Two very different fallen horsemen

I haven't paid much attention to the Fallen Horsemen types until I saw several lovely examples posted here. I have kept my eyes out for some for my own hoard and bought these this week. Having them side by side shows how variable the styles are across the empire.

Coin 1 - Lugdunum (predictably for me)

Constantius II - AE3
Obv:– DN CONSTAN-TIVS P F AVG, Pearl diademed, draped, cuirassed bust right
Rev:– FEL TEMP REPARATIO, Soldier spearing falling horseman
Minted in Lugdunum (GSLG). 18th August A.D. 353 - 6th November A.D. 355
Reference:– RIC VIII Lugdunum 189

19.70 mm

A nicely detailed and typical Lugdunum portrait for the period with a reverse that holds most of the detail but from slightly worn dies. A lovely chocolate brown patina.



Coin 2 - Alexandria

Constantius II - Æ Centenionalis
Obv:- D N CONSTANTIVS P F AVG, pearl diademed, draped and cuirassed bust right
FEL TEMP REPARATIO, soldier spearing fallen horseman left
Minted in Alexandria (G | // ALEA). 15th March A.D. 351 - 6th November A.D. 355
RIC VIII Alexandria 72. Cohen 46, LRBC 2836.

24.13 mm

A much more detailed engraving but suffering from an uneven strike.



Two almost contemporary coins but very, very different in appearance.

Martin

 

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nice LRB martin...choclate brown patina is awesome.
quite a difference is size also, more room to add some nice details on that second coin.

 

As usual, Martin, you have two very terrific examples!!!

Great details and patina!!

 

Too bad you can't combine the two's best parts. Otherwise, you have two very nice examples of FH type.

 

I am a fan of the fallen horseman type and especially the larger AE2's of 348-353AD. What is appealing to these coins is - besides the many obvious reverse variations - the diversity of bust types.
For instance, please check out the globe-holding bust type on these, by Constans:


CONSTANS Centenionalis (VF)

AV: DN CONSTA - NS PF AVG; pearl diademed draped cuirassed holding globe in r. hand bust r.

REV: FEL TEMP RE - PARATIO; Roman soldier spearing bare headed fallen horseman.

EXE: TSA* Thessalonica mint.

REF: RIC VIII Thessalonica 116, rated C 348-350.

RIC rates them common but I think they are rather scarce by today's standards.

AE2 25mm 4.75g


22mm 4.76g

 

Nice coins Seth

 

Nice examples all.

 

I see the OP coin as GPLG not GSLG. This is a type I do not have. It shows the unique to this mint cylinder above the bottle brush tail of the horse. What I am missing are the horse's front legs. Dane's coin also lacks the legs but she calls the brush a palm branch because on hers there is a space between it and the horse's rear.
I do have Lyons FH1 and FH2 from the earlier AE2 period.

 

I have always liked Alexandria because my first one (ALEA) struck me as such a well drawn coin. As a result, I filled out the set of four officinae. I like them all but my ALEA is still my favorite.


I only have one of the Gallus from Alexandria. It is later without the gamma in the reverse field and lighter in weight.

 

I see both of Seth's coins as FH4 but my set of Thessalonika officinae 1-3 for Constans really blur the line between FH1 and FH4. The space between horse and ground is much smaller. None of mine are particularly nice so they may be rare in good shape.
My Constantius II is TSE and has spacing under the horse. Mine and Dane's are both TSE but RIC claims the exist for all officina. I have not seen a delta for anyone. I have not searched enough for that to mean anything. RIC rarity ratings mean nothing. Repeat after me: Nothing. Dane says all Constans FH are rare. Maybe. In this case, I agree with RIC that Constantius of this issue are harder to find.

OK, who noticed my CSII barbarian is wearing a hat? So is Dane's.
http://www.catbikes.ch/helvetica/ft-thessalonica.htm
RIC says Constans coins have a hat, too, but I have not seen it. Headgear was not a major concern when RIC was written. I suspect the next edition on these will be very different.

 

Great additions! The Lugdunum FH has an interesting portrait, but the Alexandrian looks great too. My favorite as far as style is still Antioch.

 

Well, when in Rome ...

CONSTANTIUS II SILVERED AE2 (Maiorina/Centenonialis)
Heraclea mint, 1st Office
348-351 AD
Diameter: Large size: 22 mm
Weight: 5.1 grams
Obverse: : D N CONSTANTIVS P F AVG. Pearl-diademed, draped and cuirassed bust to right
Reverse: FEL TEMP REPARATIO, soldier standing left, knee raised, spearing fallen horseman and is reaching backwards. Left field: Star. Mintmark SMHA in exergue
Reference: RIC VIII 67






Congrats on the two new additions, Martin

 

I recently got interested in the FH type after I found one with great detail in the armour of the fallen horseman:


Constantius II
Coin:
DN CONSTAN-TIVS PF AVG - pearl-diademed, draped, cuirassed bust right
FEl TEMP RE-PARATIO - Soldier spearing fallen horseman who is bearded, bare-headed with two braids, reaching backwards
Exergue:
Mint: Constantinople (330-355 AD)
Wt./Size/Axis: 4.62g / 22mm / -
References:

• RIC VIII Constantinople 82v

Constantius II
Coin: Bronze Centenionalis
DN CONSTAN-TIVS PF AVG - Pearl Diademed, draped right
FEL TEMP RE-PARATIO - soldier standing left with lace-up boots, spearing fallen horseman who is unbearded, wears Phrygian helmet, hair in two braids, reaching backwards. Gamma in left field.
Mint: Constantinople (348-351 AD)
Wt./Size/Axis: 4.11g / 22-25mm / -
References:

• RIC Constantinople 82 var

Constantius II
Coin: Bronze Centionalis
DN CONSTAN-TIVS P F AVG - pearl diademed, draped, cuirassed bust right
FEL TEMP RE-PARATIO - soldier spearing fallen horseman who is bearded, wearing Phrygian helmet, reaching backwards. Gama in left field.
Mint: Nicomedia (337-361 AD)
Wt./Size/Axis: 3.70g / 22mm / -
References:

• RIC VIII Nicomedia 84 var

Julian II
Coin: Bronze AE3
DN IVLIAN-VS NOB CAES - bare-headed, draped, cuirassed bust right
FEL TEMP R-EPARATIO - soldier spearing fallen horseman who is wearing Phrygian helmet and reaching backwards, M in center
Mint: Arles (355-360 AD)
Wt./Size/Axis: 2.88g / 18mm / -
References:

• RIC 271

Constantius II
Coin: Bronze AE3
D N CONSTAN-TIVS P F AVG - Pearl-diademed, draped & cuirassed bust right
FEL TEMP-REPARATIO - Helmeted soldier to left, shield on left arm, spearing fallen horseman; Horseman wearing Phrygian helmet, turns to face soldier and extends right arm. D in left field
Mint: Arles (350-353 AD)
Wt./Size/Axis: 2.01g / 18mm / -
References:

• RIC VIII Arles 215

 

I also noticed that Constantius is scarcer than Constans for this series at Thessalonika, which is quite counter-intuitive considering that in general Constans is scarcer.

RIC 115, rated as Scarce AE2 26mm 5.04g

 

Constantius II Æ Centenionalis. Constantinople, AD 351-355. DN CONSTANTIVS PF AVG, pearl-diademed, draped and cuirassed bust right / FEL TEMP REPARATIO, soldier spearing fallen horseman; Γ to left, CONSB* in exergue. RIC 82. 6.47g, 22mm, 12h.

This one was improperly attributed (by Roma) as RIC 81. I like it because you can see the soldier's face fairly well....creepy
Constantius Gallus, AE22. Antioch. DN CONSTANTI-VS NOB CAES, bare-headed, draped, cuirassed bust right / FEL TEMP RE-PARATIO, soldier standing left, spearing fallen horseman who is bearded, hair in braids, clutching horse's neck. Gamma in left field. Mintmark ANA. RIC VIII Antioch 137.

My favorite "horseman" because Dane added it to the Wildwinds database.

http://www.wildwinds.com/coins/ric/constantius_gallus/i.html

 

JBG: I've been looking for one like your Constantius II. It's in such outstanding condition.

 

Thank you! I won this in Roma's last auction, where almost all the "horseman" coins were mis-attributed. Real sloppy!

 

Here's another nice one, I think...."horseman sitting".


CONSTANTIUS II (337 - 361). MAIORINA. THESSALONICA.



Obv: D N CONSTANTIVS P F AVG .
Pearl-diademed, draped and cuirassed bust right; A behind.
Rev: FEL TEMP REPARATIO/ TS Δ.
Soldier standing left, spearing fallen horseman; A in field.

RIC 123.

 

I remember that coin. You bought it from Gitbud und Naumann, right?