Constantius as Caesar H under bust Trier plate coin from the Rauceby Hoard

[thejewk]

RIC 214A - CONSTANTIVS NOB CAES - GENIO POPVLI ROMANI

H under bust - B/Γ/TR - 9.32g - 26mm - Trier - 296-7 AD

When I saw this coin pop up for sale a few weeks back I clicked the buy it now button rather quickly!  I hadn't yet managed to find a Trier coin for my collection of unreduced nummi of the First Tetrarchy, and the variety with a H under the bust was high on my list.  It is suspected to be some sort of reference to the contemporaneous retaking of Britannia from Allectus by Constantius, and possibly Maximianus' action in Cathage, and adds historical interest.  

Another point in its favour was the fact that it is from the Rauceby Hoard which I have read about many times with interest, and was recently documented by the British Museum in a publication that can be found here in PDF form: https://britishmuseum.iro.bl.uk/concern/books/c640c432-9184-49eb-9676-28f95b671655?locale=en

As another added bonus you can find this exact coin in the plates, Catalogue number 225, plate 13.12, page 299, in its green and encrusted state.  I don't know if the hoard finder, who I believe is an account holder here, is the person that cleaned this example, but they did a wonderful job.  The coin is lustrous in the hand and is almost impossible to capture accurately by a mediocre photographer like myself.

Definitely a highlight of my collection, and I now have only 3 mints left to go for my 'one of every mint' set.

[Victor_Clark]

nice addition...I have one of these for each ruler except Galerius. Besides referencing the British and North African campaigns; the H is also a reference to the family members of Hercules who led the campaigns--Maximianus and Constantius.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[thejewk]

34 minutes ago, Victor_Clark said:

nice addition...I have one of these for each ruler except Galerius. Besides referencing the British and North African campaigns; the H is also a reference to the family members of Hercules who led the campaigns--Maximianus and Constantius.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lovely coins Victor. I think it may have been one of your posts that I read in the past which alerted me to the types in the first place.  I'm kicking myself for not linking the H to the Herculeans, it's obvious in retrospect!

[John Conduitt]

Very interesting about the 'H', I didn't know about that.

Thanks for the link to the hoard pdf. I think I found one of my Rauceby coins (p.312, coin 492).

Constantius I as Caesar Nummus, 303-305

Trier. Bronze, 25mm, 8.60g. Laureate, cuirassed bust right; CONSTANTIVS NOB C. Genius standing left, tower on head, naked except for chlamys over left shoulder, holding patera and cornucopiae, S-F across fields; GENIO POPV-LI ROMANI; mintmark PTR (RIC VI, 602a). From the Rauceby (Lincolnshire) Hoard 2017; Portable Antiquities Scheme: LIN-F6D516.

[thejewk]

17 minutes ago, John Conduitt said:

Very interesting about the 'H', I didn't know about that.

Thanks for the link to the hoard pdf. I think I found one of my Rauceby coins (p.312, coin 492).

Constantius I as Caesar Nummus, 303-305

Trier. Bronze, 25mm, 8.60g. Laureate, cuirassed bust right; CONSTANTIVS NOB C. Genius standing left, tower on head, naked except for chlamys over left shoulder, holding patera and cornucopiae, S-F across fields; GENIO POPV-LI ROMANI; mintmark PTR (RIC VI, 602a). From the Rauceby (Lincolnshire) Hoard 2017; Portable Antiquities Scheme: LIN-F6D516.

I think you're absolutely right.

[rhj959]

Not from my share of the Rauceby Hoard. Here was my 214A after I cleaned and preserved it, before I consigned it to Leu. It fetched 36Euro.

[thejewk]

On 11/3/2024 at 12:23 AM, rhj959 said:

Not from my share of the Rauceby Hoard. Here was my 214A after I cleaned and preserved it, before I consigned it to Leu. It fetched 36Euro.

My goodness, someone got an absolute steal there.  Do you still have coins from the hoard, or are they all dispersed now, other than the ones you have decided to keep?

 

[Heliodromus]

On 11/2/2024 at 8:23 PM, rhj959 said:

Not from my share of the Rauceby Hoard.

Have you heard anything back yet from the BM about the loose finds "Rauceby B" hoard ?