A Rare Bust Type from London

[leetoone]

At first sight a nice example of RIC VI (London) 177, Huvelin 51 with a laureate helmeted left facing bust, spear over right shoulder, shield on left arm. But wait a minute – no laurels on the laureate helmet and it’s not a plain helmet either! So a plain band around the helmet ……….

I have seen a couple of other examples of this type of “band” from these issues of London and wasn’t quite sure what to make of them.

Chatting with mauseus last weekend (not many visitors at the Harrogate show because of the snow!) we were wondering whether the engraver may have forgotten to put on the laurel leaves. Then mauseus spotted the second image in an auction catalogue where it seems that just one pair of the laurel leaves has been forgotten revealing the plain band beneath.

Maybe this might just explain these rare plain band types ……..

[quadrans]

 Huhhh  Very nice
Congrats

Really interesting busts
I like it 

regards
quadrans

[Adrianus]

I would suggest a plain diadem - a simple band of cloth was the symbol of kingship in the Hellenistic age and thus puts the viewer in mind of Alexander the Great. I think I can recall heads of Constantine wearing a similar fillet of cloth and there are other examples such as a medallion of Gallienus where his upward-looking, diademed bust is plainly imitating portraits of Alexander. I haven't seen a plain diadem applied to a helmet before but that is what I think we are looking at.

Regards,

Adrianus 

[Genio popvli romani]

Interesting and unusual coin.
Adrianus, diadem will appear later (c. 325-326) on Constantine's coinage.
May I suggest an error (or misunderstanding) of the engraver that could have engraved the die "hesitating" between laureate helmet and radiate helmet.

From Lech's notinric page:

https://www.forumancientcoins.com/notinric/6lon-177_dd.html

[stlnats]

Very interesting coins and discussion.  Something new to pay attention to!

 

[leetoone]

I had considered whether it might be a radiate helmet and that the engraver had forgotten to add the sun's rays. However, on this example here, one can see that the other helmet decoration seems to be planned around the rays. On my original example the decoration covers that part of the helmet and doesn't take account of any forthcoming rays - forgotten or not.

[Holding_History]

Very interesting

[Diederik]

A radiate helmet! Wonderful!!


Frans

[Lech Stępniewski]

Hi Lee,

it is a very interesting coin and I would like to put in on my page as a minor variant of LONDON 177. Could you give me the weight and the diameter.

[leetoone]

Weight is 4.55g and flan diameter is 21mm.

[Lech Stępniewski]

Weight is 4.55g and flan diameter is 21mm.

Thanks!

[leetoone]

A further example of this interesting bust type variant has come to light. This time the diadem or band on the helmet seems to have pellets along its length making it look very much like a diadem.

The coin is RIC VI (London) 202 variant : helmet decoration.

[Lech Stępniewski]

A further example of this interesting bust type variant

Hi Lee,

I have already noticed this coin here:

https://www.forumancientcoins.com/notinric/6lon203v.html

But your picture is bigger and better. Could you upload also the reverse?

The seller gave: weight 5.10 g - diameter 21 mm. Is this correct?

[SC]

Lee,

As that is far too early for any other form of actual diadem I would suspect that it is just part of the helmet construction.  A decorated band running around the circumference of the base of the bowl.

Shawn

[Genio popvli romani]

It seems there are ties to maintain this band which may contradict the "part of helmet construction". 

[SC]

Indeed.  Missed that.   So it must be something added like the radiate crown and the laurel wreath.

Anyone have access to Bastien's book on busts to know if anything similar is found in it?

If it is truly meant as a diadem then we have to re-examine the introduction of the diadem which was just revisited in Lars Ramskold's last article (published in 2013 but from the 2012 Nis and Byzantium conference).  In it he dates introduction of diadem to period of Constantine's vicennalia celebrations (26 July 325 - 26 July 326).

For me the presence of the dots does not in itself mitigate against the "forgotten rays" engravers error theory as much as the simple fact it is yet another die.  Seems far less likely to be an error now.

Hmmm.

Shawn

[romeman]

Thanks Lee for the link to this discussion of London helmets. Very interesting, although I don't think that the bands seen on the London helmets have anything to do with the royal band that Constantine introduced after becoming sole emperor in late 324. That band very clearly alludes to the band of Alexander and the hellenistic rulers, of which Constantine apparently wanted to see himself as a successor. He conquered the east and became, in effect, the ruler of what used to be the hellenistic world, and he was well aware of it. Just think of the hellenistic-style "tetradrachms" he issued in 330 (these are discussed in detail in Ramskold and Lenski 2012: Constantinople's Dedication Medallions and the Maintenance of Civic Traditions).

The various bands on the London coins appear long before he could even think about ruling in the east. The royal band of Alexander and his successors was used by Constantine in the traditional fashion, around the head, not on the helmet.

I am awaiting the arrival of the 2012 book by A. Lichtenberger / K. Martin / H.-H. Nieswandt / D. Salzmann (Hrsg); Das Diadem der hellenistischen Herrscher. There is surely a lot of very interesting information it it, but I don't know if Constantine is discussed.

Lars Ramskold