| Nomos AG > obolos 30 | Auction date: 17 December 2023 |
| Lot number: 688 Price realized: 300 CHF (Approx. 346 USD / 315 EUR) Note: Prices do not include buyer's fees. | |
| Lot description: Time of Maximinus II, 310-313. Follis (Bronze, 15 mm, 1.44 g, 12 h), "Persecution" Series, Antioch, 6th officina (S). IOVI CONS-ERVATORI Jupiter seated left on throne, holding globus and scepter. Rev. VICTORIA AVGG / S / [ANT] Victory advancing left, holding wreath and palm branch. McAlee 171g. Vagi 2955. A beautiful example. Nearly extremely fine. Starting price: 100 CHF |  |
Match 1:
| Leu Numismatik AG > Web Auction 28 | Auction date: 9 December 2023 |
| Lot number: 4356 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, 3.18 g, 12 h), Constantinopolis, 328. CONSTANTINV MAX AVG Rosette-diademed head of Constantine I to right, gazing upward. Rev. CONSTANTINIANA DAFNE / S/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. RIC 32 var. (unlisted officina). Surfaces a little rough, otherwise, good very fine. From a European collection, formed before 2005. Starting price: 50 CHF |  |
Match 2:
| Leu Numismatik AG > Web Auction 28 | Auction date: 9 December 2023 |
| Lot number: 4833 Price realized: 35 CHF (Approx. 40 USD / 37 EUR) Note: Prices do not include buyer's fees. | |
| Lot description: Constantine I, 307/310-337. Follis (Bronze, 19 mm, 3.38 g, 12 h), Constantinopolis, 327-328. CONSTANTI-NVS MAX AVG Diademed head of Constantine I to right. Rev. GLORIA RO-MANORVM / CONS Roma seated left, holding Victory on globe in her right hand and scepter in her left; at her side, shield; in field to left, Δ. RIC 23. Very light roughness on the obverse and minor weakness on the reverse, otherwise, about extremely fine. From the collection of Dr. L. Ramskold, formed since 1969. The coins from officina Δ belong to the longer second phase of this emission, struck in seven officinae. Starting price: 25 CHF |  |
Match 3:
| Leu Numismatik AG > Auction 15 | Auction date: 1 June 2024 |
| Lot number: 307 Price realized: This lot is for sale in an upcoming auction - Bid on this lot  | |
| Lot description: Constantine I, 307/310-337. Follis (Bronze, 19 mm, 2.73 g, 12 h), Constantinopolis, 327-328. CONSTANTI-NVS MAX AVG Diademed 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. RIC 26. Extremely rare and of great historical importance, and much rarer still than the laureate type (RIC 19). Somewhat rough, otherwise, about extremely fine. From the collection of Dr. L. Ramskold, Part II, Leu Web Auction 26, 12 July 2023, 5398 and ex Roma XXIII, 24 March 2022, 1082. 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. Estimate: 1500 CHF |  |
Match 4:
| Leu Numismatik AG > Web Auction 28 | Auction date: 9 December 2023 |
| Lot number: 4857 Price realized: 25 CHF (Approx. 28 USD / 26 EUR) Note: Prices do not include buyer's fees. | |
| Lot description: Licinius II, Caesar, 317-324. Follis (Bronze, 20 mm, 4.30 g, 12 h), Cyzicus, 321-324. D N VAL LICIN LICINIVS NOB C Helmeted and cuirassed bust of Licinius II to left, holding spear in his right hand and shield in his left. Rev. IOVI CONS-ERVATORI / X/IIΓ / SMKΓ Jupiter standing front, head to left, holding Victory on globe in his right hand and long scepter in his left; at his feet, eagle standing left, holding wreath in beak; to right, captive seated right, his head turned back toward Jupiter. RIC 18. Minor traces of corrosion and light deposits, otherwise, good very fine. From the collection of Dr. L. Ramskold, formed since 1969. Starting price: 25 CHF |  |
Match 5:
| Leu Numismatik AG > Web Auction 29 | Auction date: 24 February 2024 |
| Lot number: 2373 Price realized: 1,102 CHF (Approx. 1,251 USD / 1,156 EUR) Note: Prices do not include buyer's fees. | |
| Lot description: Martinian, usurper, 324. Follis (Bronze, 21 mm, 3.15 g, 12 h), Nicomedia. D N M MARTINIANVS P F AVG Radiate, draped and cuirassed bust of Martinian to right. Rev. IOVI CONS-ERVATORI / X/IIΓ / SMNB Jupiter standing front, head to left, holding Victory on globe in his right hand and long scepter in his left; at his feet to left, eagle standing left, holding wreath in his beak; to right, captive seated to right, his head turned to left. Cohen 3. RIC 45. Very rare. Some deposits and light scratches, otherwise, fine. From a European collection, formed before 2005. Martinian, Licinius' magister officiorum, was appointed as co-Augustus after Licinius' defeat by Constantine I in the Battle of Adrianople on 3 July 324. Martinian's main task was to prevent Constantine from crossing the Hellespont, but Constantine crossed the Bosporus instead and defeated Licinius once again in the Battle of Chrysopolis on 18 September 324. Both Licinius and Martinian were captured in the aftermath of the defeat and eventually executed the year thereafter. Starting price: 75 CHF |  |
