318-330 AD., Constantinus I., Siscia(?) mint imitative type, barbarous Æ3 / Nummus / Follis, RIC 53.
Constantinus I (Constantine), Siscia(?) mint imitative type, 318-330 AD.,
Æ3 / Nummus / Follis ? (ø 17-17,5 mm / 3,00 g), bronze, axis irregular alignment ↑→ (ca. 90°),
Obv.: DVVDVVDCVDVCVVC[VVC ?] , laureate helmeted and cuirassed bust right, strange style.
Rev.: DVVDVVDVVDvCVVCVVCVVC / CΛΛD (in exergue) , two Victories standing, facing each other and holding a shield (with a swirl like “§“ ) on an altar, decorated with X with a small circle at center (imitating the official VICTORIAE LAETAE PRINC PERP -type).
imitating RIC VII, Siscia mint no. 53 from 318-319 AD. ; 322 similar imitative issues on http://www.nummus-bible-database.com (cf. http://www.nummus-bible-database.com/monnaie-63399.htm - N° NBD : 60534 , 51505 ); cf. http://www.beastcoins.com/Topical/VLPP/Coins/Imitative/VLPP-Imitative.htm ; cf. http://www.constantinethegreatcoins.com/barb2 .
Imitative Folles or "barbarous" bronze coins from this series are plentiful and range from extremely crude to nearly official in appearance. RIC footnotes as "irregular" or "semi-barbarous". On p. 224, Appendix to Trier, RIC VII describes and lists a number of "irregular" coins for the purpose of "illustrating the wide range of varieties known".