| Ira & Larry Goldberg Coins & Collectibles > Auction 137 | Auction date: 29 January 2024 |
| Lot number: 1055 Price realized: 41,000 USD (Approx. 37,974 EUR) Note: Prices do not include buyer's fees. | |
| Lot description: Licinius II. Gold Aureus (5.31 g), Caesar, AD 317-324. Nicomedia, AD 320. D N VAL LICIN LICINIVS NOB C, bare-headed, draped and cuirassed bust of Licinius II facing. Reverse: IOVI CONSER-VATORI CAES, Jupiter seated facing on platform inscribed SIC V / SIC X, holding Victory on globe and scepter; at feet to left, eagle standing left, head turned right and holding wreath in beak; SMNΓ. RIC 42; Depeyrot 31/2; Calicó 5152a. Perfectly centered with a crisp strike. Fully lustrous. A spectacular rarity! NGC grade MS; Strike: 5/5, Surface: 3/5. Estimated Value $50,000 - UP Struck to celebrate Licinius Caesar's quinquennalia or 5th year on the throne as his father's heir, when he was only eight years old, this magnificent aureus with a fully frontal facing portrait is one of the earliest facing portraits on Roman coinage. Prior to this issue, which also includes a nearly identical aureus of Licinius I but with a bearded portrait, there were only two other Roman gold coins with portraits depicting the ruler in a facing pose: an aureus of Maxentius struck in ca. 310-312, also shown bearded, and a solidus of Constantine the Great struck in 316, but showing him clean shaven and nimbate. Frontal poses would soon become the norm however: Constantius II utilized a facing helmeted portrait at his eastern mints, and this would become the standard expression of the ruler on gold coinage throughout the subsequent late Roman and Byzantine periods.The facing portrait solidi of the Licinii, as mentioned above, were struck to celebrate the imperial vows taken to mark the conclusion of five successful years on the throne and the hope for a further half decade of rule. The normal expression for this was VOT V MVLT X, but here it takes the unusual form SIC V SIC X, which is inscribed on the base upon which Jupiter's throne sits. The type depicting the head of the Graeco-Roman pantheon, Jupiter, seated on a high-backed throne in a frontal pose, holding a globe supporting the goddess Victory who crowns him with a wreath and holding his scepter, is also a full of meaning. It is derived from the famous statue of Zeus said to have been made by the artist Phidias for the temple of Zeus at Olympia in Greece - home to the Olympic Games - and was said to have been cast in gold and ivory. The corresponding legend, IOVI CONSERVATORI, claims the god's divine protection for the father and son.While Licinius and Constantine jointly ruled the vast Roman Empire, they did not do so in harmony. They were, in fact, adversaries, with both aspiring to sole rule. Constantine was a monotheist, probably at the time this coin was struck strongly Christian, while Licinius worshipped the traditional Roman gods. The depiction of Jupiter on these Licinian aurei, with the corresponding legend describing Jupiter as their protector, served as an expression of Licinius' discontent with joint rule. It would not be long until the final clash between the two emperors in 324, with Constantine being victorious. At first, at the pleading of his sister, the wife and mother of the Licinii, Constantine spared them. However, it was not long before he succumbed to expedience and changed his mind, having both father and son executed. The boy Licinius, Constantine's nephew, was just thirteen years old when his uncle had him murdered. Ex Millennia Collection (Goldberg 46, 26 May 2008), lot 143. |  |
Match 1:
| Eid Mar Auctions GmbH > Auction 2 | Auction date: 10 February 2024 |
| Lot number: 477 Price realized: 25 EUR (Approx. 27 USD) Note: Prices do not include buyer's fees. | |
| Lot description: Roman Imperial Licinius II as Caesar 317-320 AD. AE Follis (19mm, 2,44 g.). Cyzicus. D N VAL LICIN LICINIVS NOB C, laureate and draped bust to left, holding globe, sceptre and mappa Rev. IOVI CONSERVATORI CAESS, Jupiter standing to left, holding sceptre and Victory on globe; wreath in left field, B in right field, SMK in exergue. RIC VII 11. An insignificant crack, otherwise almost Extremely Fine.Nice, clear image of the caesar with a consular bust. Estimate: 25 EUR Starting price: 20 EUR |  |
Match 2:
| Eid Mar Auctions GmbH > Auction 2 | Auction date: 10 February 2024 |
| Lot number: 478 Price realized: 30 EUR (Approx. 32 USD) Note: Prices do not include buyer's fees. | |
| Lot description: Roman Imperial Licinius II as Caesar 317-320 AD. AE Follis (18mm, 3,18 g.). Cyzicus. D N VAL LICIN LICINIVS NOB C, laureate and draped bust to left, holding globe, sceptre and mappa Rev. IOVI CONSERVATORI CAESS, Jupiter standing to left, holding sceptre and Victory on globe; wreath in left field, Ν in right field, SMK in exergue. RIC VII 11. Another lovely example, nearly Extremely Fine, nice, clear image of the caesar with a consular bust. Estimate: 25 EUR Starting price: 20 EUR |  |
Match 3:
| Astarte S.A. > Web Auction 4 | Auction date: 7 April 2024 |
| Lot number: 265 Price realized: 280 CHF (Approx. 309 USD / 285 EUR) Note: Prices do not include buyer's fees. | |
| Lot description: Licinius I, 308-324. Siliqua (Silver, 20.13 mm, 3.48 g) Alexandria, 1st officina (A), circa 321-324. IMP C VAL LICIN LICINIVS P F AVG Radiate, draped and cuirassed bust of Licinius right. Rev. IOVI CONSERVATORI Jupiter nude standing facing, head turned to left, holding Victory on globe crowning him on the right hand, drapery on the left shoulder and scepter in the right hand, bound prisoner to his feet at ground to right looking back, eagle raising wreath in the beak to left, X above II Γ to right, SMALA in exergue, under the ground line. Cfr. RIC VII, 28 (Follis); Cohen VII, 196, 74 (Follis). Unpublished. Extremely Fine. Ex Gorny & Mosch 249, 11 October 2017, Lot 935 and Artemide XLI, Lot 264. Starting price: 50 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:
| Roma Numismatics Ltd > E-Sale 119 | Auction date: 24 April 2024 |
| Lot number: 2010 Price realized: 10 GBP (Approx. 12 USD / 12 EUR) Note: Prices do not include buyer's fees. | |
| Lot description: Licinius II, as Caesar, BI Nummus. Nicomedia, AD 321-324. D N VAL LICIN LICINIVS NOB C, helmeted and cuirassed bust to left, holding spear over shoulder and shield / IOVI CONSERVATORI, Jupiter standing facing, head to left, holding Victory on globe and leaning on eagle-tipped sceptre, eagle with wreath in beak at feet to left, captive seated to right; X above IIΓ in right field, SMNΓ in exergue. RIC VII 49. 2.94g, 20mm, 6h. Very Fine. Estimate: 5 GBP |  |
