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Topical Collection - Architecture
Campgates - Constantine Era Imitative Types

The pieces in this part of the collection consist of campgates made by unofficial sources.  These are sometimes called "barbaric imitations" - not because they were made by barbarians per se, but because they were possibly non-Romans.  I prefer to simply refer to them as "imitative issues" as we don't really know who produced them in antiquity.  Some of these pieces imitate official imperial pieces closely enough so as to be able to attribute them to the imitated mint.

"Antioch"


Constantine I, AE3, Antioch Mint Type
CONSTAN_TINVS AVG
Laureate head right
PROVNEN _T . ICI AVGG
Campgate with ten rows, two turrets, no doors, star above, top and bottom rows empty blocks
SMANTC in exergue

Note: Several letters in both the obverse and reverse legends are retrograde.

"Arelatum/Constantina"


Constantine II, AE3, c.323-324, "Arles"
CONSTANTINVS IVN NOB C
Laureate, draped, cuirassed bust left
PROVIDEN_TAE CAESS
Campgate with six rows, two turrets, no doors, star above, top and bottom rows empty blocks
? ARL in exergue

Note: The only legend error is missing the I in PROVIDENTIAE. Style quite good overall, but flan undersized. Also, the exergual mark series PARL is not attested as official in RIC, however, I have some examples in my collection.


Constantine I, AE3, c.325-326, "Arles"
CONSTAN_TINVS AVG
Laureate head right
...-VTRIM
Campgate with six rows, four turrets, open doors with empty panels, star above, top and bottom rows empty blocks
?A crescent RI in exergue
18mm x 19mm, 2.85g
Ex Gert Boersema Ancient Coins, VCoins, January 2008

This example imitates the PA crescent RL exergual mark series with VIRTVS AVGG (cf. RIC 291-297)


Constantius II, AE3, c.324-325, "Arles, Officina 3"
FL IVL CONSTANTIVS NOB C
Laureate, draped, cuirassed bust left
PROVIDEN_TIAE AVGG
Campgate with six rows, two turrets, no doors, star above, top row blocks and dots, bottom row empty blocks
T*AR in exergue
17mm x 18mm, 2.16g
Ex York Coins, VCoins, April 2008

Note: A rather curious coin. The obverse bust style is plainly copied from a coin of Trier. The exergual mark, officially used in 324-325, is from Arles. The campgate itself is in the style of Siscia with the top row of blocks containing pellets - an attribute not found at Arles until 328, after the mint had been renamed Constantina in honor of Constantine II. On top of all of these stylistic imitations, the coin is also a mule with an augustus reverse.

"Heraclea"

Licinius I, AE3, 316-317, Heraclea, Officina 5
IMP LICI_NIVS AVG
Laureate bust left, wearing imperial mantle, globe and scepter in left hand, mappa in right
PROVIDEN_TIAE AVGG (all retrograde)
Campgate with seven rows, three turrets, no doors, no star above, top and bottom rows empty blocks
HTE in exergue (retrograde)
19mm x 20mm, 3.09g
RIC VII, 15 (R2) for type
Ex CNG Electronic Auction 134, Lot 452, March 2006

Note: This specimen is of convincingly good style with much silvering remaining. This could have easily passed as an authentic mint product had the celator not engraved the entire reverse retrograde.


Licinius I/II Mule, AE3, Heraclea Mint Type, Officina 4
IMP LICI_NIVS AVG
Laureate bust of Licinius I left, wearing imperial mantle, holding globe and scepter in left hand, mappa in right
PROVIDEN_TIAE CAESS
Campgate with seven rows, three turrets, no doors, no star above, top and bottom rows empty blocks
MHTD in exergue
17mm x 18mm, 3.19g

Mule of Licinius I for obverse and Licinius II (?) for reverse. Most likely an imitative piece in good style. Legends are legible, but lettering is not of official style.


Constantine II, AE3, Heraclea Mint Type
D N I CONOITSN...
Laureate, draped bust left, globe and scepter in left
D N C C T- T N C I S
Campgate with five rows, three turrets, no doors, no star above, top and bottom rows empty blocks
HTI in exergue
17mm x 18mm, 2.56g

Note: Several of the letters in the obverse legend are retrograde and most of the reverse legend as well.


Licinius II, AE3, Heraclea Mint Type
D N VAL LICIN LICINIVS NOD C
Laureate, draped bust left, globe and scepter in left, mappa in right
OROVIDEN_TIAE CAESS
Campgate with four rows, three turrets, no doors, no star above, top and bottom rows empty blocks
N7J in exergue
17mm x 18mm, 2.30g

Note: Ns in obverse legend and Ss in reverse legend, retrograde. Exergue meaningless.

Note update 12/12/2007: Fellow LRB researcher, Dane Kurth, offers the proposal the exergue could be PLN upside down. Worth mentioning since the exergue is completely meaningless as compared to anything from Heraclea. Still, London did not issue any PLN campgates (theirs were all PLON) and the bust type and three turrets are consistent with Heraclea. Perhaps a combination of attributes from coins of two different mints?

"Rome"


Constantine I, AE3, Rome Mint Type
CONSTANT_INVS AVG
Laureate head right
VIRTV_S AVGG
Campgate with seven rows, two (?) turrets, open doors with two panels each containing two pellets, no (?) star above, top and bottom rows empty blocks
R wreath T in exergue

Overstruck on a follis of Licinius with IOVI CONSERVATORI reverse, X over II Mu right field mark (visible on reverse), making the host coin, depending on the mint, anywhere from 317-324.

Constantius II, AE3, Rome Mint Type
FL VAL CONSTANTIVS NOB C
Laureate, draped, cuirassed bust left
PROVIDEN_TIAE CAESS
Campgate with six rows, two turrets, no doors, star above, top and bottom rows empty blocks
R wreath Q in exergue

Note: Second N in obverse legend retrograde


Constantius II, AE3, Trier Mint Type Obverse, Rome Mint Type Reverse
FL VAL CONSTANTIVS NOBE C
Laureate, draped, cuirassed bust left
VIRTV-CAESS (R is retrograde)
Campgate with six rows, four turrets, open doors with two panels each containing two pellets, star above, top row dots in blocks, bottom row empty blocks
R crescent Q in exergue
16mm x 18mm, 2.20g
Ex Lucie Courcy, eBay, June 2006

Note: Rome did not use a crescent in the exergual mark for any issues during the Constantine era. Perhaps the celator was copying types of both Rome and Arles? Few mints used the VIRTVS reverse legend for campgate issues with doors. The bust type is definitely and distinctly Trier.

"Trier"

Imitative issue of Constantine I, AE3, 324-325, Trier, Officina 2
CONSTAN_TINVS AVG
Laureate head right
PROVIDEN_TINE NVGG
Campgate with five rows, two turrets, no doors, star above, top and bottom rows empty blocks
STI in exergue
16mm x 18mm, 2.31g
RIC VII, 449 for regular issue
Ex Roma Numismatics, VCoins, August 2009


Imitative issue of Constantine I, AE3, Trier Mint Type
NOISITI_NIISYNC
Laureate, draped, cuirassed bust left
VSONNI_LNTIIVG
Campgate with six rows, three turrets, no doors, no star above, top and bottom rows empty blocks
17mm, 2.77g
Ex Tatiana & Slavey Art Numis, October 2005

The style of the campgate arch is very much like the style used at Trier, however, three turrets from Trier is unexpected for their normal issues.


Imitative issue of Constantine I, AE3, Trier Mint Type
CONSTAN_TINVS AVG
Laureate head right
PROVIE_TAE CESS
Campgate in linear 3-d perspective, bottom row empty, five rows of alternating diagonal slashes, two turrets on back wall, one partial turret on front wall on left, star above, one main archway with no doors in front wall, four smaller archways in front wall, covered arch in back wall
DTR pellet in crescent in exergue
19mm, 2.68g
Ex Lucie Courcey, eBay, May 2006

This amazing example is unlike any campgate issue I've seen. The obverse is quite close to an official issue, but the reverse has a legend for one of the caesars and not Constantine I. The campgate is so far from the official mint types that one has to wonder what was the prototype for this coin - another coin or an actual building?


Constantine II, AE3, c.324-325, Trier, Officina 1
CONSTANTINVS IVN NOB C C
Laureate head right
PROVIDEN_TIAE CAESS
Campgate with six rows, two turrets, no doors, star above, top and bottom rows empty blocks
PTR in exergue
17mm x 18mm, 3.30g
RIC VII, --
Ex York Coins, VCoins, October 2006; Ex Killingholme Hoard

Note: The obverse legend is not attested in RIC and the style and thickness of the lettering, along with the unusual size of the head as compared to the neck, suggests an imitative issue. Also, the bust type is not attested in RIC for the PTR series for Constantine II.

Uncertain

Imitative issue of Constantine I, AE3, Uncertain Mint Type
CONSN_VNSNHC (some retrograde)
Laureate head right
S...H_TIIHHNDD . INNN (some retrograde)
Campgate with six rows, two turrets, no doors, star above, top row blocks and dots, bottom row empty blocks
Legend and exergual mark run together
17mm x 18mm, 2.31g
Ex Triton X, Lot 1592, January 2007

Note: There are several mints with dots in the top row of blocks and with the meaningless reverse legend running into the exergue (although separated by a pellet), there are not enough clues to determine what mint this coin copies. Also, this coin was part of a hoard of several thousand well silvered Constantinian era bronzes spanning many mints and this coin has a light silvery sheen to it.


Imitative issue of Constantine I, AE3, Uncertain Mint Type
CONSN_VNSINHC (some retrograde)
Laureate head right
SPINIH_TINHHDD . INNN (some retrograde)
Campgate with six rows, two turrets, no doors, star above, top and bottom rows empty blocks
Legend and exergual mark run together
16mm x 17mm, 1.72g
Ex Ancient Coins Canada, VCoins, June 2008; Supposedly found in Germany

Note: This coin is almost certainly a product of the celator who engraved the pervious coin. The style is the same, the legends nearly identical and the only substantial difference is the top row of the campgate missing the pellets in blocks. This is the first time I've ever been able to acquire a second example of an imitative LRB from the same celator as a different specimen!


Imitative issue of Crispus, AE3, Uncertain Mint Type
IVL CRIS_PVS NOB C
Laureate head right
VIRTV_S AVGG (all retrograde)
Campgate with six rows, three turrets, open doors with one panel each containing six vertical pellets, no star above, top and bottom rows empty blocks
Uncertain exergue due to double-strike
18mm x 19mm, 2.42g
Ex Lucie Courcy, eBay, October 2006

Note: The obverse is nearly dead-on for an official Imperial issue, but the entire reverse legend is retrograde and the style of the campgate itself is not official. The unfortunate double-strike somewhat mangles the exergual mark, so I cannot determine at this time what mint for certain this piece imitates.