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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Heliodromus, post: 8137579, member: 120820&quot;]There are two different bust (hair) styles for Helena, one early and one later. The eastern mints, from Heraclea on down, consistently use both busts, but some of the western ones (e.g. London, Lyons, Arles) only use the early one. Trier also has both, maybe being better in touch.</p><p><br /></p><p>During the time period that Constantine is issuing for Helena, from 324 to her death in 328-329, many of his mints repeat issue marks for distinct issues, but for Constantine we can tell these apart by his bust progression from laureate to diademed, to diademed and draped. At some mints RIC also catches the later bust style for Helena and attributes them to the appropriate issue, but at other mints (Heraclea, Constantinole, Cyzicus) RIC has at least partially missed this.</p><p><br /></p><p>Here are the two bust styles for Helena at Constantinople. RIC fails to distinguish them, and would attribute both as RIC 11.</p><p><br /></p><p>The early style c.326-327</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1418195[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>The later style c.327-329 (this specimen from Vienna)</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1418196[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>We can also see the later style bust used on an unlisted anepigraphic fraction (rev: HELENA AVGVSTA) from Constantinople for Helena. Presumably this fraction is from the same issue as the anepigraphic DAFNE type for Constantine, and therefore dates to c.328 AD, as might be expected for this later bust/hair style.</p><p><br /></p><p>This specimen is ex. Jose Herraro Mayo 15, and was illustrated in Lars Ramskold&#039;s treatise on the SPES PVBLIC type.</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1418197[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>As can be seen, the later bust for Helena differs from the early one in being more elaborate, having the braid(?) down/up the back of her head. Note also that in both styles she wears some type of decorated hair band, as opposed to the diadem/tiara (easily distinguishable by the presence of ties in the back) that we see on these Constantinopolis fractions.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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