Roman bronze reverses: Gloria Exercitus to Salus Reipublicae

On a worn late-Roman bronze the bust is usually a generic diademed silhouette — the reverse type is what actually attributes the coin. Six or seven reverse motifs account for the overwhelming majority of UK detector finds. Once you can recognise them at a glance, you can put a date range on a coin before reading a single letter of the legend.

Why the reverse dominates late-Roman attribution

Late-Roman emperors stopped commissioning individual portrait dies. The diademed bust on a Constantinian nummus is a generic Roman emperor — you need the legend to know which one. The reverse, by contrast, refers to a specific imperial slogan or event, and those slogans were rotated in tight chronological cycles. Even a coin where the obverse legend is gone usually has enough reverse survival to attribute to a single Reece period.

The Constantinian reverses (330–348)

GLORIA EXERCITVS — two standards (330–337)

The original GLORIA EXERCITVS (“glory of the army”) type, introduced around 330. Two soldiers, helmeted and cuirassed, hold their shields and reversed spears outwards; between them stand two legionary standards on staffs. Module ~16–18 mm, AE3 fabric. Mint mark in the exergue (below the figures) — UK finds skew Trier (TRP / STR), London (PLON) and Arles (SCONST for Constantina = Arles after 328).

GLORIA EXERCITVS — one standard (337–348)

After Constantine I died in 337, the type was simplified to a single standard between the two soldiers. Module drops to ~14–16 mm and the strike quality deteriorates as the period progresses.

VRBS ROMA — wolf and twins (330–340)

VRBS ROMA (“the city of Rome”) is a commemorative celebrating the foundation myth. The obverse shows the city personification — a helmeted, left-facing bust of Roma, not an emperor — with the legend VRBS ROMA. The reverse is the unmistakeable she-wolf nursing Romulus and Remus, with two stars above. Constantinople got its own version (CONSTANTINOPOLIS, with a Victory on a prow reverse) struck in parallel.

CONSTANTINOPOLIS — Victory on prow (330–340)

The CONSTANTINOPOLIS commemorative pairs with VRBS ROMA. The obverse shows a helmeted Constantinopolis (the city personified) and the reverse a Victory on the prow of a ship, holding a sceptre — a deliberate echo of the early-imperial Republican “Victory on prow” reverses of Augustus. Module and date match the VRBS ROMA series.

The post-Constantinian reverses (348–361)

FEL TEMP REPARATIO — falling horseman

FEL TEMP REPARATIO (“the restoration of happy times”) was a long-running slogan but the “falling horseman” sub-type is the dominant variety from 348 onwards. Issued under Constantius II and Constans I in particular. Module starts around 23 mm (AE2) and shrinks through copies and barbarous imitations down to ~14–16 mm. Barbarous “FEL TEMP” imitations are extremely common UK finds — struck locally by unofficial mints to meet currency demand.

Other FEL TEMP REPARATIO sub-types include the Phoenix on a globe, the emperor with a captive, and a galley with the emperor and Victory aboard. The falling-horseman is by some margin the commonest.

Late-4th-century reverses (364–395)

How to read a reverse on a worn coin

1. Count the figures.Two standing figures with something between them → GLORIA EXERCITVS. One figure standing → Victory / Securitas / Salus type. Figure with captive → GLORIA ROMANORVM or SALVS REIPVBLICAE. Falling horse and rider → FEL TEMP REPARATIO.
2. Count the standards.Two standards = early GLORIA EXERCITVS (330–337). One standard = late GLORIA EXERCITVS (337–348). No standards (two figures with shields) = something else entirely.
3. Look for the wolf and twins. Categorical VRBS ROMA.
4. Look for the ship’s prow. Categorical CONSTANTINOPOLIS.
5. Read any surviving legend. Two or three letters of GLORIA, FEL TEMP, SECVRITAS are usually enough to confirm.
6. Read the mintmark in the exergue. Together with the reverse type this gives a precise attribution even when the emperor name is gone.