Author Topic: Constantine I VLPP from Siscia with decorated helmet.  (Read 1036 times)

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Offline Victor

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Constantine I VLPP from Siscia with decorated helmet.
« on: March 10, 2019, 10:07:07 AM »
This coin is simply awesome. (first pic below) It is special because of the decorated helmet.

Constantine I
A.D. 318-19
18mm    3.3gm
IMP CONSTANTINVS P F AVG; laureate helmet and cuirassed bust right.
VICTORIAE LAETAE PRINC PERP; two Victories stg., facing one another, together holding wreath inscribed VOT PR. 
in ex.  ESIS     
RIC VII Siscia 53 


This is bust type D6- Laureate, helmeted, cuirassed. The normal helmet is unadorned besides the laurels. The second picture is a standard D6 bust for the series. The other helmeted type (H11 and H12) has a different type of helmet that is always decorated with stars in either fields and decorations in the cross bar.

Very rarely you might find a lone star on the D6 bust (third picture) or a plain dot (last picture)

but the level of the decoration on this helmet is special. It is RIC 53, the same as the example with a star, and both are from workshop E.


Of course, none of this matters much unless you are a specialist (in fact, it sold for $20.50, so nobody else really cared or noticed)...but I was pretty excited.  :D