Constantius III, AR half siliqua. 421 AD, 14mm, 0.94 gr. Uncertain mint in Gaul.

DN CONSTAN-TIVS PF AVG, pearl diademed, draped, cuirassed bust right.
VICTORIA ROMANORVM, Victory advancing left, holding wreath and palm
Mintmark: SMN.
DOC 816; Cohen 3 var.

Extremely rare.

Although P. Grierson/M. Mays (DOC p. 225 and p. 297) and J.P.C. 
Kent (RIC X, p. 135f.) doubts the authenticity of these very
rare half siliquae of Constantius III, it must be noted that
Kent confused the genuine coins with a fake by L. Cigois (L. 
Brunetti, Opus Monetale Cigoi, 349), with a Ravenna
mintmark and the style of which is totally different from
the dies used for the genuine coins. Grierson and Mays 
do admit that the same dies as this particular coin were
known as long ago as 1680 although the two scholars state
that SMN can only mean Nicomedia which was not used by 
Constantius III. However, since then two other 5th century
Gallic mints have been determined: Narbo (Narbonne) and Nicaea 
(Nice) which used the letter N in their mintmarks (cf. RIC X, 
1417 corr. and Lanz, Auction 92, 1226 for Priscus Attalus, 
and RIC X, 1544 for Constantinus III. This fact would therefore
be a good argument for SMN being the mintmark for Narbonne,
especially since it is known that Constantius III was chiefly
responsible for making Narbonnes the town of central 
government for this province. 
In addition, the issues of the usurper Maximus in Barcelona 
and those of the Western Goths show us that silver coins of
corresponding weights played an important financial and 
political role in Southern Gaul.

Contributed by Dr. Hubert Lanz, auction November 2000, 
Added July 2011.