A Victory with wreath and palm variant?

[GardeningAccountant]

Hello,

I won this as a door prize at a meeting of a local coin club some years ago, but didn't get much information about it; just that it was from the reign of Constantine. I've mostly collected early American coinage but I'm getting interested in the hobby again and would want to learn more about ancient coins.

It looks to me like a variant of the Victory holding a wreath and palm branch design, but it's pretty heavily worn, and I'm certainly not an authority. I've been storing it in a Capital Plastics container and only unscrewed the container to photograph it, so I can at least say the wear on it isn't my doing.

One apparent difference on the reverse between my coin and photos I've seen here and elsewhere is that on mine, Victory is holding the wreath closer to her head, so the elbow is at a more acute angle. Also, on the obverse, what I think are Constantine's hair braids seem to curve out and then down, rather than curving down and then out away from his body or dropping straight down.

Does anyone have an idea of the mint? Or an estimate of the value? I don't plan to sell it, but I am curious. Since it was one of several prizes being given out, my expectations are pretty low.

[Victor]

Hello and welcome,

Your coin is actually Valens and was struck circa A.D. 364- 367. It is from the mint of Siscia. It is an extremely common example and in its condition is not  worth much, you can buy similar for less than a dollar. As far as it being a variant, you will find many differences on ancient coins as they were hand engraved by different workers and no two look alike, unless they are die-matches and even then, there will be differences due to the flan and the striking process. On the obverse what you called hair braids are actually ties for the diadem.

I would write a description something like this-

Valens
A.D. 364-367
DN VALENS PF AVG; pearl-diademed, draped and cuirassed bust right.
SECVRITAS REIPBLICAE; Victory advancing left holding wreath and palm branch, in left field star over A.
In ex. (?)SISC
RIC IX Siscia 7b, type v

I put in a question mark since I can't actually see what workshop it is from and the bit about RIC IX stands for Roman Imperial Coinage volume 9, which is the standard reference for these coins.

You also don't need to worry about keeping stored in the container as it will not hurt the coin to be handled. I sometimes carry common ancient coins around loose in my pockets.


Welcome to the hobby!