The reverses of Fourth Century coins will usually have an allegorical figure symbolizing some virtue or value such as victory, a wreath, an altar, or an emperor in military dress dragging a captive or spearing a foe. Many variants of these basic reverse types exist. It is not rare for a collector to find that he or she has purchased an odd or rare variant of these types for only a few dollars out of an ancient coin dealer's junkbox. In fact, if you explore this site, you will see several pieces that are not found in any catalogue. This does not necessarily mean that the coin is a fake. There were so many different ways the ancient artist could have engraved a shield, armor, clothing, a figure of Victory, or the lettering in the inscriptions that thousands of interesting little varieties exist. Even the very thorough, painstaking research of the British Museum scholars and other numismatists working over the last one hundred fifty or more years has not brought all of them to the light of day. You may get lucky and find a real gem early in your collecting. The list below contains some of the more common varieties with which we'll start:
Camp gate type with a representation of the gate of a walled Roman Fortress
Votive altar with an inscription reading VOTIS XX or similar
Two soldiers standing holding either one or two standards
Wreath with an inscription inside reading VOT V MVLT X or some variation on this
Roman soldier spearing a fallen enemy horseman
Wolf suckling the twins Romulus and Remus with VRBS ROMA inscription
Victory standing on the prow of a Roman warship with CONSTANTINOPOLIS inscription
Very tiny coin with two victories each holding a wreath
Emperor Holding a military standard or a labarum or Christian battle standard
Victory in long flowing dress advancing left holding a wreath
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