Roma Numismatics Ltd
Auction XVI 26 Sep 2018
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Constantius II AV Solidus. Antioch, AD 350. FL IVL CONSTANTIVS PERP AVG, pearl-diademed, draped and cuirassed bust right / GLORIA REIPVBLICAE, Constantius on horseback to right, turreted figure kneeling to left before him, holding torch in left hand; SMANΔ in exergue. RIC 80; C 107; Depeyrot 6/2. 4.40g, 21mm, 11h.
Near Mint State. Extremely Rare; in exceptional condition for the issue, certainly one of the finest of very few specimens known and far superior to the only other example on CoinArchives (H. D. Rauch 98, 21 September 2015, lot 677 [hammer: EUR 28,000]).
It should be noted that the scene depicted on the reverse of this coin does not represent a formal adventus, since the raised hand, the signal gesture of the emperor's greeting and the extension of his benevolence is absent here. The kneeling figure is not that of the Tyche of Antioch, for she carries not a cornucopiae but a torch, and the legend clearly indicates that we are to perceive this figure as a personification of the Res Publica. Thus, Kent, Sutherland and Carson (RIC VIII p. 505) advocate that the intended meaning should be seen as the 'liberation' or 'deliverance' of the Republic, similar to the LIBERATOR REI PVBLICAE multiples struck for Magnentius at Aquileia. Viewed in this context, the issue must refer to Constantius' imminent departure to the West to 'liberate' it from the usurper Magnentius, whose agents had assassinated Constantius II's brother and Imperial colleague Constans as he tried to flee to safety.
Near Mint State. Extremely Rare; in exceptional condition for the issue, certainly one of the finest of very few specimens known and far superior to the only other example on CoinArchives (H. D. Rauch 98, 21 September 2015, lot 677 [hammer: EUR 28,000]).
It should be noted that the scene depicted on the reverse of this coin does not represent a formal adventus, since the raised hand, the signal gesture of the emperor's greeting and the extension of his benevolence is absent here. The kneeling figure is not that of the Tyche of Antioch, for she carries not a cornucopiae but a torch, and the legend clearly indicates that we are to perceive this figure as a personification of the Res Publica. Thus, Kent, Sutherland and Carson (RIC VIII p. 505) advocate that the intended meaning should be seen as the 'liberation' or 'deliverance' of the Republic, similar to the LIBERATOR REI PVBLICAE multiples struck for Magnentius at Aquileia. Viewed in this context, the issue must refer to Constantius' imminent departure to the West to 'liberate' it from the usurper Magnentius, whose agents had assassinated Constantius II's brother and Imperial colleague Constans as he tried to flee to safety.