Constantine II campgate from Cyzicus...bust with buckler

[Victor]

This Constantine II campgate has what looks like a buckler (small shield) on the left shoulder. The second picture below is the usual type from Cyzicus. The third picture is a Constantine I VLPP from Siscia with a shield that has the same decorations on the outer edge.

This should not be confused with Trierer Pelzchen (Trier fur) like the last two pictures; which have distinct fringes and long vertical lines representing a garment.

perhaps the engraver did not understand what he was supposed to engrave.

I've never seen anything similar.

Constantine II
A.D. 327- 328
19mm    2.6gm
CONSTANTINVS IVN NOB C; Laureate (resembles pearls), draped and cuirassed (?) bust left, with buckler on left shoulder.
PROVIDEN-TIAE CAESS; camp gate with two turrets and star between them; dot in left.
in ex. SMKΓ
cf. RIC VII Cyzicus 52

[tjaart]

Nice catch! It really does look like a small shield.

[Victor]

Nice catch! It really does look like a small shield.

Yes, I was pretty excited to find it on eBay. However, ROMA Numismatics sold the example below in May 2019. So now there are at least two examples known. Though the shield designs are very similar (probably the same engraver) they are not die matches, which means at least two obverse dies...so it is more probable other examples are out there...possibly not even noticed.

[tjaart]

Do you think this Crispus coin from the same mint has a similar "shield"?

[Victor]

Yes, I think that the Crispus coin also has a buckler. You can see the shield boss, represented as a dot in the center.

[tjaart]

Am I correct in assuming these are new bust types for Constantine II and Crispus? A quick search of Crispus bust types on Wildwinds do not show any bust where there is only a shield. It always seems to appear with a spear and a shield.

[Victor]

Yes, it is a "new" bust type.

I have the bust types from RIC VII here

http://www.constantinethegreatcoins.com/busts/

it needs updating though.

[Lech Stępniewski]

Hi tjaart,

what is the weight and the diameter of your coin?

I believe that this "shield" wasn't planned and evolved from this variant:

[tjaart]

Hi Lech,

I am still waiting for the coin but the reported size is 20mm and the weight is 3.24g.

[tjaart]

Hi all,

so the coin arrived and I am sad to say that after having it in hand, I don't think it shows a buckler. I attach a better photo. It almost looks as if there is quite prominent circular shoulder decoration and within the "shield" there are simply parallel stripes.

The size and weight reported previously seems to be correct.

[Victor]

Yes, in your picture you can clearly see the stripes, so not a shield.

[sky92881]

Hi Victor,

In attachment an other specimen , found while cataloging my collection.
The coin has a wheight of 2,75 grams and a diameter of 18mm.

  sky92880

[Victor]

that's a nice example...thanks for posting. It is interesting, but not really surprising, that all 3 examples in this thread are from the same workshop, gamma.

[sky92880]

Hallo Victor,

I am using my old username ( sky92880 ) and not sky92881. I have seen in RIC 7, that under cyzicus number 53, there is on plate 22 a foto fromConstantius with the buckler. ( not Constantinus )

greetings from a quiet Bruges,

sky92880

[Victor]

Well that's pretty neat, and it is also from the gamma workshop.

and greeting from an equally quiet Nashville