The London Mint of Constantine

Hookmoor Ancient Coins

2011-11-22T15:16:00.001Z

I am pleased to announce that our new website, Hookmoor Ancient Coins, is now up and running. As well as resources on the London Mint of Constantine and Romano-British numismatics generally, it will incorporate the Lee Toone Ancient Coins website, offering a range of coins and numismatic books. The first sales lists will be available early in the New Year. In the meantime, please take a look and explore the Resources pages.

Some earlier posts from this blog will be transferred over in due course, but in the forseeable future this website will be maintained as an archive.

To view the new website click on the logo above or here.

New Website Imminent!

2011-09-23T15:34:00.000+01:00

My apologies for the lack of posts over the summer months. New projects have led to me taking my eye off the ball - organising MONETA BRITANNIA 2011, taking the family on holiday and watching too much cricket have also not helped!

One of my new projects is to set up a new website that can be managed without the commercial and technical constraints of Google blogspots - the host of this website. The new website is currently in Beta testing and should go live in November. Further information and a link will be placed on this blog next month.

Many thanks to all of you for reading this blog over the last few years.

An Unlisted Facing Quadriga

2011-05-07T11:33:00.000+01:00

Facing quadriga types of Constantine only appear at London and are very rare. The coin shown above is not the prettiest of specimens but does come with a long legend IMP CONSTANTINVS AVG. This legend is unknown to me for this type and would come before RIC VII 81. There is no provenance available for this coin.

A Consular ADVENTVS of Constantine

2011-03-21T09:38:00.002Z

The Portable Antiquities Scheme (PAS) has once again made an interesting contribution to my studies. The first coin was brought to my attention a few months ago and seemed to be a previously unknown consular bust issue ADVENTVS of the star in right field issue of London. Found in Norfolk, its condition leaves much to be desired but one had to assume that this coin was the first known to link a consular bust of Constantine with an ADVENTVS reverse. Fast forward a couple of months and look what appears in an article by Sam Moorhead in the March edition of "Treasure Hunting" magazine.

This coin is in much better condition and confirms the link between these obverse and reverse types for this issue. Looking closely, one can determine that these coins are an obverse die match, although not a reverse die match. These discoveries potentially strengthen the theory that Constantine visited Britain in AD311 just prior to his consulship that started on 1st January AD 312. No doubt further examples of these types will come to light in the future. Not quite the Frome Hoard, but on a different scale, another success for PAS!

London Mint Talk

2011-01-29T14:50:00.000Z

I have been asked by the Yorkshire Numismatic Society to give a talk on the London Mint. The talk will focus on the period from AD 319 to 325 and will be based on my recent article and research. It will take place on 5th March 2011 at the Swarthmore College, Woodhouse Square, Leeds at 2.00pm for 2.30pm and I am informed that guests are all welcome.

Those were the days .......... !

2011-01-14T20:32:00.001Z

The Cae Bardd hoard featured significantly in my article on the London mint covering the period AD 319 to 325. Found in 1981 and published in Coin Hoards from Roman Britain Volume VII it contained 4,716 coins including 1,978 from the London mint. The report records that the hoard was subsequently bought by a dealer and dispersed.

Thanks to a good friend of mine (thank you Adrian!), this week I have obtained a copy of the dealer's sales catalogue for the hoard. Issued, I think, in 1982 by D.B.Coins, it lists 188 individual coins including an example of RIC 288 (GVF) for £22 and many EF silvered examples for between £20 and £30 each.

Parcels of ten VF coins would set you back £90 and 100 fine to VF coins £700. Thirty years on, these prices have probably not kept pace with inflation but it has been a while since I have seen this amount of coins of this quality available in a retail catalogue.

"Moneta Britannia 2011" - Programme Announced

2010-12-08T13:38:00.004Z

The programme for Moneta Britannia 2011 has just been announced. Please visit the website for further information. Registration details will be announced in January 2011.

http://monetabritannia2011.blogspot.com/

Les Deux Emmissions ............. encore!

2010-11-08T17:28:00.003Z

In 1990, Helene Huvelin published an article, "Les deux emissions londoniennes" in Numismatische Zeitschrift. In this article she listed 157 coins with the star in right field mintmark and 47 of the star in left field mintmark. This was a significant increase over those already listed in RIC. However, in the last twenty years numerous other types have come to light (such as the coin shown above) and a revision of this work is long overdue. I am now compiling a new list of these issues and would welcome any information pertaining to coin types of these mintmarks not listed in RIC or Huvelin.

Note: The coin shown at the top of this post is a nummus of Constantine the Great, obverse - CONSTANTINVS PF AVG helmeted and cuirassed bust of emperor right, reverse - MARTI CONSERVATORI Mars standing right with spear and shield. The helmeted bust is more usually shown with spear and shield.

The Answer!

2010-09-28T17:40:00.000+01:00

This is the coin. Reference RM4301 in the September edition of Spink's Numismatic Circular. Actually BEAT TRANQLITAS rather than BEATA TRANQVILLITAS and should come after 267 in RIC and after 355 in my new list for this period. The coin is to be expected and fits neatly into this series. These BEAT TRANQLITAS and BEATA TRANQVILLITAS can be quite confusing because of the number of minor varieties and the sometimes loose interpretations of the bust types by the engravers.

A Surprising New London Mint Coin!

2010-09-23T17:52:00.000+01:00

Well, the coin itself is not so surprising but more the means by which I discovered it! My copy of the September issue of Spink's Numismatic Circular arrived through the mail today. As well as my new London Mint article, it contained several London coins for sale. I skimmed through them and one caught my eye. Unlisted in RIC and not in my new list that was published only a few pages before!

So as not to spoil the fun immediately, I will leave it a few days before explaining all and illustrating the coin. No prizes for spotting which one it is, but don't bother ringing Spink as it was already sold when I made my telephone call!

A New Coin of Constantine II

2010-09-20T17:11:00.001+01:00

Constantine II

Ob. CONSTANTINVS IVN N C Laureate, draped bust seen from behind.
Rev. PRINCIPIA IVVENTVTIS Prince standing right, leaning on reversed spear, hand resting on shield.

London Mint - crescent in left field, PLN in exergue.
RIC --, Toone (prelim.) --.
After RIC 136, after Toone (prelim) 182.

This obverse legend is unpublished and unlisted for PRINCIPIA for this crescent issue. It is, however, known for the corresponding CLARITAS and SOLI types, so is to be expected.

The London Mint AD 319-325 - A Preliminary Listing

2010-09-09T08:52:00.000+01:00

I have just finished proof reading this article and it will now be published in the September issue of Spink's Numismatic Circular. The previous article covering the period AD 313-318 was published in the October 2008 issue that is available in electronic form here. Incidentally, this issue also includes an article by Malcolm Lyne on the "Earliest Coinage of Carausius".

A Dedicated Blog for Moneta Britannia

2010-09-07T11:45:00.002+01:00

While the Moneta Britannia website is under construction, I have set up a dedicated blog for the conference. The link is contained within the title of this post and in the panel on the right side bar. Do subscribe so that you get regular updates. This blog can now return to its London Mint focus. I would, however, just like to point out that I am most grateful to the UK Numismatic Trust for agreeing to provide funding for the conference.

"Moneta Britannia" - The Coinage of Roman Britain

2010-07-19T14:50:00.002+01:00

"Moneta Britannia" - The Coinage of Roman Britain

I can now confirm that this conference will take place in York (UK) on Thursday 14th July 2011. The exact location is yet to be decided but will be central. The day will consist of at least eight papers covering many aspects of the coinage used in Britain during the Roman period. Topics already planned include:

• The coinage of Carausius and Allectus;

• The Roman influence on early Anglo-Saxon Coinage;

• Unofficial mints in mid-fourth century Britain; and

• The London mint of Constantine.

We also hope to arrange sessions on:

• Recent Romano-British coin hoards;

• The Gallic Empire coinage; and

• References to Britannia on Roman coins.

Further information will be available soon on a dedicated website but you can sign up for email alerts by contacting me here - lee @ leetoone.co.uk - as usual, omit the spaces.

Papers on appropriate numismatic and closely related matters are invited. The closing date for session submissions is 30th November 2010. In the first instance requests to present a paper should be emailed to lee@leetoone.co.uk .

This conference will form part of a broader “Yorkshire Festival of Numismatics” taking place that week:

The 2011 Leeds International Medieval Congress takes place from July 11-14 and, with its theme of Poor . . . Rich, includes a medieval coinage symposium, SMC @ IMC, covering the medieval period from 973 to c.1500. This will be probably be held on Wednesday 13th July and is being organised by Tony Abramson who can be contacted via me at the email address given above. Further information can be found here http://www.leeds.ac.uk/ims/imc/.

The York Coin and Stamp Fair will be held at York Racecourse on Friday 15th July and Saturday 16th July 2011 and it is hoped that the Yorkshire Numismatic Society will be able to host a special meeting at this venue during the course of the show.

The Yorkshire Museum (situated in central York) will have reopened following a nine month refurbishment. The Vale of York treasure will be on display, after being included in a special British Museum exhibition: Treasures from Medieval York, during the closure. The Vale of York Viking Hoard includes 600 coins, complete ornaments, ingots (bars), and chopped-up fragments known as hack silver and was discovered in North Yorkshire in January 2007 by two metal detectorists.

"Moneta Britannia" is jointly organised by:

Lee Toone, York, UK.
Richard Bourne, York, UK.
Brent Upchurch, Boston, USA.

The Gold Medallions of the Arras Treasure

2010-07-13T15:41:00.006+01:00

In the late 1920s M. Etienne Bourgey of Paris was fortunate enough to purchase the owner's share of the Arras treasure. This included six of the nine large gold medallions. M. Bourgey made high quality electrotypes of his medallions and was also given sole rights to copy the three medallions retained by the city of Arras. The electrotypes, in gilt copper, were of the finest quality and were produced for institutions and collectors. They were produced in a limited edition and were all numbered on the edge. The British Museum possesses a set and they are frequently displayed.

In January 1928, the two page advertisement shown above appeared in Spink's Numismatic Circular. Sets of these electrotypes were available for £10 each including case or one could buy a copy of the Arras medallion on its own for the princely sum of £3. The smaller medallions could be had for a £1 a piece.

These electrotypes rarely come on to the open market, either singly or in sets, and are keenly competed for when they do.

PS And yes, I did check with Spink and they are all sold out!

Romano-British Coin Hoards

2010-07-10T13:50:00.009+01:00

The recent announcement of the discovery of the Frome Hoard has led me to update my top ten of Romano-British Coin Hoards. This hoard, ending in the reign of Carausius, leaps into the number two slot. (Photograph above courtesy of the British Museum.)

Cunetio ....................... 54,951
Frome ......................... 52,503
Normanby .................. 47,912
Irchester .................. c.42,000
Blackmoor .................. 29,802
Nether Compton ........ 22,670
Dorchester .................. 22,121
Bishopswood .............. 17,548
Gloucester .................. 15,544
Hoxne ......................... 15,234

Of course, size isn't everything but the Frome Hoard also includes a large group (over 760) coins of Carausius including some some very important coins amongst which there are no less than five silver denarii. This quantity of Carausian coins should help shed some light on the early days of the London Mint because it was under Carausius that the first Roman coins were struck in London.

Apologies for the table above being somewhat out of kilter - this blog editing software seems to have a mind of its own :-)

Another Unusual Coin from the Trau Collection

2010-07-05T17:43:00.008+01:00

I have just come across another unusual coin of the London mint that was offered for sale and illustrated in the Trau auction catalogue of 1935. This coin has the obverse abdication bust of Diocletian usually associated with the PROVIDENTIA DEORVM QUIES AVGG reverse types of RIC VI 76 and 77 but has a simple GENIO POPVLI ROMANI reverse. Probably an early case of London getting the die pairs mixed up but an interesting coin, none the less.

A Unique Dated Coin of Constantine from London

2010-05-19T11:09:00.008+01:00

The second consulship of Constantine and Licinius (COS II) began on the first of January AD 312 and this coin, struck to commemorate it, was originally described by Mionnet and later repeated by Cohen (#397):
“P. M. TR. P. COS. II. P. P. Femme assise sur une double corne d’abondance, tenant un bâton de le main droite; dans le champ, un astre, a l’exergue PLN. (1065; de J.C. 312.) Mionnet P. B. 30 frs.”

Maurice included the coin in “Numismatique Constantinienne” (1908-12) but it was later omitted from RIC presumably because of the incomplete description and doubts as to its existence.

In the 1980s Pierre Strauss rediscovered this coin in the Musée de la Moeda de Lisbonne (“Museum of Money”) and describes it as follows:
Ob. CONSTANTINVS P F AVG Laureate and cuirassed bust right.
Rev. P.M.TR.C-OS.II.P.P. Young person, diademned, sitting left on two entwined cornucopiae. Cloak over left shoulder, horn full of fruits in left arm, right hand raised holding a sceptre. In the exergue PLN, star in the left field. 4.00g. (inventory no. 2952).

A unique coin and a very rare dated type for Constantine that firmly links the star in left field issue to AD 312 but probably raises questions as to when the issue started and how long did it last. One could argue that this dated coin was likely to have been produced in late AD 311 to commemorate the start of the consulship. Other coins of this issue produced to commemorate the victory at the Milvian Bridge (28th October 312) and the return of Rome suggest that it continued towards the end of AD 312. Added to this we have the weight reduction that takes place during this issue. Huvelin includes this coin and discusses the dating of the star in left field and the star in right field issues in her article in Numismatische Zeitschrift.

Huvelin, H. "Les deux émissions londoniennes", Numismatische Zeitschrift 1990, p.29-50 pl.VI-XV.

Strauss, P. “Un Nouveau Nummus de Constantin 1st Frappé à Londres”, Mélanges de Numismatique in honour of Pierre Bastien, Wetteren 1987, pp. 181-185, pl.13. (see images above).

A Shield Decorated with the Head of Medusa

2010-05-18T14:59:00.005+01:00

Obverse: CONSTANTINVS PF AVG
Reverse: COMITI AVGGNN
24mm, 4.95g, 6h.
RIC VI London 167 .
Photo courtesy of CNG and reproduced here in accordance with their conditions of use.

This coin caught my eye in a recent CNG sale because of the placing of the shield. On the helmeted types of Constantine at London the shields are more typically placed at the left shoulder rather than in this more forward position. After I received the coin, I was examining it with a colleague who suggested that the shield was decorated with the head of Medusa.

On closer examination this appears to be the case as can be seen from the detailed photograph. I would be interested in hearing of any other London mint shields with similar decoration.

A Fascinating Obverse with Horse and Shield

2010-04-28T13:57:00.005+01:00

Obverse: CONSTANTINVS IVN N C
Reverse: BEATA TRANQVILLITAS
BM 1975, 1008.4
RIC VII London -- .
Photo courtesy of the British Museum and reproduced here in accordance with their conditions of use.

A coin in the British Museum collection and as far as I am aware, the only known example of this obverse type attributable to the London mint. Unrecorded in RIC for London, there are examples known from Trier but these are still very rare. The obverse bust type shows Constantine II with a decorated shield and cuirass holding a horse by the bridle with his right hand.

This and many other types unrecorded in RIC will appear in my next article - The London Mint AD 319 to AD 325 - due to be published in Spink's Numismatic Circular later this year. Over forty new types will be added to the 147 types originally recorded in RIC VII.

Constantine as Caesar AD 307

2010-04-07T17:45:00.004+01:00

Obverse: FL VAL CONSTANTINVS NOB C
Reverse: GENIO POP ROM
7.64g. 24 to 25mm. die diameter
RIC VI London 89b Common

Constantine as Caesar pre weight reduction so between the summer and end of November AD 307. A fairly common coin but an attractive one given the condition and historical connection with Constantine's brief period as Caesar. Posted here to prove that bargains can still be found. I discovered this a couple of months ago in a dealer's pick tray for the princely sum of £25! A useful article by Lord Stewartby on the coins of this period can be found in the Numismatic Chronicle 1996.

Vogelaar Interview

2010-03-30T17:37:00.005+01:00

I have just been told that my interview with Dr Vogelaar is going to be published in the May issue of "The Celator". If you want to subscribe, then contact Kerry Wetterstrom at:

kerry@celator.com

The logo pictured above was one of the ones used by Dr Vogelaar in the late eighties and early nineties. I can now also confirm that I have access to Dr Vogelaar's annotated RIC and collection list. If anyone would like more information on coins they have bought from the Vogelaar collections, I may be able to provide it, if they know the "V-number"!

Obituary : Dr J S "Stoffel" Vogelaar

2010-03-12T12:27:00.004Z

It was with great sadness that I learned that Stoffel Vogelaar had passed away unexpectedly, aged sixty, on the 2nd January this year. I had not known him long; in fact I had known his books and coins longer. In September 2007, whilst on a visit to Spink in London, I was able to buy a few books from the “Vogelaar Library” that had recently been purchased and was also given the opportunity to inspect his Romano-British coins that were being prepared for sale. I left that afternoon hoping to be able to buy some of these coins and wondering who Dr J S Vogelaar was.

Over the next eighteen months, I managed to acquire a few more books from the library and a few coins from the various auctions at which they were sold but I still knew very little about the man. Then in early 2009, Dr Vogelaar contacted me to ask if I would be prepared to write an article about his coin collection. Over the next few months we had regular contact, mostly by email, mostly about the article but increasingly about the Romano-British London Mint coinage that is a particular study area of mine. I became used to having Stoffel there – I would email him in the morning and the reply would appear later that day. Always useful, but also challenging where necessary, backed up by his heavily annotated RIC.

Stoffel was born in a small village, Puttershoek, just south of Rotterdam in the Netherlands, where his parents owned a farm. He was an only child with a talent for languages, studying Latin and Greek, as well as French, German and English, he also acquired a basic knowledge of Russian and Spanish. He disliked cities and preferred life in the country; having been to Ireland on holidays he fell in love with the West of Ireland. Stoffel and his wife Ann decided to sell their home in Holland and move to Mulranny in 1977. He enjoyed the rural life and kept busy reading, writing and extending his knowledge of history and economics. In 1980, their daughter Ann was born, and Tom three years later. When his father died and left his farm to him, Stoffel decided to sell the farm and stay in Ireland, buying a farm in Liscarney.

Stoffel was a great collector, he did not publish, but amassed a large collection of Romano-British coinage in its widest sense. The backbone of this collection were the coins of the period 287 to 325 AD; the coins of the breakaway empire of Carausius and Allectus and subsequent issues of the Tetrarchies and Constantine at the London Mint. He began collecting these coins in the 1980’s and managed to combine this interest with another passion – computers. Computers were the future, he believed, and he quickly became quite expert, using the internet to expand his collection and knowledge. He was a member of both the British and Royal Numismatic Societies and was appreciated for his expert knowledge, advising collectors and dealers alike. Stoffel was a quiet, private person though and was happiest at home, with his family, books, coins and his computer.

Following a period of ill-health, Stoffel decided to dispose of his numismatic collections and from 2007 to 2009 there was a series of sales that will be detailed in the forthcoming article in “The Celator” magazine along with the interview conducted with Stoffel in the months preceding his death.

Stoffel had a deep knowledge of Romano-British coinage and it is to be regretted that this is no longer available to students of these series. It was Stoffel’s dream that, one day, a formal catalogue of his collection would be published. That now seems unlikely, but as Stoffel said to me, “Never say never”.

(This obituary was first published in the March 2010 edition of Spink's Numismatic Circular)

Dr J S Vogelaar

2010-02-12T22:13:00.002Z

It is with great sadness that I have to report the death of Stoffel Vogelaar. Although he was not in the best of health, it was unexpected. He passed away peacefully on 2nd January 2010 aged sixty. An obituary will appear in the March edition of Spink's Numismatic Circular and on this blog shortly.

A New CLARITAS of Crispus

2010-02-02T22:06:00.003Z

CNG Electronic Auction 226, Lot: 564. Estimate $100. Sold for $451.
Crispus. Caesar, AD 316-326. Æ Follis (19mm, 3.31 g, 7h). Londinium (London) mint. Struck circa AD 317. CRISPVS NOB CAES, laureate, draped and cuirassed bust right / CLARITAS REIPVBLICAE, Sol standing left, raising hand and holding globe; S/*-P//PLN. RIC VI -. Good VF, brown patina. Similar to RIC 119-123 but those issues have a + below the S.

(Image courtesy of Classical Numismatic Group, Inc.- www.cngcoins.com)

That was the auction description. The S over star issue of London is rare and difficult to come by. Until recently, all of this issue were SOLI INVICTO COMITI types. Then a few CLARITAS REIPVBLICAE types for Constantine began to appear - I know of half a dozen examples only. Then a few weeks ago, this coin of Crispus appeared in the CNG electronic auction . The description is essentially correct but the + suggested for RIC VII 119-123 is essentially just a stylised star and the more usual * is the more common mark. This is the only example of this issue with CLARITAS for Crispus that I know of. This coin is now in the DiMarzio Collection and I am grateful for Paul's encouragement to publish it here. I would also be interested if anyone knows of any other examples.

The Dr J S Vogelaar Collection

2010-01-16T22:38:00.001Z

Before his retirement Dr J S Vogelaar was an antiquarian book dealer specialising in economic and numismatic books, a coin dealer and a free lance economist based in Ireland. His interest in Roman coins began in the mid-1980s and he built his Romano-British collection during the 1980s and 90s, continuing to add to it up until 2005. The collection contained a significant London mint component.

The recent sale of his collection, without formal cataloguing, led me to consider the need for a published record of the man and the collection so that the new owners of his coins would at least have some connection with the provenance. Dr Vogelaar agreed to be interviewed and the result is an article that will be published in “The Celator” later this year. The article contains a list of the auctions in which the collection was dispersed and should be published this summer. When I know the exact publication date I will update this post.

An Interesting Bust Type for Constantine II

2010-01-08T17:33:00.002Z

Often the bust types for RIC VII London coins are quite ordinary. Anything out of the ordinary tends to make me stop and stare a little! Not quite as spectacular as the jugate bust in the previous post but a nice little "cameo" of the young Constantine. RIC VII London 288, this example is holding Victory on a globe in the right hand and a mappa in the left. I have seen several examples of this type recently including a variety without a left hand at all. So, not a rare coin but, as it is out of the ordinary, any specimen will probably command a premium.

The Coinage of Carausius and his Colleagues

2009-12-23T10:18:00.002Z

In this months edition of Spink's Numismatic Circular is an article of particular interest to Carausius students and collectors, but will probably also be of interest to readers of this blog. This article by R J Bourne covers the issues that name the legitimate emperors, Diocletian and Maximianus as colleagues of Carausius and were minted in Britain by Carausius. A useful update to the very out of date RIC V and thoroughly recommended. It contains a new list of known examples with a large number of illustrations. However, even since publication, some new types have emerged and the author is already preparing a addenda to this listing.

A Jugate Bust from London

2009-12-22T15:37:00.007Z

Jugate busts from London are not common. I recently came across this example of Severus II in an auction catalogue and I thought I would share it with you. The Trau collection was sold at auction in Vienna in 1935 and contained a number of Roman rarities. This coin, lot number 3695 was estimated at 80 Austrian schillings and sold for 135. As you can see from the catalogue entry, it was not exactly highlighted, which might be indicative of the rest of the sale rather than the quality of this coin. The RIC entry for this type (RIC VI London 75) gives the reference specimen as in the Vienna collection, which might be a coincidence or it could be that the coin was bought for the collection from this sale. RIC records it as R3, notionally meaning up to ten examples had been recorded.

A Well Travelled CLARITAS!

2009-12-11T17:05:00.003Z

This coin (RIC VII London 102) was minted in London, moved to France at some point in the last 1700 years and recently travelled to the USA and back! A scarce coin, only three occur in the four major hoards I have studied, and also highlights an interesting variety. One of the two examples in the Bourton on the Water hoard (#1449) is described as with spread chlamys. I have also been alerted to another spread chlamys example and this is illustrated on Lech Stepniewski's "Not in RIC" site. He suggests that it should be listed as a new type after RIC 104. At present I have simply recorded the the variant in my notes but will be giving serious consideration to listing it as a new type. It will be interesting to try and find out if the two "variants" are from the same or different dies ..............

Unclearly a CLARITAS!

2009-11-30T21:51:00.002Z

Continuing my CLARITAS theme, here is one I acquired a month or so ago. The obverse is not so bad but the reverse is horrendous and difficult to photograph - particularly as my usual photographic set-up is temporarily out of commission. However, the reverse legend clearly (pun intended!) starts with a C and appears to continue with an L - the rest is pure conjecture. This means that this coin confirms the existence of RIC VII 127 and 128 with the B4 bust type. Completely expected, but unpublished until now. I would be delighted to hear from anybody who has a better example.

The Two T-F Issues of London

2009-11-19T22:44:00.002Z

Recently I was asked:

"How do I differentiate between the two London Mint T-F issues. For example this SOLI INVICTO COMITI coin of Constantine I.
Obverse: CONSTANTINVS P AVG Laureate and cuirassed right
Reverse: SOLI INVIC-TO COMITI Sol standing left, chlamys draped behind left shoulder
T-F across fields and in exergue PLN

Now, this coin with identical descriptions is listed in RIC VI as London 127 (rare), year 310 AD (ref "VG 45")and RIC VII London 93 (R1) year 316-317 AD. (ref only as "London")

So I wonder, do you know what the visible differences are between these two ?"

So, how do you tell? The answer is weight, die diameter and style. If you had one of each together, the differences stand out a mile. If you just have one on their own, it can be a little more difficult. Size, by which I mean die diameter – the distance from one side of the beaded perimeter to the other – is key. The earlier coin is 21mm, the later one 19mm. My examples of the earlier mintmark weigh between 3.25g and 5.6g. The later issue usually weighs in at between 2.5g to 3.8g, so there is some overlap but wear and flan thickness can usually explain this. Finally, and the most difficult to explain is style – sometimes I cannot tell the difference and much prefer to go by die diameter and weight as supporting evidence. Having several examples of each issue, all I need to do is compare a coin against my “large” issue and my “small” issue.

Clearly a CLARITAS!

2009-11-14T15:07:00.002Z

I have rather a soft spot for CLARITAS types of London. They are quite scarce and can be found for Constantine the Great, Crispus and Constantine II, although as a type it was supposedly the reverse of choice for Constantine II. Occasionally, they can be found lurking amongst the usual SOLI INVICTO COMITI types in hoard groups and can be bought at the SOLI price. Not often, though! I recently spotted this little coin on eBay at a starting price of 1€. I was, of course, hoping that no-one else had spotted it. Unfortunately, there was one other alert person around and the price went up to 50€. The coin is unlisted in RIC VII, should come after RIC 101 and is number 134 in my preliminary list. I know of two other examples. However, the interesting thing about this example is the reverse legend that is REIPVBLICE (sic) rather than REIPVBLICAE CLARITAS. This doesn't seem to be caused by the engraver running out of space so probably just a typo!

An Unlisted BEATA Type

2009-10-24T20:44:00.003+01:00

An interesting coin that I have recently acquired. Described correctly on eBay as an unlisted type, it attracted very little interest and I was able to obtain it very reasonably. Although "unlisted", a previous example of the type was included in the Spink "Vogelaar" auction of 24 September 2008 as part of lot #126. It should be placed after RIC 223 and is a previously unknown bust type for this obverse legend. I will be including this coin and many other previously unpublished types in the second part of my London Mint listing that will be published in Spink's Numismatic Circular in the first half of 2010.

SPES REIPVBL

2009-10-05T12:36:00.004+01:00

A rare reverse from London. This example is RIC VI 241 with the obverse legend:
CONSTANTINVS PF AVG
Unlisted in RIC, but known from a number of examples, is the same type with the obverse legend:
CONSTANTINVS P AVG
Two examples of SPES REIPVBL were discovered in the Sarzeau hoard. One of each obverse legend type, they are linked by a reverse die match and are illustrated in the hoard report.

A Very Rare Emission from London

2009-09-28T08:17:00.004+01:00

Just came across an example of a very rare London emission. The *T/*F//PLN issue of around mid 310 AD is recorded in RIC referring mostly to examples known from the Boursies hoard. I cannot ever recall seeing one offered for sale or any reported in recent hoards. Looking through CHRB Volume 12 (see June below) at the weekend, I noticed that one was recorded in the Prestwood B hoard and is illustrated. A Constantine with the reverse COMITI AAVVGG. The whole hoard of over 700 coins was acquired by the Buckinghamshire County Museum but there is no mention of it on the Museum website. If anyone knows of any other examples of this mintmark please let me know.

The Arrangement of the London Mint BEATA Issues in RIC VII Part II

2009-09-18T20:00:00.002+01:00

To add to the previous post about the BEATA issues, for completeness, I think I should repeat an earlier discussion post by Curtis Clay about RIC VII 215-6:

"RIC 215-6 are the last listings for the BEATA TRA-NQVILLITAS type of RIC 199-216, not a new variant with BEAT only. So the introduction, p. 96, names two versions of this type only, BEATA TRANQVILLITAS and BEAT TRANQLITAS, with no mention of the alleged BEAT TRANQVILLITAS version of RIC 215-6. The same in Voetter's Gerin cat., pp. 156-8; no BEAT TRANQVILLITAS, though RIC 216 with this alleged legend is stated to be very common (c3)! According to RIC, BEATA TRANQVILLITAS does not occur for Constantine II in this issue, but Voetter no. 5 indeed lists it for him. Voetter 5 is clearly the same as RIC 216, with BEATA not BEAT"

To support this the Hunter catalogue records two examples of RIC 216 both “but reverse BEATA”. Page 236, #2 and #3. Therefore, simply a typo, a missing A in RIC! Therefore, the reverse legends of both RIC 215 and 216 should read BEATA TRANQVILLITAS.

The Arrangement of the London Mint BEATA Issues in RIC VII Part I

2009-09-18T16:26:00.003+01:00

I have posted the following information on an online discussion group some time ago but I have recently revisited it and thought it worthwhile posting here. A while ago I was studying the BEATA issues and came across an apparent discrepancy in RIC. The catalogue of RIC VII (pages 110-115) gives the following sequence of the BEATA/BEAT issues :

P/A//PLON (BEATA) then PLON (BEATA) then F/B//PLON (BEAT) and finally PLON (BEAT).

But the text (page 96) gives the following order:

PLON (BEATA) then P/A//PLON (BEATA) then F/B//PLON (BEAT) and finally PLON (BEAT).

The reference referred to in the notes of the text, Bruun's "The Disappearance of Sol from the Coins of Constantine" supports the order of the issues given in the text. This is a significant error in RIC and I can’t recall coming across anyone noting this error before. I think that RIC 199-219 should really be placed between RIC 237 and RIC 238 assuming that the text is correct rather than the catalogue. If this reordering is correct, it would make more sense as RIC 217-219 could then be explained by the crossover from the longer to the shorter reverse legends.

Another Interesting Licinius Obverse Legend

2009-08-26T15:54:00.003+01:00

Just like buses, nice coins often come in pairs - unfortunately in this case I didn't catch the second one! In the recent VCoins auction, lot #53 was a coin of Licinius I with the unknown, for London, obverse legend IMP LICINIUS AVG. The title of this post links to the auction record. It seems to be from the second T/F//PLN issue again and would sit between RIC 98 and 99. This obverse legend does occur at Lyons and Trier at around the same time, but is rare at those mints.

A Scarce Obverse Legend of Licinius

2009-08-04T11:25:00.004+01:00

This coin arrived today! A little "sleeper" in a group of three T/F//PLN coins. The other two were Constantines of the first T/F issue but this one is of Licinius from the later reduced weight T/F issue. Many thanks to Tony who alerted me to this coin.
Obverse IMP LICINIVS P AVG Laureate bust, draped and cuirassed.
Reverse SOL INVIC-TO COMITI Sol standing left as usual.
Weight 3.17g and die diameter 19mm (est.)
Unlisted in RIC but known from the single example in the Gaulle III hoard and the two examples in the Bourton-on-the-Water hoard. The two BoW examples were obverse and reverse die matches.
This shortened form of obverse legend for Licinius is quite scarce and this is only the second example I have, the other being RIC 42.

New CLARITAS Coin - Part Four

2009-07-22T17:13:00.002+01:00

Dr J.S. Vogelaar has kindly reminded me that the "new" Claritas coin referred to below was actually mentioned in RIC footnote London 119, though not very clearly. The footnote refers to Maurice. I have checked in my Maurice, Volume II, page 49 and he does record the longer PF legend for this mintmark, citing examples at Vienna and Milan. However, RIC notes that the Vienna coin could not be found and that the Milan example was found to be a later mintmark, RIC 148. Of course RIC 148 is incorrectly listed under the crescent mintmark whereas it should appear in the following crescent/star mintmark.
Hope that's all clear then ............

MSN - A new mintmark for London?

2009-07-20T13:47:00.002+01:00

It has been known for some time that there were two coins in existence with the mark MSN in the exergue (one in the Fitzwilliam, one from the Appleford Hoard) but, until now, it had been assumed that these were simply the result of a die engraver’s error. While completing the last letter of MSL, the engraver reverted back to the last letter of the previous MLN issue. This is much like we might write the year 2008 on a cheque during the early weeks of 2009 – a common example of the influence of previous activity. This theory does, of course, assume that these issues were in the sequence suggested by RIC.
Earlier this year, at a coin fair, I acquired an example of Licinius I with MSN in the exergue. This coin would, like a coin in the Fitzwilliam, be RIC 79 if it had MSL in the exergue. A further two coins have also come to light during my investigations.
I have now been able to compare images of four of the five MSN coins for die matches. The Appleford hoard Constantine coin is a reverse die match with the French Constantine coin. The obverses of these coins are not a match. A Waddington hoard coin, despite its poor condition, can be identified as both an obverse and a reverse die match for a French hoard example and a reverse die match with the Appleford specimen. The reverse die of these coins do not, however, match my Licinius reverse which is clearly struck from a different die. I have been unable to obtain an image of the Fitzwilliam coin as it has not been possible to locate the coin in the collections. These results are summarised in an article in the July edition of Spink's Numismatic Circular.
We have, therefore, at least two dies with MSN in the exergue, thus increasing the likelihood that this is a deliberate mintmark rather than simply a die engraver’s error. To misquote Oscar Wilde, “One die error looks like an accident, two looks like sheer carelessness, three looks like a new mintmark!” We shall await a further example with interest.

New CLARITAS Coin - Part Three

2009-07-03T23:12:00.002+01:00

Just to round this topic off for now, I have been able to check the reverse die of this new CLARITAS coin against the four examples I already know of for this issue and can confirm that it does not match any of the existing dies.

Coin Hoards From Roman Britain Volume XII

2009-06-26T19:15:00.001+01:00

The long awaited Coin Hoards from Roman Britain volume XII is now available. The “blurb” below gives a rough précis of the contents but for London Mint enthusiasts, the inclusion of the Langtoft , Ravenstone and Prestwood B Hoards is a real selling point. The Langtoft Hoard of almost 2,000 coins discovered by metal detectorists in 2000 was sold at auction in 2002 by DNW in London – only 54 coins were retained by the Yorkshire Museum or the finders. Some coins from the hoard are still available through the trade, having been sold in large groups. The hoard included well over 500 London Mint coins and so the full report by Craig Barclay is a valuable reference source.

The Ravenstone hoard of 469 coins, 275 from the London Mint included an extremely rare S over star/P mintmark CLARITAS similar to the one reported recently on this blog. This hoard was returned to the finder and its ultimate disposition is unknown. So, maybe some of us have already got coins from this hoard! If anyone knows where this hoard ended up, please let me know ............

The Prestwood “B” hoard of 735 coins included 438 examples from the London Mint and again includes some very scarce types, including two unlisted in RIC. This hoard was retained in its entirety by the Buckinghamshire County Museum.

All in all, this volume is thoroughly recommended and is available from Moneta:

Coin hoards from Roman Britain Vol. XII edited by Richard Abdy, Eleanor Ghey, Celine Hughes and Ian Leins

“The twelfth volume of Coin Hoards from Roman Britain presents 57 hoards with terminal dates from AD 244 to the end of the Roman period. This is the companion volume to CHRB XI, which contained the earlier hoards discovered between 1997 and 2001. CHRB XII also includes later hoards found up to April 2003. More recent addenda to these hoards have been included where possible.

The volume includes the Chalgrove II hoard of 4,957 radiates, with its important find of the second known coin of Domitian II. The recognition of an additional Gallic usurper has expanded our knowledge of this less well understood period of Roman history. The latest hoards included in the volume, Patching and Oxborough, are accompanied by discussion of the significance of these hoards for the monetary history of the late Roman to early Medieval transition.

Richard Abdy, Eleanor Ghey and Ian Leins are curators of Roman coins in the Department of Coins and Medals at the British Museum. Celine Hughes is a former intern of the department.

The Early Unmarked Coins of London

2009-06-16T18:15:00.001+01:00

Following on from my previous post, there is a lively discussion going on at Ancients.info on the early unmarked coins of London and, in particular, the intermediate group first proposed by Bastien. Since RIC VI was published in 1967, there has been a significant amount of research on these series and a number of significant articles have been published. The following are amongst the most important:

Bastien, P. & Vaselle, F. - Le trésor monétaire de Domqueur (Somme) Wetteren, 1965.

Bastien, P. - Some comments on the Coinage of the London Mint, AD 297-313 NC 1971, p.152-156.

Amandry, M.- Un follies inédit de Dioclétien pour l’atelier de Londres BSFN, April 1980, p.677-679.

Bastien, P. -Atelier Continental sans Marque Le Monnayage de l’Atelier de Lyons, Wetteren 1980, p.125-128 (pl.LXIX).

Burnett,A.M. & Robinson,P.H. - The Upavon, Wilts, hoard. CHRB, Vol.V, BM 1984, pp.90.

Stewartby - Early Tetrarchic Coins of London from the Market Stainton Finds NC 1998, p.89-102 (pl.28,22).

Besly, E. - A Hoard of Tetrarchic nummi from Bridgend, South Wales NC 2002, p.169-215 (pl.31-42).

Drost, V. & Gautier, G. - Le Trésor de Larré (Morbihan) : une thésaurisation mixte de la 1re Tétrarchie (terminus 300 après J.-C.) Trésors Monétaires XXIII, 2009, p.1-33 (pl. 1-10).

Essentially. the current thinking is that as well as the “unmarked continental mint” with its plain laureate busts, there is a further group of plain laureate busts attributable to London with its distinctive small, neat lettering – as opposed to the big, irregular letters with slender down-strokes of the Lyons style. Stewartby gives these London plain busts the designation Class Ib with the LON issues being assigned to Ia. There then follows a new series designated as IIe that comes before the IIa class described in RIC VI as "with small head on tall neck".
Class IIe are all cuirassed but have busts that are reminiscent of the Lyons style. Stewartby is careful to point out, however, that there is no definitive break between IIe and IIa and goes so far as to describe a series IIea into which ambiguous coins can be placed.

Stewartby describes the Ib and IIe series combined as the “intermediate group” although it is not clear to me that this was Bastien’s original intention. In his 1971 NC article he seems to describe the IIe series alone as the “intermediate group”.

The Unmarked Continental Mint

2009-06-11T21:50:00.003+01:00

Just before Constantius invaded Britain to defeat Allectus, a number of coins were produced at an “unmarked” continental mint. Although the location of the mint was unknown (possibly Bolougne), it is fairly certain that they were produced using workers from the Lyons mint (Bastien , RBN 1959). The style and bust types are identical to contemporaneous marked Lyons issues (LA and LB). Therefore, Sutherland, when compiling RIC VI included this issue in the Lyons mint section – numbers 14-21. Bastien in an annexe to a later work, Le Monnayage de L’Atelier de Lyons (Wetteren, 1980), - Annexe Atelier Continental Sans Marque pp.125-128 and Plate LXIX revisits this issue. He reaffirms his view that these coins were minted at an unknown continental mint prior to the invasion and concludes that, in reality, there are only four types in the issue, RIC 14a, 14b, 17a and 17b. The others listed under Lyons by Sutherland are erroneous, either unofficial or lightly struck LA or LB coins or unmarked London coins. He goes on to catalogue these four types each with two different versions; the first group with large heads (“effigies larges”) and the second with small heads (“petites effigies”). Examples of some of these coins are pictured on James Pickering’s website – see link left, and the picture above is an example of RIC VI (Lyons) 14b.

The La Chapelle-lès-Luxeuil Hoard

2009-06-02T21:21:00.003+01:00

The La Chapelle-lès-Luxeuil (Haute-Saône) hoard of 15,518 Constantinian nummi was published in Volume XVIII of the Trésors monétaires series. It is the only hoard in the volume and is a useful addition to the library of London mint enthusiasts. The terminal date of the hoard is 342AD but unusually for a hoard of that date a significant portion of the hoard (15%) was minted prior to 325AD. It contains 245 coins from the London Mint, of which eight are unlisted in RIC. Interestingly for me, one of the RIC listed and illustrated coins is an example of the rare S over star/P issue (RIC 120) that is an obverse and reverse match to a coin that was once in my own collection but has since moved on.

The Trésors monétaires series published by the Bibliothèque nationale de France is a rich seam of information as many hoards of this period found in France contain a good proportion of London mint coins. The latest volume (XXIII) contains a significant early hoard of the first Tetrarchy that includes a rare LON issue and many unmarked examples. The Larré trésor contains a total of 44 coins from London and a further 15 of the unmarked continental mint. The terminal date is 300AD and the total number of coins found in the hoard was 929.

New CLARITAS Coin - Part Two

2009-05-18T09:06:00.003+01:00

Thanks to Mark Wilson, I am now able to post an image of this coin. RIC does not record any CLARITAS reverses for this mintmark and it would sit between 118 and 119 in RIC and between 153 and 154 in my preliminary list.

The London Mint 313 to 318 AD

2009-05-11T15:24:00.001+01:00

Some of you will know that I have recently produced an updated listing for the Constantinian issues of the London Mint for the period 313 to 318 AD. Essentially the first part of the period covered by RIC VII, it was published in the October 2008 edition of Spink’s Numismatic Circular.

It adds about 30% more types to those known when RIC VII was published and records the incidence of each type in four major hoards relating to the period.

I am pleased to report that thanks to James Pickering it is now available online. It is being hosted on his website, ROMAN COINS OF THE LONDON MINT: 296-325 AD. There is also a direct link to the article in the Links column on the left.

New CLARITAS Coin

2009-05-11T14:32:00.000+01:00

A new CLARITAS reverse of Constantine has recently come to light. It is from the rare S over star issue and has the obverse legend CONSTANTINVS P F AVG as opposed to the already known CLARITAS obverse legend of CONSTANTINVS P AVG of which I know of four examples.

This new coin was found by a detectorist in Sutton Scotney, Hampshire, here in the UK and was posted on the FORVM discussion board earlier this month. It has not yet been possible to compare reverse dies.