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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Valentinian, post: 2860036, member: 44316&quot;]One thing to like about later Roman coins is the variety of bust types not found on issues of the first and second centuries. The second coin below has a very unusual bust type.</p><p><br /></p><p>Many bust types can be found on coins of Constantine and his sons. One that stands out is common on coins of Constantine II:</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]680679[/ATTACH] </p><p>19-18 mm. 2.05 grams. </p><p>RIC VII Ticinum 121 &quot;319-320&quot;</p><p>Overall, a bust left holding Victory on a globe is uncommon, but for Constantine II (and only Constantine II) it is common. This particular example is special for having the &quot;Iota chi&quot; symbol to the left of the banner with &quot;VOT/XX&quot; on it. That symbol, with its bump at the top, has been sometimes thought to be a &quot;chi-rho&quot; for Christ, but in spite of older articles with line-drawings of it clearly showing a chi-rho with the P having an open loop like it should at the top, those are just line-drawings, not photographs, and it does not really seem to exist as a chi-rho--this is as close as it gets. (If you have an example that really shows a rho, we would like to see it.)&nbsp; So I call it an &quot;Iota-Chi&quot; (I X, superimposed), which might, just might, have a connection to Christ.</p><p><br /></p><p>But I digress. The point of this post is the next coin obtained last month:</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]680680[/ATTACH] </p><p><br /></p><p>Again, it is Constantine II. Again the bust is left. Again, he is holding a globe, but this time without Victory on it. Globes without Victory turn out to be very rare.&nbsp; RIC VII Lugdunum (Lyons) has this type as #196, &quot;r4&quot;, with only two other globe-only varieties at Lugdunum, both for Constantine II and both &quot;r5&quot; (only 1 of each known that the time). A search on vcoins under &quot;Constantine II globe&quot; brings up 157 items (not all Constantine II), none of which have this bust. </p><p><br /></p><p>20-18 mm. 2.49 grams.</p><p>BEATA TRANQVILLITAS around altar with globe on VO/TIS/XX on it, C to left, R to right, PLG in exergue. </p><p><br /></p><p>Show us an unusual bust type.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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