CONSTANTIUS CHLORUS COTD

[Gavin]

I'm going to try to be a little more active--or active at all--on this board. I post a good bit on another board, but I need to expand my horizons. 

Attached is a recent win from the ANCIENT AND MEDIEVAL COINS CANADA inaugural auction--a coin of Constantius Chlorus, struck at London. Since CC was based in Britannia, I wonder if the London die engravers had special insight into what he looked like. In other words, this portrait feels true to life, and not a typical stylized bull-necked tetrarch. Perhaps that's too romantic. In any event, I was happy to add a coin from the James Pickering collection.

[Victor]

The principal residence of Constantius I was Trier, as that city was the capital of the province of Gallia Belgica (North eastern Gaul). Below is a Trier example from about the same time.



from the ancient sources, you can get an idea of his movement. See The New Empire of Diocletian and Constantine by Timothy Barnes



AD 293, March 1st   proclaimed Caesar, probably in Milan

AD 293, early summer   expels troops of Carausius from NW Gaul

AD 293  repels invasion of Batavia

AD 294, Aug 5   at Cologne

AD 295  visits Italy

AD 296   recovery of Britain

AD 297  at Trier

AD 300 or 301   victory over Franci

AD 302  victory over Germanic tribes in territory of the Lingones

AD 303   German victory near Vindonissa

AD 304  victory over Germanic raiders who had crossed the frozen Rhine

AD 305  crosses from Boulogne to Britain and in a campaign against the Picts.

AD 306, July 25   dies at York

[Gavin]

Thanks Victor. Very interesting. I’ve read Barnes’s CONSTANTINE AND EUSEBIUS. He certainly is the expert.

[Joshmaggosh]

I've been wanting to be more active here too. I'll work on it. I read the daily posts but have toddler that prevents me from doing anything that requires more than 15 seconds of focus until we can battle him to bed.

Anyway, I'm active a few places by different screen names (CT= Orange Julius for example... the result of a bottle of wine while signing up and a no-user name change policy).

Here's a Constantius I from London that I bought from one of Victor's eBay auctions over the last summer.

Constantius I
A.D. 303
CONSTANTIVS NOB C; laureate and cuirassed bust.
GENIO POPVLI ROMANI; Genius standing left, modius on head, naked but for chlamys over left shoulder, right holding patera, left cornucopiae.
No mintmark
RIC VI London 37a

[Gavin]

Yeah, I need to keep a closer eye on Victor's eBay auctions. That's a nice grab.