i got this unattributed ancient off the bay, wanted to look it up myself using the Wildwinds site, believe i got it Constantine II AE3. 321-324 AD. CONSTANTINVS IVN NOB C, laureate, draped & cuirassed bust right / DOMINOR NOSTROR CAESS around wreath enclosing VOT V *, SMHD in ex. Heraclea RIC VII 63 1st question - what does "in ex" mean in description after mintmark? 2nd question - what does RIC VII 63 stand for? i know i read it somewhere but cant find it. 3rd question - AE3 is the size, which would make this coin about the size of a dime, which it is, correct? i ask this because on the wildwinds site when i clicked on "text" next to the thumbnail image of this coin it states the coin as AE Follis, so i'm assuming the AE follis is a typo. below is what it says when i clicked "text". Constantine II, AE follis of Heraclea. AD 320. CONSTANTINVS IVN NOB C, laureate, draped, cuirassed bust right. DOMINOR dot NOSTROR dot CAESS around VOT V and star in three lines within wreath, dot in badge at top of wreath. Mintmark SMH Delta. RIC VII Heraclea 63. Rated C1. Contributed by George Clegg (biggyg2), February, 2014 an last - what does Rated C1 in his description mean? this is a lot different than collecting 19th an 20th century coinage, but very intriguing! thanks ken.....
Welcome to the dark-side, brother ... => cheers ... help is on its way!! (I promise) I'm always a bit curious what finally draws-in another non-ancient collector ... but then I look at the vast number of super cool coin-opportunities (yah, it quickly makes searching coin-catalogues a real drag, eh?) ... welcome
I am thinking "in ex" means "in exergue," as defined on Google, "a small space or inscription below the principal emblem on a coin or medal, usually on the reverse side."
In Exergue refers to the mintmark on the bottom of the reverse Roman Imperial Coins volume 7 id #63 AE is the material it is made of #3 is the size, follis is a denomination like nickel or dime C! is common 1, meaning tis is a common coin
obverse = constantine the younger (constatine II, son of constantine the great) nob = noble or noble prince, C = ceasar, reverse = ceasars our lords, VOT V = vows or prayers for five years of rule........... how'd i do?
Here is the closest I have to your coin. Mine is a VOT X from, Siscia: CONSTANTINE II AE Follis OBVERSE: CONSTANTINVS IVN NOB CAES, laureate, draped & cuirassed bust right REVERSE: CAESARVM NOSTRORVM, laurel wreath around VOT X, GSIS(sunburst) in ex. Struck at Siscia 321-4 AD 2.90g. 18 mm RIC VII 182,G
Nice coin & really nice post! Here is the first coin I purchased of the Constantine family. I don’t have my coin label to conveniently copy here but it is listed in the Sear Roman coin book. It's basically the same size & weight as your coin. Constantine I AE3 or AE4 307-337 AD Obv: CONSTANTINVS MAX AVG, diademed bust right Rev: GLORIA EXERCITVS, two soldiers standing to either side of one standard. SMANA in Exergue. As I recall, Doug Smith explained that the SM means sacred money. The AN means Antioch where the coin was struck. The final A is a Greek numeral for the workshop within the mint.
