarely present on the B2 cuirassed and laureate busts. Anyone have any insight?
Lovely coin @thejewk and i never knew that about AG being rarer. Hope someone can answer your question.
I had a similar coin which I lazily attributed as trabea as I couldn't say that it wasn't I thought it worthwhile showing one that I have as trabea and facing the other way. The rationale behind thinking these cuirassed may well be the shoulder straps that don't normally appear on a trabeate bust.
There are a variety of legends where the legends end in AG vs AVG. Whether they are scarcer than AVG or not is not a straight forward thing to answer. There are certainly less varieties that end AG rather than AVG but whether an individual overall variety is scarcer one way or another is a separate analysis. Here are a couple of AG coins that I have managed to obtain over the years in case they are useful....
@maridvnvm I meant that AG is rarer than AVG specifically with this type with the -/-//PLON. You are quite right with other types, AG is much more common on some issues, although the reason eludes me. Do you see what I mean regarding the lines of the shoulder piece draping downwards on your coin? I would immediately say that your example it trabeate because it has the same traits as the coin illustrated in LMCC, but it is certainly less ornate than that shown on your excellent Constantine II example.
I think that because Constantine is shown holding a scepter, you can consider him trabeate on the OP. The London mint was under his control at the time, so he could dictate how he was depicted on the coinage coming from there. There are many coins from London showing him as a great general/warrior (cuirassed), but I think he was also trying to reinforce the image of himself as supreme ruler on these coins.
