The fact is that the great majority of these coins are from a handful of Emperors, and these Emperors showed little variety in the designs they placed on their bronze coinage. The gold issues demonstrate a great deal more artistic effort (and no, you will never find one of those in these lots). Eighty percent of the coins you will come across fall into an identifiable set of Emperors and reverses and this guide is pointed toward helping identify those coins.

Part 1 – The Era of Constantine the Great, his Sons and Rivals (320 – 337 A.D.)

The main players – Constantine, Crispus, Constantine Jr., Constantius, Constans, Licinius and Licinius Jr.

OK – so only George Foreman has shown less originality in naming his sons.* It probably won’t surprise you that Constantine named his daughter “Constantia” (if you find one of her coins, call me at ‘203 790-1669’ - they are rarer than political scruples). Please note that the coins in this era identify Constantine as Augustus (“AVG”) and his sons as Caesars (“NOB C” or “NC”). This alone will help you ID coins of Constantine (the Great) vs. coins of his sons (the not-nearly-so-great).

*(George named all four of his sons “George”)

k Hanniballianus FL HANNIBALLIANO

REGI, Euphrates reclining reverse

For the purpose of ID’ing the person on the coin don’t pay too much attention to the titles (“FL”, “IVL”, etc…). Locate the name and look for the all-important “N” which makes the difference between “CONSTANTINVS” and “CONSTANTIVS”. Coins of Crispus and Constans are easier to pick out by counting the letters. Remember that the title of Augustus (“AVG”) was only granted to the children of Constantine after his death. A coin with the name of the child with the title “AVG” was minted after 337 (the year Constantine shuffled off this mortal coil. Went to meet his maker. Joined the choir invisible. Snuffed it, etc…).

After the death of Constantine his three remaining sons inherited the Empire. The eldest (Constantine) died trying to increase his share at the expense of his youngest brother. That brother (Constans) died in a revolt brought on by his religious and sexual eccentricities. The remaining son Constantius reigned for a respectable 24 years. His need for a co-ruler led him to elevate one of his few remaining relatives (Constantius Gallus)to the rank of Caesar. When Gallus didn’t work out Constantius had him executed and replaced with his only remaining cousin, Julian. Julian’s promotion worked out perhaps a little too well – Constantius died during a campaign to put down Julian’s rebellion. Julian lasted only two years before dying while campaigning against the Persians, and this tedious series of Constantines came to an end.

It can be easy to confuse coins of Constantius II with those of Constantius Gallus. Coins of Constantius Gallus and Julian (while Caesar) never have a diadem (the jewel headband later Roman Emperors wore as a sign of royalty). With that as a guide one can often ID a coin with only a few letters showing.

After Julian the coins become more unimaginative and, in general, smaller. Valentinian begat Valens, Gratian and Valentinian II. Theodosius begat Arcadius and Honorius. And they all begat some pretty dull little coins.

r s t u Valentinian Valens Valentinian II Gratian D N VALENTINIANVS P F AVG D N VALENS P F AVG D N VALENTINIANVS P F AVG D N GRATIANVS P F AVG Reverses #19, 20 Reverses #23, 25, 22 Reverses #19,20, 21, 25 v w x y Theodosius I Arcadius Honorius Theodosius II D N THEODOSIVS P F AVG D N ARCADIVS P F AVG D N HONORIVS P F AVG D N THEODOSIVS P F AVG Reverses #21, 22, 23, 25 Reverses 21, 22, 23, 24, 26 Reverses #22, 24,

The difficult part of identifying coins from this era is telling Valentinian from Valens from Valentinian II, and telling Valentinian I from Valentinian II. In the chart above I list which reverses are usually found on the coins of which Emperor. It isn’t at all conclusive, but I hope it will help.

Reverses 19 20 21 22 SECVRITAS REIPVBLICAE GLORIA ROMANORVM VOT V MVLT X CONCORDIA AVGGG The Security of the Republic The Glory of the Romans Because of vows, five years (already served), and with more vows, ten. Concord Between the Three Augusti Victory walking l. Emperor walking r. holding labarum and dragging captive These coins will commemorate various years – this is only an example Constantinopolis seated facing, holding globe and scepter Ae3 Ae3 Ae4 Ae3 23 24 25 26 SALVS REIPVBLICAE GLORIA ROMANORVM REPARATIO REIPVB VIRTVS EXERCITI The Health of the Republic The Glory of the Romans The restoration of the Republic The Courage of the Army Victory walking l., dragging captive and carrying trophy Two (or three) emperors stg. facing, each holding spear and shield Emperor standing l, holding Victory on a globe with right hand and raising kneeling woman with his left. Victory standing l. crowning the Emperor standing facing, head r. Ae4 Ae4 Ae2 Ae3

Note:

Ae2 = 21mm – 25mm

Ae3 = 17mm – 21mm

Ae4 = less than 17mm

Remember that these coins were hand made and so the sizes can vary somewhat.

Part 4 – Coins Commonly Found From Before the Constantine Era

Although coins from before the Constantine era sometimes appear in Uncleaned lots, they are so varied that producing a quick guide would be impossible. Two types of coins from this era crop up; antoninianii and follii, the antoninianii being by far the more common.

While the antoninianus (double denarius) had been around since 214 AD the coins we are likely to find in these lots are the silver-coated bronze antoninianii of the late Empire. Mostly these are from Aurelian, Probus, Gallienus and Claudius II. z aa bb cc Aurelian Probus Gallienus Claudius II IMP AVRELIANVS AVG IMP C M AVR PROBVS P F AVG GALLIENVS AVG IMP C CLAVDIVS AVG Reverses Below are just a few of the more common reverses. 27 28 29 30 IOVI CONSERV ORIENS AVG CONCORDIA MILITVM VICTORIA AVG (Dedicated to) Jove the preserver The rising Augustus The unity (or concord) of the army The victory of our Augustus Jupiter standing l., presenting globe to Emperor standing right Sol standing l., two captives at his feet Jupiter standing l. offering Victory on a globe to Diocletian Victory standing left holding laurel wreath and branch Part 5 – Coins From the Byzantine Empire

After the fall of the Western Roman Empire, the Eastern Empire continued the Roman traditions for another 1,000 years. Two types of coins from the Byzantines are often found in uncleaned lots; folles from the early Byzantine Empire and scyphate (cup-shaped) coins from the later Byzantine Empire. Again, these are just a few examples to give you an idea of where to look further.

dd ee ff gg Justinian follis Justin II ï¿½ follis Manuel I scyphate Latin Rulers scyphate

(smaller imitative of Manual I scyphate) D N IVSTINIAN P AV Justin and Sophia, seated facing Christ seated on throne, wearing nimbus Christ seated on throne, wearing nimbus 31 32 33 34 Justinian follis Justin II ï¿½ follis Manuel I scyphate Latin Rulers scyphate Large M, cross above, stars left and right, r (3rd officina) below, CON in exergue Large “K”, “ANNO” to left, cross above, Regnal Year to right ("E"=5 or 569/70),TES (Thessalonica mint) below. The Virgin (on r.) and Manuel (on l.) standing facing, Virgin crowning Emperor who holds labarum The Virgin (on r.) and Manuel (on l.) standing facing, Virgin crowning Emperor who holds labarum Part 6 – Miscellaneous Coins That Turn Up In These Lots

Two other types of cons need a little coverage, Roman Provincials and Barbaric Imitations.

Roman Provincials

Roman Provincial coins were minted by cities across the Empire which had been granted authority to mint their own bronze coins. Their legends are sometimes in Latin but more often in Greek. They range in size and can be as large as 30mm.

hh 35 36 37 Gordian III ae20 of Nicaea, Bithynia NIKAI / E W N P M S COL VIM PROVINCIA DACIA IMP C M ANT GORDIANVS AVG two legionary eagles between two standards Moesia standing left, between a bull and lion Dacia standing between lion and eagle Barbaric Imitations

Roman coins were so widely accepted that border areas assumed that only coins that looked Roman could be valid. So when the barbaric areas needed additional coins they made their own. If you find a coin which appears Roman but has an impossible legend (all “I”s for instance), it may be a barbaric imitation. The style is also usually very crude. Two examples:

ii jj Compare to #5 Compare to #23

(this coin is only 11 mm!)