Welcome to the latest edition of Coin Relief. In this issue, Sam Moorhead looks at another group of nummi – those with the VIRTVS EXERCIT legend.

VIRTVS EXERCIT nummi of AD 319-21

We previously covered the VICTORIAE LAETAE PRINC PERP issue of AD 318-20. This article considers the next issue of VIRTVS EXERCIT, which dates to AD 319-21. Two different types were used with the legend VIRTVS EXERCIT: the more common type shows two seated captives either side of a standard, inscribed VOT XX or sometimes VOT X; the rarer one (only struck at London, Trier and Lyon) shows the two captives seated either side of a trophy. Of the 450 VIRTVS EXERCIT coins on the PAS Database, over 350 are of the standard type with just under 100 displaying the trophy type; these figures could change with further editing.

VIRTVS EXERCIT coins were struck at the same mints as the VICTORIAE LAETAE PRINC PERP issues, with the addition of Aquileia and Thessalonica (see Table 1). However, there are under half the number of VIRTVS EXERCIT pieces (450) than VICTORIAE LAETAE PRINC PERP coins (1,040) on the PAS Database. Of the 450 VIRTVS EXERCIT pieces on the PAS Database, at present around 264 can be attributed to a mint; the majority of these coins have been edited recently. These mints were all in the realm of Constantine I, hence the dominance of coins struck for Constantine I (100 coins; 41%), Crispus (65; 26%) and Constantine II (52; 21%), as opposed to Licinius I (12;
5%) and II (17; 7%) (see Table 1). What is interesting is that Constantine I’s share has declined from 85.4% for the VICTORIAE LAETAE PRINC PERP issue and the shares of the other emperor increased significantly. Furthermore, there wereonly 4 coins out of 437 (1%) for the Licinii for the VICTORIAE LAETAE PRINCE PERP group; now, in the VIRTVS EXERCIT group, they have 29 out of 246 (12%).

Table 1 shows that Trier has the lion’s share of the coins with 119 (45%), followed by London with 87 (33%). This reverses the shares for the VICTORIAE LAETAE PRINCE PERP issues, where London had 54% and Trier 29%. Of the other mints, only Lyon has any significant number with 30 coins, Arles, Ticinum, Aquileia, Siscia and Thessalonica only having 28 coins between them. Each of the mints will now be considered in turn.

London (Londinium), c. AD 320

There were two major issues from London, marked PLN and PLON. In RIC VII, Patrick Bruun places PLON before PLN (RIC VII, pp. 109-10), but Adrian Marsden argues cogently, from the obverse legends used for Crispus, that the PLN issue actually comes first.

This means that the PLN and PLON ‘standard’ pieces come first, followed by a very small issue of PLON trophy pieces. There are 88 coins on the PAS Database, showing that this is smaller than the previous VICTORIAE LAETAE PRINC PERP issue which had 255 specimens. Of these coins, the PLN ‘standard’ issue has 49 pieces (58%), the PLON ‘standard’ issue 33 pieces (39%) and PLON ‘trophy’ issue only one or two pieces (2%).

Of the 79 coins on which an emperor can be identified, Constantine I has 34 pieces (43%), Crispus 19 (24%) and Constantine II 26 (33%). This shows a major change from the previous VICTORIAE LAETAE PRINC PERP issue when Constantine had 85% of the coins with Crispus and Constantine II only having 8.75% and 6.25% respectively. The two Caesars are much better represented and it is interesting to note that Constantine II outstrips Crispus. Note that no coins were struck in this issue for Licinius I or II. The coins are now catalogued according to H. Cloke and L. Toone, The London Mint (2015), the authors providing an extra 7 varieties to the 16 listed in RIC VII (1966). Cloke and Toone date these pieces to c. AD 320, rather than AD 320-1 which is given in RIC VII. I now follow the Cloke and Toone dating.

PLN, c. AD 320 – Standard
There are 49 of these pieces, making PLN the more common of the two issues. The two most common types are for Constantine I (Fig. 4) with 21 specimens and Constantine II with 13 specimens. The coins of Crispus are spread across five varieties.

PLON, c. AD 320 – Standard
There are 33 coins of this issue, making it scarcer than the PLN issue. The two most common types are still for Constantine I (Fig. 10) with up to 13 specimens and Constantine II with 13 specimens. The types of Crispus are spread across four types.

PLON, c. AD 320 – Trophy
This type is apparently struck at the end of the VIRTVS EXERCIT issue and is rare with only one coin on the PAS which has an image; there is another poorly preserved piece without an image.

Trier, AD 320-1

There are 119 VIRTVS EXERCIT pieces from Trier on the PAS Database, making it the best represented mint for the type. For Britain, the significance is that Trier now surpasses London; for the previous issue, VICTORIAE LAETAE PRINCE PERP, London out-stripped Trier. RIC has three distinct issues:

AD 320: * – // ● PTR and STR – Trophy and Standard types
AD 320: – // ● PTR and STR – Trophy and Standard types
AD 320-1: T F // ● PTR and STR – Trophy and Standard types

Overall, the * in reverse field issue is quite rare; coins from the other two are much more common. Whereas at London the ‘Trophy’ variety was very rare, at Trier it makes up a significant proportion with 41 pieces (34%) and it is struck in each issue. Constantine has the lion’s share of coins with 32 pieces (29%), but Crispus (29; 27%) and Constantine II (24; 22%) are not far behind. Whereas at London there were no coins struck for the Licinii, at Trier Licinius I (9 pieces) and Licinius II (15 pieces) make up 22% of the
coins.

AD 320: * – // ● PTR and STR – Trophy and Standard types
Coins of this issue are scarce. It is possible that more are to be identified amongst poorly preserved specimens as the star can be obscured by wear and corrosion.

AD 320: – // ● PTR and STR – Trophy and Standard types
Although the type of Constantine I with helmeted bust (RIC VII, no. 266) is reasonably common, with up to 6 specimens on the PAS Database, none are well preserved. For this obverse type, below.

AD 320-1: T F // ● PTR and STR – Trophy and Standard types
The T F in the reverse field can sometimes be quite hard to read and it is always worth double-checking.

Contemporary Copies

There are a few (at least four) contemporary copies of VIRTVS EXERCIT types on the PAS Database, but they are not as common as for the VICTORIAE LAETAE PRINC PERP issue.

Lyon (Lugdunum)

There are 30 VIRTVS EXERCIT coins from Lyon on the PAS Database. There are two issues: A S // PLG has both ‘trophy’ and ‘standard’ types (14 specimens); C R // PLG only the ‘standard’ type (14 specimens). Adrian Marsden argues that, as at London, the ‘trophy’ type should be at the end of the series, hence A S // PLG actually comes after C R // PLG. When his latest work is published, the dating can be changed accordingly, but at the moment this work follows RIC. Across both marks, only the ‘standard’ type is represented on the PAS Database. The coins were struck for Constantine I, Crispus and Constantine II, but only Constantine I (23 specimens) and Crispus (7 specimens) are represented.

Arles (Arelatum)

There is only one issue of VIRTVS EXERCIT at Arles, all the coins being of the ‘standard’ variety. With only two (or possibly one) specimens on the PAS Database, the issue appears to have been quite small. Interestingly, coins are only recorded in RIC for Constantine I, Constantine II and Licinius II. However, LIN-DE4631 records a piece of this type for Crispus with obverse legend IVL CRISPVS NOB C, a helmeted and cuirassed bust right and the mintmark – // PARL. Sadly, there is no image with the record for absolute confirmation. The coin illustrated has a new obverse type variety for Licinius II.

Ticinum (Pavia)

Ticinum only struck the ‘standard’ type, but in three issues: – // PT, – // P * T and – * //PT. Some coins have a ‘Chi-Rho’ type symbol in the reverse field, but none are represented on the PAS Database. Ticinum struck in the names of all five emperors, but only Constantine I, Crispus and Licinius I are represented amongst the nine regular coins on the PAS Database.

Aquiliea

There are 9 coins of the VIRTVS EXERCIT type from Aquileia on the PAS Database. Only the ‘standard’ type was struck, but for all emperors; all except Constantine II are represented on the Database. There are two major issues as noted below.

Siscia (Sisak, Croatia)

Siscia only struck the VIRTVS EXERCIT ‘standard’ issue with only six pieces on the PAS Database. Coins were struck for all five emperors, of whom all are represented on the Database except Licinius II. The Caesars have VOT X on the standard, as opposed to VOT XX which is used for the two Augusti, Consantine I and Licinius I. There is a variety of mintmarks, covered in RIC VII (pp. 437-40).

Thessalonica

Thessalonica only struck the VIRTVS EXERCIT ‘standard type’, with three issues struck all in one year (AD 320): ●TS●A●, S F // ●TS●A● and ‘Chi-Rho’ – // ●TS●A●. There are only two coins from Thessalonica and both come from the first issue. Coins were struck for all five emperors, but only Crispus and Constantine II are represented on the PAS Database.

Welcome to the latest edition of Coin Relief! In this issue, Sam Moorhead examines nummi with the VICTORIAE LAETAE PRINC PERP legend – a type only struck at selected mints.

The VICTORIAE LAETAE PRINC PERP nummi of AD 318-20

The VICTORIAE LAETAE PRINC PERP nummi, along with the IOVI CONSERVATORI AVGG nummi, were the first major types to follow on from the SOLI INVICTO COMITI and related issues which had been struck since c. AD 310. The VICTORIAE LAETAE PRINC PERP types were only struck at selected mints: London, Trier, Lyon, Arles, Ticinum and Siscia. These were all in the domain of Constantine I and his sons, hence a real scarcity of coins struck in the name of Licinius I and II.

One feature of the coins is that they had a higher silver content than the issues that preceded and followed them. Coins sometimes show considerable silver wash and many show traces of silvering. (There was apparently an earlier base silver argenteus of this type struck in AD 312-3 at Trier, which has been the subject of much discussion, but it is not included in this blog). It was the higher silver content of the AD 318-20 nummi which was undoubtedly the reason for many contemporary copies being produced, many more than for any other issue between AD 294 and 330. There are up to 80 or more contemporary copies on the PAS Database, the number being certain to change after further editing. This copying did not just occur in Britain; the British Museum has a group of copies found in the Balkans region, the local mint striking this issue being Siscia (Sisak in Croatia).

On the PAS Database, there is a total of around 1,040 pieces, of which 472 are attributed to Mints. Table 1 shows the coins attributed to mints, broken down by emperor – the totals do include contemporary copies. London has the largest share with 255 coins (54%), followed by Trier with 138 pieces (29.2%). The remaining four mints have much smaller shares: Lyon
(26 coins; 5.5%); Arles (17; 3.6%); Ticinum (22; 4.7%); Siscia (14; 3%).

Constantine I takes the lion’s share of the coins (373; 85.4%) with his sons Crispus (38; 8.7%) and Constantine II (22; 5%) accounting for most of the rest. Licinius I and II only have four coins recorded between them. This might not be so surprising given that this issue was from the western section of the Empire where Constantine and his family held sway.

There is quite a variety of obverse types with laureate, laureate-helmeted, helmeted and radiate busts. Some helmeted busts show the emperor holding a spear.

Mint of London
London is the best represented mint on the PAS Database for this issue with 255 coins (54%). This does appear to show that the majority of coins supplied to Britain at this time was coming from the mint at London. Constantine I is by far the best represented ruler with 204 coins (85%), the rest of the coins being shared by Crispus (21; 8.75%) and Constantine II (15; 6.25%). RIC lists three issues for this type, which is also presented in the even more comprehensive listing of these coins in H. Cloke and L. Toone, The London Mint of Constantius and Constantine (2015), pp. 248-53. The dating in Cloke and Toone differs slightly and I use it below and when editing records:

AD 319: The shield rests on a column – this is the smallest issue.

AD 319-20: The shield rests on an altar with lozenge decoration (often with dots).

AD 319-20: The shield rests on an altar with wreath decoration (often enclosing a symbol such as a star or cross) – this appears to be the most common issue.

Trier
Trier is the next best represented mint after London, with 138 coins (29.2%). Again, Constantine I accounts for the largest number of coins (118; 95.2%). There are only four for Crispus and two for Constantine II. There are two main issues:

AD 318-9: – // P/STR

AD 319: Star on altar // STR and ●STR (Figs. 10-12). This is the more common issue. In RIC VII (pp. 183-4, nos. 223-36), there is a subsequent group of coins with the second mark of * // STR and ●STR which have a variety of abbreviated reverse legends. These are rare and subsequent editing might identify some in the PAS Data.

Contemporary copies
As noted above, large numbers of contemporary copies were produced, probably with little or no silver content. They are quite often of reasonable style, but the legends can be more crudely cut and the mintmarks incorrect. It is always worth checking that a supposed ‘new variety’ is not in fact a contemporary copy.

Lyon (Lugdunum)
Coins of Lugdunum are much scarcer as finds in Britain with only 26 specimens on the PAS Database: 12 of Constantine I, 9 of Crispus and 2 each for Constantine II and Licinius I. There are two issues at Lyon:

AD 319-20: – // two seated captives

AD 320: – // P two seated captives L

Arles (Arelatum)
Coins from Arles are also scarce with only 17 on the PAS Database: 15 for Constantine I and one for Licinius I. There are two issues of this type from Arles:

AD 319: – // P star over crescent A

AD 319: – //P/S/TARL. This is much the more common of the two issues

Ticinum (Pavia)
There are only 22 pieces from Ticinum: 15 for Constantine I, 2 for Crispus and one each for Constantine II and Licinius II. There are two issues for this type:

AD 318-9: -, P, R, + and * //P/S/TT (below left).

AD 319: C // P/S/TT (below right).

Siscia (Sisak)
There are 14 coins from Siscia, of which 9 can be attributed to Constantine I and two each to Crispus and Constantine II. There are three major issues:

AD 318: – // A-ESIS*

AD 318-9: – // A-ESIS (Fig. 24)

AD 319: – // A-ESIS● 

In addition, there are – // ●ASIS●, ASIS* and ASIS● pieces of AD 319-20 with the legend VICT●LAETAE PRINC PERP (RIC VII, pp. 434-436, nos. 81-99), but none can be identified on the PAS Database.

References and further reading:

A. Marsden in H. Cloke and L. Toone, The London Mint of Constantius and Constantine (2015), p. 67.