Partinico hoard aurei in NAC autumn 2024 auction, going under the radar !

[Heliodromus]

The just closed NAC autumn 2024 auction included 8 aurei whose only provenance was given as "From the collection of a Mentor", but are actually all from the Partinico hoard of 1958, a very interesting shipwreck hoard found off the coast of Sicily. The coins all have somewhat frosted surfaces bearing witness to their underwater resting place and a light sand blasting!

I recognized one of the coins in the auction - a rare (unique) aureus of Constantine (more below), and then found the others by comparing to a hoard report.

The Partinico hoard started to be disbursed on the Paris market in late 1958, and contained some fabulous never-seen-before medallions of Maxentius, which caught the attention of RAG Carson (co-author of RIC VI) who published these the following year.

R. A. G. Carson, « The greatest discovery of roman gold pieces since the
great find at Arras, including unique medallions of the emperor Maxentius »,
The London Illustrated News, 15 nov. 1959, p. 650-651

When RIC VI was published in 1967, Carson only gave "trade" as the source of the Partinico coins he was aware of, but subsequently in 1980 published his reconstruction of the hoard until the title "treasure from the Mediterranean", listing a total of 119 coins.

In the meantime, Pierre Strauss, then director at M&M Basel, had also been tracking the Partinico coins appearing in trade, and had kept photographic records of them, which were subsequently donated to the BnF after his death in 1995.

Fast forward to 2010, when Vincent Drost and George Gautier took on the task of a more complete reconstruction of the hoard, combining the records of Carson, Strauss and other sources, now with a total of 174 coins, and published it in the BnF's Tresor Monetaires, 2010 as "Le trésor dit « de Partinico » : aurei et multiples d’or d’époque tétrarchique découverts au large des côtes de la Sicile", which can be found online, and is highly recommended!

The hoard coins in the NAC auction are all illustrated in Drost & Gautier's report, and as it happens (or maybe no coincidence?) are all ones from Strauss's records donated to the BnF. I'm guessing these coins, now being sold as a group, may have been in a collection ever since they originally appeared for sale.

The hoard coins from the NAC sale are:

NAC 1027 Drost #24
NAC 1029 Drost #47
NAC 1032 Drost #9
NAC 1036 Drost #133

NAC 1048 Drost #65
NAC 1049 Drost #66
NAC 1053 Drost #125
NAC 1054 Drost #86

The Constantine aureus that drew my attention to these was NAC 1054, below.

This rather beaten up coin, RIC 755, is unique (Carson saw the Partinico coin in trade), and quite interesting. I was considering bidding on it, but in the end could not accept the condition. It sold all-in for $3263 which seems a bargain for someone interested in history vs grade.

What makes this type interesting is that it is the only aureus issue struck by Constantine as augustus, c. July 307, apparently on occasion of his elevation to augustus by Maximianus, and his marriage to Fausta. There is a Hercules type for Maximianus, below, unlisted in RIC, which would appear to be from the same issue. Depeyrot places these coins in consecutive issues, but a detailed consideration of the coinage does not seem to justify that.

The TR mintmark of these aurei is shared by a series of half-argentei that must have been issued close to the same time, and include archaic IVNO REGINA and VENVS FELIX types for Fausta, as well as a VIRTVS MILITVM campgate type for the emperors.

What's also of interest is that these aurei, issued in 307 AD, would be the last gold that Constantine would issue until his coinage reform of 310 AD when he introduced the solidus.

Edited Wednesday at 06:58 PM by Heliodromus

[Ancient Coin Hunter]

Very interesting @Heliodromus and I find the use of an appellation normally reserved for Caesars especially intriguing (PRINCIPI JVVENTVTIS) given that he is referred to as Augustus on the obverse. Sort of an accession ceremony.

Edited Wednesday at 06:26 PM by Ancient Coin Hunter

[Barzus]

Very interestng @Heliodromus, thanks for sharing!

[ominus1]

..good job Helio...keep the light shining!   🙂

[Victor_Clark]

1 hour ago, Ancient Coin Hunter said:

I find the use of an appellation normally reserved for Caesars especially intriguing (PRINCIPI JVVENTVTIS) given that he is referred to as Augustus on the obverse. 

Constantine had many coins with prince references despite being Augustus. The VLPP series of A.D. 318-320 even referred to him as the eternal prince.

[John Conduitt]

Here's another of the Eternal Prince.

Constantine I Nummus, 312-313

London. Bronze, 24mm, 4.04g. Laureate and armoured bust of Constantine I right, draped over the shoulder, seen from three quarters forward; CONSTANTINVS P F AVG. Laureate Constantine I, militarily dressed standing right, holding a globe in his left hand and an inverted pole in his right hand; PRINCIPI IV-VENTVTIS; Star in left field; PLN in exergue (RIC 265).

[Heliodromus]

2 hours ago, Ancient Coin Hunter said:

Very interesting @Heliodromus and I find the use of an appellation normally reserved for Caesars especially intriguing (PRINCIPI JVVENTVTIS) given that he is referred to as Augustus on the obverse. Sort of an accession ceremony.

Yes, maybe an accession in terms of depiction.

While we do also see PRINCIPI IVVENTVTIS reverses for Constantine as caesar (self-issued from Trier, but also from Galerius and Maximianus/Maxentius from Rome), these are all of the emperor holding standard and long sceptre type, but this first aureus as augustus makes the switch to the emperor holding spear and (celestial) globe type, which (esp. globe) seem to be imperial insignia, and is what is seen on his gold coinage from here on.

On Constantine's bronze coinage we see the same switch from "standard and sceptre" as caesar to "spear and globe" as augustus, except that there is a transition period of a couple of years (307-309) where as augustus he uses both types in parallel.

 

[ACCLA-Mike]

"I recognized one of the coins in the auction - a rare (unique) aureus of Constantine (more below), and then found the others by comparing to a hoard report."

Heliodromus can you provide a link or the citation for the "hoard report"? Many thanks.

[Heliodromus]

1 hour ago, ACCLA-Mike said:

"I recognized one of the coins in the auction - a rare (unique) aureus of Constantine (more below), and then found the others by comparing to a hoard report."

Heliodromus can you provide a link or the citation for the "hoard report"? Many thanks.

It's this one I referred to:

"Le trésor dit « de Partinico » : aurei et multiples d’or d’époque tétrarchique découverts au large des côtes de la Sicile"

By Vincent Drost & George Gautier

Published in BnF's "Tresor Monetaires" 2010

I found it online, but didn't save the link. If you have trouble finding it let me know.

Edit: I found the link - it's here on Vincent Drost's academia.edu page

https://www.academia.edu/1520156/Le_trésor_dit_de_Partinico_aurei_et_multiples_d_or_d_époque_tétrarchique_découverts_au_large_des_côtes_de_la_Sicile_terminus_308_ap_J_C_

If you want to translate it into an English PDF, download it first, then use Google translate here:

https://translate.google.com/?sl=auto&tl=en&op=translate

Edited Thursday at 12:57 AM by Heliodromus

[rasiel]

Wow, great research! 👍

Rasiel