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Diocletian. AD 284-305. Æ Follis (25.5mm, 10.39 g, 6h). Londinium (London) mint. Struck circa AD 296. Laureate head right / Genius standing left, holding patera in right hand and cornucopia in left; –|–//LON. RIC VI 1a; C&T 1.01.001 (this coin cited); Domqueur Hoard 896 (same dies). Dark green patina. Good VF. Rare.
From the Paul DiMarzio Collection. Ex Dr. J. S. Vogelaar Collection (Part II, Spink 196, 24 September 2008), lot 107.
I purchased my first Roman London AE on June 14, 2001, and my last on January 6, 2021. In the intervening two decades, I acquired 500 more, all of which – in addition to a few dozen related pieces and my reference library – will be offered by CNG across several sales this year. If you love the London coinage as I do, or just happen to collect the AEs of a ruler or two from that period, I think that you will be pleased with the breadth and depth of selections.
What you won’t find in the lot listings is a sense of how a “Connecticut Yankee” became obsessed with collecting Roman coins minted in London between the years 297CE and 325CE, nor why I’m choosing to disburse my collection at this time.
The story of my exit is the easiest to convey. As with many serious collectors of the coinage of antiquity, I’ve always felt more of a caretaker than an owner. I’ve done my best to help push forward the understanding of this period, taken good care of the pieces in my possession, and derived a great deal of enjoyment in the process. But I’m now finding it too difficult to add to my collection within the constraints of my budget – meaning I’ve taken this hobby as far as I can, and it’s time to give the next generation of caretakers a chance to manage these wonderful echoes of the past.
The story of my entry into this space is a bit more complicated. As with much of the American youth of my generation, I thoroughly enjoyed the pastime of searching through change and filling my blue Whitman folders. As a young boy, I ran a newspaper route in the Bronx, NY, and would spend hours examining my takings every week. It was still possible at that time to pull a piece of silver, Indian Head cent, or Buffalo nickel from each pile.
My interest in foreign coinage evolved through visits to the coin departments that still populated department stores at the time. Every time my parents dragged me to Westchester, NY for a shopping excursion I would frequent these departments, and return home with some interesting examples of small change from far-off lands. Fast-forward to the 1990s, when I was fortunate enough to begin a series of worldwide business trips that would last throughout my career. Each visit to a new country served as a chance to catalog my pocket change against Krause-Mishler and grow my foreign collection considerably. These coins aren’t valuable financially but the joy of collecting, cataloging, and the occasional review is priceless.
For whatever reason, I always had a fascination with medieval England, and was sure to take time during my trips to London and environs to breathe in that preserved culture. I think it was a tour of Winchester Cathedral that caused me to pick up Ken Follett’s The Pillars of the Earth. Aside from being a great read, that book contained a wealth of monetary images, and what caught my attention was several references to the silver penny, such as:
“A full week’s wages on dismissal, that is the custom ... That’s sixpence for the laborer, twelve for the carpenter and each of the masons, and twenty-four pence for me. Sixty-six pence in all.” ... Tom felt a surge of triumph as the silver pennies tumbled out into the sunlight.
Follet, Ken. The Pillars of the Earth. New York: William Morrow and Company, Inc., 1989. Print.
I was not familiar with English silver pennies, so I ordered a few catalogs from dealers who focused on this material. With a little research and a few more catalogs, I learned of the history between the medieval English silver pennies and their model, the denarii of the Romans who previously occupied that land – and I traveled down some collecting branches in these areas (those pieces now long dispersed). But in this process, I noted the offering of AE pieces that were actually minted in London. I was fascinated and wanted to understand these pieces better – and so my adventure began!
I’d say I became a “more serious” collector during the Spink and CNG sales of the Dr. J.S. Vogelaar collection, an absolutely amazing offering that allowed me to grow my collection. The March 2008 Vogelaar sale also wound up putting me in contact with Lee Toone, owner of Hookmoor Ancient Coins, who had to find out who from the States was bidding on these coins! I don’t precisely remember how our connection was made, but apparently Spink’s live bidding option revealed enough information to allow Lee to track me down! Lee has been a fabulous mentor since that day and, I hope you know, co-author with Hugh Cloke of The London Mint of Constantius and Constantine– “LMCC”, the absolute best reference for this coinage and the history behind it.
Perhaps the social high point of my collecting life came in 2011, when Lee invited me to York to present my collecting perspective at the Moneta Britannia Conference. I finally got to actually meet Lee and a number of other leading researchers and collectors in this field who I knew electronically. You can find my paper in The Yorkshire Numismatist 4, published in 2012.
I am meticulous about documentation and a thorough fan of research – notes on my collection number more than 200 pages – and thought that one day I would publish my collection. But Lee and Hugh were already far along in their efforts to publish LMCC, and it was a great privilege to be able to lend some pre-publication review support as well as photographs of my discovery coins. All of my collection is referenced with the appropriate CT numbers, I’ve worked with CNG to include as many of my notes as possible into the lot descriptions, and many of the available pieces are published in CT. In a sense, the combination of these sales will become the de facto publication of the DiMarzio collection.
I will not attempt to portray the historical context of my collection here – LMCC covers it! – but let me end with just a few points that help summarize my love for collecting this particular period. Although a span of fewer than 30 years might seem to be inconsequential in the long run of Roman history, the events of this period marked a significant shift in Roman life along several fronts.
Politically, the Tetrarchic system established by Diocletian was intended to establish an equal sharing of power across the empire, complete with term limits and merit-based succession. By 325CE, the empire had reverted back to single Augustan rule with hereditary-based succession.
Socially, at the start of this period, the traditional Roman gods were worshipped and featured on the coinage, while Christians were persecuted. By 325CE, Christianity had become the preferred religion of the Empire and the Roman gods had disappeared from the coinage.
And financially, the everyday base metal AE coinage of 297CE was struck at a standard weight of 1/32lb (10g). By 325CE, inflation and debasement had radically reduced the weight to 1/96lb (3-1/3g).
There you have it – enjoy the sales!
– Paul DiMarzio
Lee Toone and Hugh Cloke add:
Leading up to the first edition of LMCC, Paul was very generous with his support. He provided full access to his records and images which were to prove extremely useful. He also reviewed sections of the book from a user perspective that helped make it the success that it has become.
As we prepare to publish a revised and expanded second edition, we hope the sale of Paul's collection over the coming year will inspire a new generation of collectors of this series. The second edition of LMCC will be available from late 2023/early 2024 and will again be published by Spink.
Additional offerings from the DiMarzio Collection will be offered in CNG 121, as well as electronic auctions 516 and 525.
Unreduced nummi of London struck at 32 pieces to the Roman pound for a theoretical weight of 10.08 g.
The final winners of all CNG 120 lots will be determined at the live online sale that will be held on 11-12 May 2022. CNG 120 – Session Three – Roman Republican and Imperatorial Coinage through Early Medieval and Islamic Coinage will be held Thursday morning, 12 May 2022 beginning at 9:00 AM ET.
Winning bids are subject to a 20% buyer's fee for bids placed on this website and 22.50% for all others.
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