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Constantius II. AD 337-361. Æ Medallion (34.5mm, 28.99 g, 12h). Rome mint. Struck AD 337-340. D N FL CONSTANTIVS AVG, laurel-and-rosette diademed, draped, and cuirassed bust right / VICTOR GE NTIVM, Constantius on horseback riding right, bareheaded and wearing military attire, thrusting spear held in right hand at barbarian, to right, kneeling right, head left; fallen barbarian holding shield in right hand beneath emperor’s horse; BARBARR. RIC VIII 357 (this coin cited; Ntantalia Series B, Group 10, Type h, 78 (V61/R55 – this coin cited); Gnecchi II, pp. 147–8, 17 (this coin cited). Dark brown-green patina, a few old spots of roughness, smoothing, details enhanced. Good VF. Very rare and possibly unique variety.
Ex New York Sale XIV (10 January 2007), lot 453; Dr. H. Longuet Collection (Platt, 17 March 1970), lot 208; Henri Hoffmann Collection.
All references cite the same coin from the Henri Hoffmann Collection in 1866. That coin, published in the 1866 Annulaire de la Societe Francaise de Numismatique et Archeologie, has a line drawing on p. 88, pl. II, 16. This coin appears to be the same coin depicted in that line drawing. The areas of weakness, particularly where the beading on the obverse tapers off are quite convincing. Furthermore, the roughness in the far right of the reverse are likewise represented. These dies, recorded in Ntantalia as V61/R55 do not appear elsewhere in her substantial 2001 work, making this coin the only known instance of these dies and die pair.
What is additionally noteworthy about this coin, and is mentioned in a note for the RIC entry is that the legend appears to read VICTOR instead of VICTORI. RIC speculates that perhaps the coin’s legend is tooled but this is not the case. However, there is some old corrosion in the relevant area which makes determining the distinction difficult.
The original Annulaire entry for the coin (which describes it as a “Grand médaillon de bronze” on pp. 93-4 despite the incorrect symbol being used in the plate) highlighted that is was the first coin known with this legend rather than the more commonly found DEBELLATORI GENTIVM BARBARR. For context, in 1866 this type with the medallion reading VICTORI was not yet known. With this background established, this coin appears to be from Hoffmann’s collection in 1866, though not appearing in any of the sales of his collection from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. More likely, it was privately sold when Hoffmann was a dealer and remained in private hands until its 1970 sale in Paris.
The final winners of all Triton XXVII lots will be determined at the live public sale that will be held on 9-10 January 2024.
Triton XXVII – Session Three – Lot 648–983 will be held Wednesday morning, 10 January 2024 beginning at 9:00 AM ET.
Winning bids are subject to a 22.5% buyer's fee for bids placed on this website and 25% for all others.
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