Constantine the Great


Constantinople coinage



       In A.D. 324, a second civil war broke out between Constantine and Licinius.They fought a battle at Adrianople, with the defeat of Licinius. Licinius fled to Byzantium. Crispus attacked the fleet of Licinius and won a brilliant naval victory. Licinius was put to death in 325 and Constantine became the sole ruler of the Roman empire. Byzantium was renamed Constantinople and work was started on it to transform it into the new capitol of the Roman empire. Hundreds and hundreds of people were working in the city. Coinage was started with the common campgate, but quickly a new series of coinage was minted to pay the workers; but these coins also had a message.

      “Four entirely new types were created for Constantine, GLORIA EXERCITVS, GLORIA ROMANORVM, LIBERTAS PVBLICA, and SPES PVBLIC…Here the reverses record a summing up of the Civil War II, the glory of the army constituting the glory of the Empire, the death of the tyrant (SPES PVBLIC) granting liberty for all.” RIC VII pg 567.


      So the first reason that Constantinople issued these coins was to celebrate the defeat of Licinius. The second reason was much more practical. There were many workers in the new city being built, transforming it into a capitol worthy to represent the ruler of the Roman Empire. These workers had to be paid, and there were a lot of them, so new coins needed to be minted. According to Jordanes, a Roman bureaucrat who lived during the sixth century, many Goths also helped Constantine and they would have required money. “In like manner it was the aid of the Goths that enabled him to build the famous city that is named after him, the rival of Rome, inasmuch as they entered into a truce with the Emperor and furnished him forty thousand men to aid him against various peoples.”

These commemorative coins culminated in the fifth type, also only issued for Constantine-- CONSTANTINIANA DAFNE



 
 


Constantine I
A.D. 326-327
Ӕ nummus  19mm    3.4g
CONSTAN-TINVS AVG; Laureate head right.
PROVIDEN-TIAE AVGG; camp gate, two turrets, no doors, • in archway, ✶ above; in left field A.
in ex. CONS
RIC VII Constantinople 7



Constantine I PROVIDENTIAE AVGG Constantinople
                    7


Crispus
A.D. 326
Ӕ nummus  19mm    2.7g
CRISPVS NOB CAES; Laureate head right.
PROVIDEN-TIAE CAESS; camp gate, two turrets, no doors, • in archway, ✶ above; in left field B.
in ex. CONS
RIC VII Constantinople 8

Crispus
                  PROVIDENTIAE CAESS Constantinople 8

Constantine I
A.D. 326
18mm     2.4gm
Anepigraphic: laureate head right.
CONSTAN/TINVS/AVG in three lines; wreath above.
In ex. CONSA
RIC VII Constantinople 13



Constantine I anepigraphic Constantinople 13
Constantine I
A.D. 327
Ӕ nummus  19mm    3.3gm
CONSTANTINVS MAX AVG; laureate head right.
GLORIA ROMANORVM; Roma seated on a shield, holding a long sceptre, Victory on a globe in right hand, A in left field.
in ex. CONS
RIC VII Constantinople 17

Ex-Peter Weiß

Constantine I GLORIA ROMANORVM Constantinople
                    17
Constantine I
circa A.D. 327
19mm    3.2g
CONSTN-S NN✠ AVG; laureate head right.
GLORIV RO-MANORVM; Roma seated on a shield, holding a long sceptre, Victory on a globe in right hand.
in ex. CONS
cf. RIC VII Constantinople 17

Rare unofficial issue copying a GLORIA ROMANORVM from Constantinople


Constantine I
                    GLORIA ROMANORVM Constantinople unofficial issue

Constantine I
A.D. 327
Ӕ nummus  19mm   2.6g
CONSTANTINVS MAX AVG; laureate head right
SPES PVBLIC; chi-rho atop standard of 3 medallions impaling snake, in left field A.
in ex. CONS
RIC VII Constantinople 19




Constantine I SPES PVBLIC Constantinople 19


Constantine I
A.D. 327-8
Ӕ nummus  18mm   3.1g 
CONSTANTINVS MAX AVG; rosette diademed head right.
GLORIA EXERCITVS; Soldier holding reversed spear in right, left hand on shield, Γ in left field.
 in ex. CONS 
RIC VII Constantinople 22




Constantine I GLORIA EXERCITVS Constantinople 22

Constantine I
A.D. 327-8
Ӕ nummus  18x19mm   3.2g  
CONSTANTINVS MAX AVG; rosette diademed head right.
GLORIA EXERCITVS; Soldier holding reversed spear in right, left hand on shield S in left field.
 in ex. CONS  
RIC VII Constantinople 22

Ex-Peter Weiß


Constantine I GLORIA EXERCITVS Constantinople
                      22


Constantine I

A.D. 327-8 
Ӕ nummus  20mm    3.0g
CONSTANTINVS MAX AVG; rosette diademed head right 
LIBERTAS PVBLICA; Victory standing left on galley, wreath in both hands; in left field B.
in ex. CONS      
RIC VII Constantinople 25


Constantine I
                    LIBERTAS PVBLICA Constantinople 25

Constantine I
A.D. 328
18mm    3.3g
CONSTANTINVS MAX AVG; head with rosette-diadem facing right.
CONSTANTINIANA DAFNE; Victory seated l. on cippus, palm branch in left hand and laurel branch in right hand, looking r.; trophy at front, at the foot is a kneeling captive with head turned being spurned by Victory; Δ in left. 
in ex. CONS      
RIC VII Constantinople 30   



Constantine I
                    CONSTANTINIANA DAFNE Constantinople 30

Constantine I
A.D. 328
Ӕ nummus 21mm 3.2g
Anepigraphic: diademed head, looking up to heavens
CONSTANTINIANA DAFNE; Victory seated l. on cippus, palm branch in left hand and laurel branch in right hand, looking r.; trophy at front, at the foot is a kneeling captive with head turned being spurned by Victory; A in left field.
in ex. CONS
RIC VII Constantinople—



Constantine I
                    CONSTANTINIANA DAFNE Constantinople anepigraphic
                    eyes to heavens

Constantine I
A.D. 328
Ӕ nummus  21mm    3.2g
Anepigraphic: head with rosette diadem, looking up to heavens
CONSTANTINIANA DAFNE; Victory seated l. on cippus, palm branch in left hand and laurel branch in right hand, looking r.; trophy at front, at the foot is a kneeling captive with head turned being spurned by Victory; E in left field.
in ex. CONS
RIC VII Constantinople—


Constantine I
                    CONSTANTINIANA DAFNE Constantinople anepigraphic
                    eyes to heavens

Constantine I
A.D. 328
21mm 3.3g
CONSTANTINVS MAX AVG; head with rosette diademed, looking up to heavens
CONSTANTINIANA DAFNE; Victory seated l. on cippus, palm branch in left hand and laurel branch in right hand, looking r.; trophy at front, at the foot is a kneeling captive with head turned being spurned by Victory, E in left field.
in ex. CONS
RIC VII Constantinople 32




Constantine I CONSTANTINIANA DAFNE
                    Constantinople 32

Constantine I
A.D. 328
Ӕ nummus  20mm     3.7g
CONSTANTINVS MAX AVG rosette diademed, draped and cuirassed bust right, with left shoulder raised up.
CONSTANTINIANA DAFNE; Victory seated l. on cippus, palm branch in left hand and laurel branch in right hand, looking r.; trophy at front, at the foot is a kneeling captive with head turned being spurned by Victory; Δ in left.
in ex. CONS  
RIC VII Constantinople 35
bust variation




Constantine I CONSTANTINIANA DAFNE
                    Constantinople 35

Constantine I
A.D. 328
Ӕ nummus    21mm    3.4g
CONSTANTINVS MAX AVG rosette diademed, draped and cuirassed bust right, with left shoulder raised up.
CONSTANTINIANA DAFNE; Victory seated l. on cippus, palm branch in left hand and laurel branch in right hand, looking r.; trophy at front, at the foot is a kneeling captive with head turned being spurned by Victory; Z in left.
in ex. CONS  
RIC VII Constantinople 35



Constantine I
                    CONSTANTINIANA DAFNE Constantinople 35

Constantine I
A.D. 328- 329
Ӕ nummus  20mm 3.2g
CONSTANTINVS MAX AVG; diademed, draped and cuirassed bust right.
CONSTANTINIANA DAFNE; Victory seated l. on cippus, palm branch in left hand and laurel branch in right hand, looking r.; trophy at front, at the foot is a kneeling captive with head turned being spurned by Victory; E in left.
in ex. CONS✶
RIC VII Constantinople 38





Constantine I
                    CONSTANTINIANA DAFNE Constantinople 38

Constantine I
A.D. 329 -330
20mm 3.5g
CONSTANTINVS MAX AVG; rosette diademed, dr. and cuir. bust right.
CONSTANTINIANA DAFNE; Victory seated l. on cippus, palm branch in left hand and laurel branch in right hand, looking r.; trophy at front, at the foot is a kneeling captive with head turned being spurned by Victory; B in left field.
in ex. CONS•
RIC VII Constantinople –


The author of RIC, Patrick Bruun, mentions this coin in the footnotes-- "Some coins not with star but with dot in exergue, the dot most likely intended for a star." However, these coins are known from all the workshops and must be a separate issue after RIC VII Constantinople 38






Constantine
                    I CONSTANTINIANA DAFNE Constantinople 38 dot

Constantine I
circa A.D. 330
20mm    3.1g
CONSTANTI-NVS MAX AVG; Rosette-diademed head right, with slight drapery on left shoulder.
S P Q R OPTIMO PRINCIPI; Victory standing front, head to left, holding wreath in her right hand and palm frond in her left.
In ex. CONSA
RIC VII Constantinople –

unique example which copies a denarius of Trajan



Constantine I
                    S P Q R OPTIMO PRINCIPI Constantinople

Constantine I
A.D. 330-3
17x19mm   2.4g
CONSTANTI-NVS MAX AVG; rosette-diademed, draped and cuirassed bust right.
GLOR-IA EXERC-ITVS; Two soldiers helmeted, stg. facing one another, reversed spear in outer hands, inner hands on shields resting on the ground; between them two standards.
in ex. CONSB
RIC VII Constantinople 59




Constantine I
                    GLORIA EXERCITVS Constantinople 59

Constantinopolis
A.D. 330-333
17x19mm    2.4g
Obv. CONSTAN-TINOPOLI laureate, helmeted, wearing imperial mantle, holding scepter.
Rev. Victory stg. on prow, holding long scepter in r. hand, and resting l. hand on shield.
in ex. CONSIA
RIC VII Constantinople 63



Constantinopolis
                    Victory on prow Constantinople 63

 
 
 

created in April  2008

  last modified on 8 Aug 2023

Constantine the Great