Roman Imperial. Constantine I “The Great” (307-337 CE) AE Follis (AE3, 2.67g, 18.5mm, 6h). Siscia, 2nd officina, struck 320 CE.
Obverse: CONSTANTINVS AVG. Cuirassed bust of Constantine right, wearing ornate, crested helmet; gazing slightly upward; mustached.
Reverse: VIRTVS EXERCIT // S – F / HL (Ligate) across fields // BSIS* in exergue. Two captives seated at the base of a vexillum (standard) inscribed VOT XX; the captive to the leans forward with his arms bound behind his back, the one to right rests his head on one arm and looks upward at the vexillum; both captives wear shaggy hair and baggy trousers and tunics, indicative of Germanic tribesmen.
Reference: RIC 120; Cohen 693.
Pedigree: Jackson & Jacobs Family Collection; uncertain internet purchase (VCoins?) by CSJ c. 2003-2007.
Notes: Noted as very rare (R3) in RIC, though I’ve found officina B (X2), E, and Γ among my own examples (plus a Licinius), and there are at least 30-35 examples in acsearch since 2000, so it cannot be too rare.
The bust is a bit unusual in that Constantine is mustached, bearing a strong likeness to Licinius’ bust on similar coins contemporaneously struck at the Siscia mint. Earlier issues had often portrayed him thus, but by this time his portraits had usually begun to appear more distinct from those of Licinius (and those of the Tetrarchs before them). Nonetheless, in this case, the mint workers engraved this obverse die in such a way that Constantine appeared more like Licinius than on the other dies from this issue.