I went out Saturday on a short trip about an hour from my house to a hay field that had been recently harvested. The field wasn't plowed, so the going was not so great. But then the farmer showed up and told me that he was about to plow the field and said I could search behind him!
I was using the White's V3i, and the standard 10" DD coil. I hunt in relic mode, in stereo mixed mode. I tuned the machine to this specific area, using 3-frequencies, 7.5 Hz band-pass ground filter, RX gain of 8, Disc 82, and a recovery of 56. The tractor was quite loud so I had my V3i wireless headphones on which did a great job of blocking the noise.
Since the farmer didn't plow very deep, I was not expecting much, but I still managed to find an encrusted ancient coin. It took me almost three hours to carefully pick away the century's old dirt with a stereo microscope, but my patience paid off when I uncovered a perfectly preserved Roman bronze coin from the mid 4th century with it's lovely green patina fully intact (chemicals or brushing would have stripped the delicate patina and ruined the coin).
I was using the White's V3i, and the standard 10" DD coil. I hunt in relic mode, in stereo mixed mode. I tuned the machine to this specific area, using 3-frequencies, 7.5 Hz band-pass ground filter, RX gain of 8, Disc 82, and a recovery of 56. The tractor was quite loud so I had my V3i wireless headphones on which did a great job of blocking the noise.
Since the farmer didn't plow very deep, I was not expecting much, but I still managed to find an encrusted ancient coin. It took me almost three hours to carefully pick away the century's old dirt with a stereo microscope, but my patience paid off when I uncovered a perfectly preserved Roman bronze coin from the mid 4th century with it's lovely green patina fully intact (chemicals or brushing would have stripped the delicate patina and ruined the coin).
Obverse: CONSTANTIVS P F AVG with a diademed bust of Constantius II.
Reverse: GLORIA EXERCITVS with two soldiers, each holding a spear and shield, and one standard between them. The Christogram (ChiRho) appears at the top of the standard.
Reverse: GLORIA EXERCITVS with two soldiers, each holding a spear and shield, and one standard between them. The Christogram (ChiRho) appears at the top of the standard.
The coin is was minted in Siscia (Croatia) between 337 - 341 AD.
Constantius II (Latin: Flavius Julius Constantius Augustus was born in Sirmium (Serbia) on 7 August 317 and died 3 November 361. He was Roman Emperor from 337 to 361 AD. The second son of Constantine I and Fausta, he ascended to the throne along with his two brothers Constantine II and Constans upon their father's death. In 355, Constantius promoted his last surviving cousin, Julian, to the rank of Caesar. However, Julian claimed the rank of Augustus (Supreme Emperor) in 360, leading to war between the Julian and Constantius. Ultimately, no battle was fought as Constantius became feverish, and died late in 361, though not before naming Julian as his successor.
Gloria Exercitus translates to (The) Glory of the Army.
The back of the coin is interesting. It shows two soldiers, spears and shields in their hands, and a Roman military standard between them. On top of the standard is the Chi Rho symbol, one of the earliest forms of christogram, and is still used by some Christians. It is formed by superimposing the first two (capital) letters chi and rho (ΧΡ) of the Greek word "ΧΡΙΣΤΟΣ" (Christ) in such a way as to produce the monogram. Although not technically a Christian cross, the Chi-Rho invokes the crucifixion of Jesus, as well as symbolizing his status as the Christ.
The back of the coin is interesting. It shows two soldiers, spears and shields in their hands, and a Roman military standard between them. On top of the standard is the Chi Rho symbol, one of the earliest forms of christogram, and is still used by some Christians. It is formed by superimposing the first two (capital) letters chi and rho (ΧΡ) of the Greek word "ΧΡΙΣΤΟΣ" (Christ) in such a way as to produce the monogram. Although not technically a Christian cross, the Chi-Rho invokes the crucifixion of Jesus, as well as symbolizing his status as the Christ.
After Constantine, the Chi-Rho became part of the official imperial insignia. Archaeologists have uncovered evidence demonstrating that the Chi-Rho was emblazoned on the helmets of some Late Roman soldiers. Other coins and medallions minted during Emperor Constantine's reign also bore the Chi-Rho. By the year 350, the Chi-Rho began to be used on Christian sarcophagi and frescoes. The Chi-Rho symbol was also used by pagan Greek scribes to mark, in the margin, a particularly valuable or relevant passage; the combined letters Chi and Rho standing for chrēston, meaning "good."
The labarum was a military standard that displayed the "Chi-Rho" symbol. It was first used by the Roman emperor Constantine I. Since the labarum consisted of a flag suspended from the crossbar of a cross, it was ideally suited to symbolize crucifixion.
Constantius II died in the town of Mopsuestia, an ancient city on the Ceyhan River in modern-day Turkey. The ancient city is now a small village located approximately 10 mi east of Incirlik U.S. Air Force base near Adana, Turkey. I was stationed at that base in the mid 1980's and never would have dreamed that someday, while stationed at another post in Europe, that I would find a coin that connected these two distant assignments!
The labarum was a military standard that displayed the "Chi-Rho" symbol. It was first used by the Roman emperor Constantine I. Since the labarum consisted of a flag suspended from the crossbar of a cross, it was ideally suited to symbolize crucifixion.
Constantius II died in the town of Mopsuestia, an ancient city on the Ceyhan River in modern-day Turkey. The ancient city is now a small village located approximately 10 mi east of Incirlik U.S. Air Force base near Adana, Turkey. I was stationed at that base in the mid 1980's and never would have dreamed that someday, while stationed at another post in Europe, that I would find a coin that connected these two distant assignments!
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