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Crispus AE3 from Constantinople, COTD

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Callimachus:
AE 3,  326,  Constantinople mint.
Obverse: CRISPVS NOB CAES  /  Laureate bust of Crispus, facing right.
Reverse: PROVIDENTIAE CAES   /  Campgate with two turrets, on a base; star above. B in left field.
Mint mark:  CONS
3.47 gm., 19.5 mm.     
RIC #8; LRBC #971; Sear #16805.

The Constantinople mint was opened late Summer or early Fall of 326. In October or November of 326, Constantine had Crispus executed, and so his coinage came to an end. Thus this is a very rare coin.

Virgil H:
Beautiful coin.

Virgil

Victor C:
Congrats it's a nice example. I had one that I sold a few years ago and continually kick myself for it.

romeman:
That is a really nice example, and one I haven’t seen before! Thanks for posting!

Yes, quite rare. I have been hunting these Crispus from Constantinople for some 30 years, and I attach an image of what I have found. Many of these are in museums. Less than one new example per year turns up.

I just published a paper on the Crispus coins from Constantinople. Based on statistical analyses (Warren Esty was the wizard doing these), we can see that the production for Crispus was cut short when the news of his demise reached Constantinople. The paper:

Aborted Production and Selective Coin Withdrawal: a Die Study of the AE Coinage of Constantinopolis in AD 326. (2020: Lars Ramskold, The Numismatic Chronicle 180, pp. 207-257)

Some details can be updated. In all probability, the mint of Constantinople opened for Constantine’s visit in March 326, when he set out for is vicennial journey to Rome. Crispus fell from grace just after Constantine’s arrival in Rome 18 July 326. I published this in a paper in 2013. For anyone interested, the paper can be found in full on Academia.edu and on ResearchGate.

Constantine’s Vicennalia and the Death of Crispus. (2013: Lars Ramskold. Niš & Byzantium XI, pp. 409-456)

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