Not in RIC

The coins in this collection are supposedly not found in the ten volume series "The Roman Imperial Coinage", produced by numerous authors for Spink and Son, LTD of London.  Considered by many numismatists to be the best source for attributing and identifying coins produced by the Imperial mints of the Roman Empire, it's always fun to find coins which do not appear for one reason or another in the books.  These coins may have an unlisted legend break, hail from an undocumented officina for the type or even be altogether unknown for a given mint.  It is my hope these coins will find their way into the next volumes of RIC, as they are updated.

Here is the listing for the contacts currently working on updating RIC volumes:

RIC II, Part I - The Flavians - Vespasian through Domitian (69-96):  Ted V. Buttrey and Ian Carradice

RIC IV, Parts I and II - Pertinax through Gordian III as Caesar (193-238):  Curtis Clay

RIC IV, Part III - Gordian III to Uranius Antoninus

Philip II, AR Antoninianus, 247-249, Rome.  IMP PHILIPPVS AVG  Radiate, cuirassed, draped bust right, seen from behind.  PIETAS AVGVSTOR  Sprinkler, simpulum, jug, knife and lituus.  22mm, 4.17g.  RIC IV, Part III, 215v.

Note:  Not it RIC for Philip II as augustus with this reverse.  May be a mule of Philip II as augustus obverse with Philip II as caesar reverse.  The coppery looking patch on the reverse is actually just a duller silver-gray area on the coin.

RIC V, Part I - Valerian to Florian

Aurelian, AR Antoninianus, Rome.  IMP C D AVRELIANVS AVG  Radiate, cuirassed, draped bust right, seen from behind.  CONSERV_ATOR AVG  Asklepios standing facing, head left, leaning on snake staff with right hand, right hand holding back drapery of robe, globe at left foot.

(To be photographed)

Aurelian, AR Antoninianus, Period III, Eighth Emission, November 274 - September 275, Serdica.  IMP AVRELIANVS PIVS FEL AVG  Radiate, cuirassed bust right.  RESTITVT OR_BIS  Orbis Terrarum standing right, presenting wreath to emperor standing left, holding scepter.  * in lower middle field, KAA in exergue.  Not in RIC; Philippe Gysen Collection, CENB 32 (1995), p.25-31.

Obverse legend not listed in RIC for any coins.

Note from Philippe Gysen, Specialist in coins of Aurelian and Probus, on January 25, 2004:

"There is a high probability that our coins come from the same die. We have the two existing examples of this obverse when I check in the new inventory (in preparation) to be published by Sylviane Estiot in BNCMER XII.1.  All the great public collections and hoards have been seen for this inventory.  So, for this 8th emission (Nov 274 - Sep 275), she has found 43 different obverse legends.  When Sylviane Estiot and I work together, I will mention to her you have a second known example.  Unfortunately, too late for this publication, but certainly not for the inevitable supplement in the future."

RIC V, Part II - Probus to Amandus

RIC VI - Diocletian Reform to Maximinus

Maximinus II, AE Follis, Antioch, Officina 4.  MAXIMINVS-NOB CAES  Laureate, draped, cuirassed bust left, shield in left hand decorated with two emperors galloping on horseback preceded by Victory and four captives in foreground, Victory on globe crowning emperor in right hand.  MAXIMINVS NOBILI_SSIMVS CAESAR  Maximinus standing in military dress holding globe and leaning on spear.  Altar in left field, D in right field, ANT in exergue. 6.98g.  RIC --; Cohen 132.  Ex Marc Poncin via eBay, June, 2004.

RIC VII - Constantine and Licinius

Constantine I, AE3, uncertain timeline, Arelatum, Officina 1.  CONSTAN_TINVS AVG  Laureate head right.  PROVIDEN_TIAE AVGG  Campgate with seven rows, two turrets, no doors, star above, top and bottom rows empty blocks.  ARLA in exergue.  Series not in RIC

Notes from Keith Metzer, Arelatum/Constantina Campgate Specialist, August, 2003:  

In Patrick Bruun's book, "The Constantinian Coinage Of Arelate", these coins are discussed. From what I can gather, early in the 20th century, there was a German collector named Otto Voetter, who published his collection.  It included two PROVIDENTIAE coins of Constantius II with exergue ARLD.  He also mentioned a third coin, with same exergue, but also having S |F in fields.  He proposed series of ARLA, ARLB, ARLG, ARLD and S | F ARLA, S | F ARLB, S | F ARLG and S | F ARLD.  This would tie in perfectly to the with and without S | F markings on the regular officinae series.  Bruun found the first two coins in Vienna, but the only evidence of the S | F coin was from a line drawing in Voetter's catalog.  The two coins he saw were a 5-layer and a 6-layer gate, so definitely from different dies.  Nevertheless, he decided to dismiss all of these as some sort of error by a mint worker.  All of this is mentioned very briefly in RIC VII in the footnotes to Arles 312.  I would say your new specimen, from officina A, puts more evidence to Voetter's original theory.  Besides a new officina, this piece is also with a new obverse.

Constantine II, AE3, uncertain timeline, Arelatum, Officina 3.  CONSTANTINVS IVN NOB C  Laureate, draped, cuirassed bust left.  VIRTVS CAESS  Campgate with six rows, four turrets, open doors, star above, top and bottom rows empty blocks.  ARLG in exergue.  Series not in RIC

Constantine I, AE3, Ticinum, Officina 2.  CONSTAN_TINVS AVG  Laureate head right.  D N CONSTANTINI MAX AVG  Campgate with eight rows, two turrets, no doors, star above, top row blocks and dots, bottom row empty blocks, flared roof and base.  S  T in exergue.  3.4g.  Not in RIC.  Ex Nemesis Coins via VCoins store, September, 2003.

Note:  RIC does not document a series without an exergual mark of crescent or palm branch for Ticinum campgates, except #189 for Constantius II with a Providentiae Caess reverse legend.

Constantine I, AE3, 315, Lugdunum.  CONSTANTINVS AV_G  Laureate, cuirassed bust left, spear over right shoulder, shield in left hand with VOT X | SIC XX.  SOLI INVIC_TO COMITI  Sol standing left, chlamys across left shoulder, raising right hand, globe in left hand.  TF | * across fields, PLG in exergue.  RIC VII, 44v.

Note:  Variant for obverse legend with bust type and no notes in RIC for vota legend shield.

From Curtis Clay on November 29, 2004: Fascinating discovery! I find no such coin with legend on shield in Bastien's Lyon 294-316, nor in the two supplements to that work. No such obv. type of Constantine I was known to Cohen at any mint, though we cannot exclude the possibility that such a coin may lie in some known collection, with inscription like yours that no one has yet noticed!

From Barry Murphy on November 29, 2004: Interesting coin. It's not recorded in Bastien with the inscribed shield either. I'd be cautious though. It's possible the shield has been re-engraved and then had the desert patina added to hide tooling marks. I wouldn't accept it as a true variety until the dirt is removed from around the lettering.

From Curtis Clay on November 29, 2004: I think Barry's proviso may be overcautious, because of the source as you say, and because the inscription and patination look convincing in the image to me, and obviously to you too in the flesh! I think autopsy should suffice to establish authenticity. Removing the patina should not be necessary, though you could consider that option anyway to improve the coin's attractiveness. If it's a forgery, it's an educated one, since the legend VOT X SIC XX is specifically appropriate to this issue, (1) because the issue is dated to Constantine's decennalian year 315 by the title COS IIII on a few rare Lugdunese coins, and (2) because a unique piece in the preceding issue has rev. VICTORIA AVGG NN, Victory inscribing VOT X on shield set on palm tree (Bastien 558, pl. LXII)!

RIC IX - Valentinian I to Theodosius I

Honorius, AE2, possibly 392-395, Constantinople, Officina 4.  D N HONORIVS P F AVG  Pearl-diademed, cuirassed, draped bust right.  GLORIA ROMANORVM  Emperor standing facing, head right, globe in left hand, labarum with X pattern in right, branch in left field above exergue, CONSD in exergue.  Most similar to RIC IX, 88(c)3.

Why unlisted - This coin matches 88(c)3 in all respects, except the branch.  The only series with a branch during this period is for Arcadius.