Constantine I, 307/310-337. Follis (Bronze, 20 mm, 3.36 g, 1 h), Ticinum (?), circa autumn 312. CONSTANTINVS P F AVG Laureate and cuirassed bust of Constantine I to right. Rev. MARTI CONSERVATORI Helmeted and cuirassed bust of Mars to right. P. Bastien: Folles sans marque émis par Constantin en Italie, in: SM 24 (1974), p. 6, 2a-d. RIC -. Very rare and of particularly distinctive style. The obverse a bit weak, otherwise, nearly extremely fine.


Only fractional bronze coins with Sol or Mars on the reverse from Trier were included in RIC VI, but in 1974, Bastien showed that they were struck also in Ticinum, and more western mins have been identified since then. Without an obverse die match to a mint marked type, the cautious attribution to Ticinum must rely on 'style'. It is also not entirely impossible that this is a very well made contemporary imitation.