Constantine's fictitious ancestor Claudius II, with lion reverse

[Heliodromus]

This is a recent acquisition I was happy to get (found on a fixed price list from an Italian dealer).

This is RIC VII Rome 128, much rarer with it's lion walking left than the similar lion walking right type.

Obv: DIVO CLAUDIO OPT IMP
Rev: MEMORIAE AETERNAE

This is part of a fairly extensive series of types issued by Constantine I c.317-318 AD nominally honoring his family and ancestors, but really honoring himself. The family members featured on them include Constantine's father, Constantius I, his disgraced father-in-law Maximianus, who had tried to kill him, and Claudius II (as on this coin) - a popular emperor who Constantine was entirely unrelated to, but suddenly claimed to have been descended from in order to boost his somewhat shaky imperial bona fides!

This MEMORIAE AETERNAE type, featuring either an eagle or (Herculean) lion reverse, was only issued from the Rome mint, while at the same time other mints issued a related REQVIES OPTIMORVM MERITORVM type with obverses depicting the honored ancestor sitting in a curule chair.

Here are my specimens of some of the other reverses:

RIC 123 for Maximianus (DIVO MAXIMIANO SEN FORT IMP), lion walking right.

RIC 123 variant for Maximianus, lion walking right, head facing.

RIC 111 for Constantius I (DIVO CONSTANTIO PIO PRINC), eagle standing right, head left

There are four major reverses used on these types:

- lion walking left
- lion walking right (some with Herculean club above)
- eagle standing left, head right
- eagle standing right, head left

The lion walking left and eagle standing left are less common than the other two, and the latter is the only one of the four reverse types to also exist with short obverse legend variants of just DIVO CLAUDIO/CONSTANTIO/MAXIMIANO-SEN. It suggest there were probably at least two issues/emissions of these, maybe with the walking/standing left versions and short legend coming first.

Please show any other coins from these series, or anything related!

Edited September 20 by Heliodromus

[Ancient Coin Hunter]

Very interesting types @Heliodromus. I was unaware of the Lion coinage to be sure. Very nice pick-up.

[Romeman]

The facing lion type is quite rare. I have only seen a handful, the best ones in the cabinet in Milan.

[Heliodromus]

I'd only seen one other - from the U.Albert-Ludwigs collection.

It seems these are all from same reverse die.

[JAZ Numismatics]

The "spooked lion" reverse.

[Romeman]

I agree Heliodromus, they all share the reverse die. As do two further examples in my database (the first from Praefectus Coins in 2021, the second a posting in a FB group). With six die-matched examples known today, quite a few must have been struck originally!