Late Roman Bronze Coins
Coin talk => Unofficial coinage => Topic started by: Victor on August 01, 2016, 09:50:23 AM
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Here is an unofficial anepigraphic (16mm 1.4gm) that just sold for $199. The style is a little off and notice that there is a spelling error on the reverse-- MVS
The left facing bust is only listed in RIC for Constantine II, though Zschucke* lists an example for Constantine I and Crispus.
I have also only seen the star reverse used for the Caesars, while Constantine I reverses have a wreath; though Zschucke does illustrate some Crispus with wreath. Even the left facing example of Constantine I illustrated by Zschucke has a wreath reverse, though you can't tell from the picture if it might be unofficial; but I am inclined to believe that the example illustrated is an official hybrid, mistakenly using an obverse of Constantine II.
So, are there any undoubtedly official Constantine I anepigraphic issues from Trier that have a star reverse?
*Die Bronze-Teilstück-Prägungen der römischen Münzstätte Trier
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For once the answer is easy. No. All such examples are unofficial. A few years ago I wrote a paper detailing the anepigraphic issues of Constantine. My database includes nearly one thousand anepigraphic "coins". Antioch dominates, of course, with 564 examples.
They were in fact not coins but propaganda tokens that could also function as coins because they met the weight standard of the contemporary coinage.
The Constantine I unofficial Trier examples with star are rare, I only know of four. There are also a few examples with wreath.
An example very similar to the dionysos example was published by Harlick in the Celator in 2007.
My paper can be found on Academia and on ResearchGate: Ramskold, Lars, 2013: Constantine’s Vicennalia and the Death of Crispus. In M. Rakocija (ed.), Niš and Byzantium, Eleventh Symposium, Niš, 3–5 June 2012, The Collection of Scientific Works, XI, 409 – 456. Niš, Serbia.
Or I can email it to anyone interested.