Constantine I AE Follis Siscia AD 313

Obverse: IMP CONSTANTINVS PF AVG, laureate, draped and cuirassed bust right (Bearded)

Reverse: IOVI CON-SERVATORIA AVGG NN, Jupiter chlamys hanging from left shoulder, standing front, head left, holding Victory in right hand and leaning on scepter with left hand; to left by feet, eagle, Γ in right field

Mintmark SIS

RIC VI Siscia 234c

22.5mm, 3.40g

**CONSTANTINE & JUPITER, RARE TYPE ISSUED UNDER LICINIUS**

Issued from Siscia under the authority of Licinius I and minted ONLY in AD 313, this is a VERY rare emission for Constantine, not only featuring a bearded portrait but also due to the reverse, a very late issuance of Jupiter Optimus Maximus; this coin was struck in the year following Constantine’s adoption of the ☧ (Chi-Rho) Labarum, used to raise the morale of his comitatenses at the Milvian Bridge

As of the time of this listing, OCRE shows roughly 30 examples of RIC VI 234c,  with more than half held by the ANS (American Numismatic Society), the others spilt between various museums, such as the British Museum and Ashmolean Museum, as well as Münzkabinett Wien and Albert-Ludwigs-Universität; that said, it seems that this type is EXTREMELY RARE on the ‘open market’ so to speak

OCRE/RIC lists three distinct entries for this reverse type for Constantine from Siscia, RIC VI 232b, 233c and 234c, the only differences being the bust type variant, with 232b showing just a bust or head, 233c a laureate and cuirassed bust and 234c a laureate, draped and cuirassed bust; issues of Constantine I and Licinius straddle both RIC Volume VI and RIC Volume VII, thus the RIC entries for these types can be tricky, as some entries from RIC VI are also listed in RIC VII, the same type and same coin, with two differing entry or reference numbers; in these cases, we generally go by the newer RIC reference number, however not all issues are 'doubled' in this manner

As stated above, this entry is listed solely in RIC VI and as such Nummus-Bible does not show any examples, despite the date range for this site beginning in AD 313, the year this coin was struck; auction archives/ACSearch however lists just TWO examples of RIC VI Siscia 234c, both of which are exact matches to this specimen, including the fieldmark/officina letter Γ, which tells us this is from the 3rd emission out of the five known officina ( A or B or Γ or Δ or ∈); the two auction records are as follows:

Savoca Numismatik,6th Blue Auction, Lot 1377, 4/07/2018, which sold for the very low sum of $30; this specimen is fully silvered and in fantastic condition, thus someone was exceedingly lucky

The most recent auction listing is from: Kenneth W. Dorney, Auction 12, Lot 233, 2/27/2022, which sold for just $14; it seems neither Savoca nor Ken Dorney took the time to highlight the significance of the coin, which likely was a factor in the low final sale prices listed therein

As it stands now, this specimen appears to be the third example offered for sale, however there are likely others in private collections and undoubtedly others listed by various sellers here on eBay and on further sites, however if there are, I cannot locate them or they are misattributed; RIC VII Siscia 5, 7 and 15 are very similar to this type, however they show just a laureate bust and omit AVGG NN from the reverse legend, but these seem to be the most common 'Jupiter' reverse known for Constantine, with all issues from RIC VI being scarce to rare