| Leu Numismatik AG > Web Auction 28 | Auction date: 9 December 2023 |
| Lot number: 4352 Price realized: 550 CHF (Approx. 625 USD / 581 EUR) Note: Prices do not include buyer's fees. | |
| Lot description: Constantine I, 307/310-337. Follis (Bronze, 19 mm, 3.42 g, 12 h), Constantinopolis, 327. CONSTANTI-NVS MAX AVG Laureate head of Constantine I to right. Rev. GLORIA EXERCITVS / CONS Soldier standing front in military attire, head to right, holding inverted spear in his right hand and placing his left on shield set on the ground; in field to left, Γ. RIC 16. Perfectly centered and very well struck, a very attractive coin with most beautiful portrait. Minor flan crack and very light deposits, otherwise, good extremely fine. From the collection of Dr. L. Ramskold, formed since 1969, Part II, Leu Web Auction 26, 8-13 July 2023, 5376. This is one of the types from the first 4-type emission, struck exclusively for Constantine I (RIC 20 and 21 belong in the previous emission). Starting price: 75 CHF |  |
Match 1:
| Leu Numismatik AG > Web Auction 28 | Auction date: 9 December 2023 |
| Lot number: 315 Price realized: 2,600 CHF (Approx. 2,956 USD / 2,745 EUR) Note: Prices do not include buyer's fees. | |
| Lot description: Constantine I, 307/310-337. Follis (Bronze, 18 mm, 3.27 g, 11 h), Constantinopolis, 327. CONSTANTI-NVS MAX AVG Laureate head of Constantine I to right. Rev. SPES - PVBLIC / CONS Labarum, with three medallions on drapery and surmounted by Christogram, piercing serpent; in field to left, A. Ramskold, Constantine's SPES PVBLIC coins (2020a), p. 225, fig. 6, no. 35 (this coin). RIC 19. An unusually attractive example of this difficult issue, very well struck and with an exceptionally detailed reverse. Light cleaning marks, otherwise, about extremely fine. From the James Knox Collection of Biblical related coins, ex Leu 3, 27 October 2018, 284. One of the most famed coin types of Late Antiquity is no doubt Constantine's 'SPES PVBLIC' reverse, showing a labarum surmounted by a Christogram piercing a serpent. At first glance, it seems like an open-and-shut case: the first openly Christian emperor introducing the first overtly Christian type in the Roman coinage, which referred to Constantine defeating the pagan Licinius, or evil in general, symbolized by a serpent. Certainly, this is the view Constantine's biographer, Eusebius of Caesarea, would have preferred (Vita Constantini 3.3), who described how the emperor had a painting commissioned for his palace in Constantinople which showed the emperor trampling a serpent while piercing it with a spear under what was presumably a Christogram. Though this view remains popular today, the past decades have seen much doubt cast upon it. Questions have been raised about the identity of the snake, the significance of the Christogram and the labarum, and, indeed, the very nature of Constantine's conversion to Christianity. Ramskold (Constantine's SPES PVBLIC coins [2020a]) has convincingly argued that to view the 'SPES PVBLIC' coinage as an explicit Christian type is to fall into the trap of Eusebius' construction of Constantine as the ideal Christian ruler. Rather, the legends and the types are so ambiguous that they could be interpreted as Christian symbols by those who truly wished it, but they mainly referred to Constantine's status as a victorious emperor. Thus, the labarum was Constantine's personal imperial standard, carried along in the campaigns against Maxentius and Licinius, while the Christogram was his victory symbol, which only later took on a Christian connotation. Indeed, both the labarum and Christogram continued to be used as Constantinian symbols under Constantine's successors, a fact seen most clearly in the coinage of Vetranio, who employed both symbols together with the legend 'HOC SIGNO VICTOR ERIS' to express his allegiance to the Constantinian house, rather than to express his identity as a Christian emperor. Moreover, while much has been made of Christianity's traditional hostility towards serpents, these also had an ambiguous status in pagan culture. Surely, serpents such as those associated with Asclepius or the Egyptian Agathodaemon were good-natured, but we may also think of Apollo battling the giant Python, or Hera sending snakes into Hercules' crib after his birth, which he then strangled. This cataloguer would argue that this, in fact, may hold the key to interpreting the 'SPES PVBLIC' type. Through his military might, blessed by the Divine (be it Sol, or Christ, or someone else), Constantine has conquered the enemies of the empire (symbolized by the serpent) time and again, be it barbarians at the gates or power-hungry tyrants within, a message which would have been palatable to pagans and Christians alike. One mystery remains, however. Ramskold's analysis indicates that the 'SPES PVBLIC' coins were withdrawn from circulation, suggesting that the reverse image had somehow become undesirable. There is no clear reason why this should be the case, though the order must have come from the court. Arguments have been made for pagan outrage over Christian symbolism, but as stated, the imagery is not strictly Christian, and the type was produced in two emissions, indicating that withdrawal did not occur immediately. Whatever the underlying reason, it only adds to the mystery of one of Constantine's most fascinating coin types. Starting price: 1000 CHF |  |
Match 2:
| Leu Numismatik AG > Web Auction 28 | Auction date: 9 December 2023 |
| Lot number: 4353 Price realized: 50 CHF (Approx. 57 USD / 53 EUR) Note: Prices do not include buyer's fees. | |
| Lot description: Constantine I, 307/310-337. Follis (Bronze, 19 mm, 2.10 g, 6 h), Constantinopolis, 327. CONSTANTI-NVS MAX AVG Diademed head of Constantine I to right. Rev. CONSTANTINI-ANA DAFNE / CONS Victory seated left on decorated cippus, head turned right, holding laurel branch in her right hand and palm frond in her left; at her feet, shield; to left, trophy; before, captive kneeling left, head turned right; in field to left, Γ. RIC 30. Very rare. Some traces of corrosion and with minor smoothing on the obverse, otherwise, good very fine. From the collection of Dr. L. Ramskold, formed since 1969, Part II, Leu Web Auction 26, 8-13 July 2023, 5418. Although not included in RIC VII, the anepigraphic 'DAFNE' type has been long known, and it was formally described by Speck & Huston in 1992. Since then, Ramskold, Constantine's SPES PVBLIC coins (2020a, see p. 243, Table 2), revised the Dafne emissions. The first emission of 'CONSTANTINIANA DAFNE' coins was struck in all seven officinae and included three obverse types: 1) anepigraphic with eyes to heaven, 2) diademed head with legend, and 3) eyes to heaven with legend. The two first types are very rare, whereas the third type is fairly common. Starting price: 50 CHF |  |
Match 3:
| Leu Numismatik AG > Web Auction 29 | Auction date: 24 February 2024 |
| Lot number: 2381 Price realized: 40 CHF (Approx. 45 USD / 42 EUR) Note: Prices do not include buyer's fees. | |
| Lot description: Constantine I, 307/310-337. Follis (Bronze, 19 mm, 2.54 g, 12 h), Constantinopolis, 328. CONSTANTI-NVS MAX AVG Diademed head of Constantine I to right, his eyes raised to heaven. Rev. CONSTANTINI-ANA DAFNE / CONS Victory seated left on decorated cippus, head turned right, holding laurel branch in her right hand and palm frond in her left; at her feet, shield; to left, trophy; before, captive kneeling left, head turned right; in field to left, B. RIC 32. Attractive earthen highlights on a dark patina, and with an exceptional diadem. Faint scratches on the obverse, otherwise, nearly very fine. From the collection of Dr. L. Ramskold, Leu Web Auction 26, 8-13 July 2023, 5423, ex Roma E-Auction 35, 3 May 2017, 1064. Of all the coins recorded by Ramskold from the 'DAFNE' emissions, this example shows the widest diadem of all. Rectangular plates with a large central jewel and smaller stones along the margin alternate with double stylized laurel leaves. This diadem is one of the extremes that the mint of Constantinople experimented with in this final emission before the introduction of the rosette diadem proper. Starting price: 25 CHF |  |
Match 4:
| Leu Numismatik AG > Web Auction 28 | Auction date: 9 December 2023 |
| Lot number: 4835 Price realized: 40 CHF (Approx. 45 USD / 42 EUR) Note: Prices do not include buyer's fees. | |
| Lot description: Constantine I, 307/310-337. Follis (Bronze, 20 mm, 3.48 g, 12 h), Constantinopolis, 327. CONSTANTI-NVS MAX AVG Diademed head of Constantine I to right, his eyes raised to heaven. Rev. CONSTANTINI-ANA DAFNE / CONS Victory seated left on decorated cippus, head turned right, holding laurel branch in her right hand and palm frond in her left; at her feet, shield; to left, trophy; before, captive kneeling left, head turned right; in field to left, Δ. RIC 32. Good very fine. From the collection of Dr. L. Ramskold, formed since 1969. Starting price: 25 CHF |  |
Match 5:
| Leu Numismatik AG > Web Auction 28 | Auction date: 9 December 2023 |
| Lot number: 316 Price realized: 85 CHF (Approx. 97 USD / 90 EUR) Note: Prices do not include buyer's fees. | |
| Lot description: Constantine I, 307/310-337. Follis (Bronze, 18 mm, 3.06 g, 5 h), Constantinopolis, 327. CONSTANTI-NVS MAX AVG Diademed head of Constantine I to right, his eyes raised to heaven. Rev. CONSTANTINI-ANA DAFNE / CONS Victory seated left on decorated cippus, head turned right, holding laurel branch in her right hand and palm frond in her left; at her feet, shield; to left, trophy; before, captive kneeling left, head turned right; in field to left, Δ. RIC 32. Slightly rough, otherwise, about extremely fine. From the James Knox Collection of Biblical related coins, privately acquired from Terrasini on 6 April 2012. Starting price: 50 CHF |  |
