Constantine I GLORIA EXERCITVS bust left

[Nikko]

Ihave never seen a Constantine I GLORIA EXERCITVS with bust left.
It has a tiny flan (16mm x 2 gr), but looks official.
It should come after RIC VII Trier 318.


 

[Victor]

though the style is OK, the legend is odd- mainly the reverse, especially the very small G. The small size (though Trier examples often have small flans) coupled with left facing bust would make me think it is unofficial.

A coin like this reminds me of Pierre Bastien in his article "Imitations of Late Roman Bronze Coins, 318-363", writing how some unofficial coins came from “well organized work-shops.” It also seems likely that official mint employees sometime made unofficial coins-- "Since some imperial minters are secretly and criminally engaged in the coinage of counterfeit money" Theodosian Code 9:21:2

[Nikko]

Thanks Victor. I agree, it's odd, but i'm not sure the oddity depends by the small size.

And what about this one? The reverse styles are so close.

[Victor]

they are close in style, but there are still too many problems...mainly the left facing bust (unofficial coins frequently have retrograde elements). Also look at the hands of the soldiers on the shields, very long and like claws. Remember Occam's Razor - all things being equal, the simplest explanation is probably right. In this case, the simplest explanation is that the coin is unofficial, though in good style. You might find a few official coins with some of the same styles, as I noted earlier, official mint employess might have been involved in the minting of unofficial coins.