Two Soldiers, Two Standards Reverse

Two Soldiers, Two Standards Reverse

The Two Soldiers, Two Standards types were struck under the emperors Constantine I, Constantine II, Constantius II, and Constans. Additionally, they were struck in the name of Constantine's two nephews, Delmatius and Hanniballinus. The reverse bears the legend GLORIA EXERCITVS, meaning, "Glory of the Army."

Many variations can be found in the construction of the standards and the details of the armor worn by the soldiers. The earliest coins of this type ran about 20mm in diameter, decreasing as time went on to 17mm or less. Eventually, the flans had shrunk due to inflationary tendencies to the point where there was not enough room to show two standards, so the two soldiers, one standard type came to be struck in its place.

The SMTSA mintmark in the exergue of the coin identifies the minting city as Thessaloniki. The final A in the mintmark is the Greek letter Alpha, which denoted the officina.

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