Constantine I chi-rho helmet

[livingwater]

One of my collecting interests is the chi-rho symbol for Christ. I have a few of these of Constantine I with the chi-rho on the reverse standard. I'd been looking for one with a chi-rho on the helmet. They tend to be rare. I finally purchased one recently for $64. It's only VG-F but the chi-rho can be seen. It's a variant of RIC VII Siscia 61.

[vic9128]

Congratulations on a nice find!

[djmacdo]

A nice find indeed! These tend not only to be rare, but often in poor condition. The Chi-Rho is very clear on your specimen, and, despite a bit of rough surface, all details are there.

mac

[Congius]

Nice find - quite rare indeed!

Are you sure that's RIC 61, and not RIC 74? It looks like an "I" on the altar, although it could also be a "+". Is it any clearer in hand?

How many of these have you seen - do you have pictures of any other specimens?

Ben

[livingwater]

Thanks for all that commented on the coin. I'm not sure what the letter is on the altar. I took the coin to my bank box yesterday and next time I go there I'll take my ten power eye glass and take a closer look. I thought the coin was a RIC 61 only because in the footnotes it mentions one of this chi-rho helmet type (p. 433). I know of just two others of this type. One is from the Failmezger collection that was sold by ancientimports.com. A photo of it is on this web site in the sold coins archives for the Failmezger collection. Another is on the web site constantinethegreatcoins.com in the section discussing christian symbols. Both of these have a horesman on the shield, not dots like mine. I don't think the ebay seller realized what he had when he sold it to me. I'm thinking it's worth at least several times more than what I paid for it. Mark

[Lycaonian]

Very nice, Mark. You DO seem to have a knack for landing unusual/rare pieces on Ebay!

Dave