Constantine I, 307 – 337. Medallion of 2 solidi,

Constantine I, 307 – 337.
Medallion of 2 solidi, Thessalonica circa 317, AV 9.08 g. IMP CONSTANTINVS P F AVG Radiate, draped and cuirassed bust r. Rev. CONCORDIA – AVG – ET CAESS N N Concordia seated l., holding caduceus and cornucopiae; in exergue, pellet SM pellet TS pellet. C –. Alföldi –. RIC –. Depeyrot –. Gnecchi –. Toynbee –.

Apparently unique and unrecorded. A spectacular medallion with an impressive and

unusual portrait perfectly struck on a very large flan. An almost invisible

metal flaw on cheek, otherwise virtually as struck and almost Fdc



From a Swiss private collection and notarised in Switzerland prior to 2005.

Constantine I was proclaimed Augustus of the Western Roman Empire by the legions in Britannia after the death of his father, Constantius I Chlorus, in AD 306. Until AD 312, he was embroiled in a struggle for recognition in, and then control of the Western Empire, first against Valerius Severus, the appointee of Galerius as western Augustus, and then against Maxentius, the usurping son of the retired Western Augustus, Maximian. At last, after receiving a famous heavenly vision in which he was advised to conquer under the sign of the chi-rho monogram of Christ, on 28 October AD 312 he defeated Maxentius near Rome at the battle of the Milvian Bridge. It is unclear how much of this vision may have developed after the fact, but in AD 313, Constantine I, together with Licinius, the successor of Galerius as Eastern Augustus, issued the Edict of Milan, granting religious toleration throughout the Empire and freeing Christians from fear the persecution as they had suffered previously under Diocletian and Galerius. This unique gold medallion of two solidi was struck in AD 317 as a sign of unity and cooperation between Constantine I and Licinius. In this year, they both appointed their sons to take up the rank of Caesar in their respective divisions of the Empire. In the West, Crispus became the new Caesar under Constantine I and in the East Licinius II became the new Caesar under his father. The reverse legend advertises the context by proclaiming "Concord between the Most Noble Augusti and Caesares." The type of Concordia enthroned and a legend that sometimes only refers to the concord between the Augusti also occurs on gold issues of Constantine I and Crispus. These commonly depict the laureate head of Constantine or a heroic bust of Crispus armed for battle, but here Constantine wears a radiate crown. This change in headgear for the Western Augustus on the medallion was dictated by its value. Already in the first century AD, the radiate crown was used on Roman aes coinage as a means of differentiating the face value of the dupondius from the similar as. In the third century it became a ubiquitous feature of the increasingly devalued antoninianus, which was officially valued at two denarii but never actually contained this amount of silver. As in these earlier usages, the radiate crown here signals the medallion as a double denomination worth two solidi. The friendly sentiment expressed by this medallion continued into the years that immediately followed in 318 when Licinius shared the consulship with Crispus and in 319 when Constantine shared the consulship with Licinius II. After this, the public show of unity began to break down and finally devolved into war in AD 324, when the Constantine entered Thrace without permission. When Licinius responded with outrage, Constantine mounted a full-scale invasion, defeating the Eastern Emperor first at Adrianople and then at Chrysopolis on 18 September AD 324. Constantine spared the life of Licinius when he surrendered, but within a year ordered his execution on the grounds that he was plotting a revolt. Constantine alone was master of the Roman world. The Emperor spent the next decade campaigning against the Alemanni, Visigoths, and Sarmatians; arranging the administration of the Empire by appointing his sons Constantine II, Constantius II, and Constans as Caesares; founding a new capital at Constantinople (AD 330); and supporting the development of unified doctrine for the Christian Church, whose leaders had their own role to play in the imperial administration. In AD 335, Constantine I celebrated the tricennalia (thirty-year anniversary) of his reign and used the occasion to name his nephews Delmatius and Hannibalianus as additional dependent rulers alongside his sons. He followed this momentous event with plans for a great war against the Sasanian Persian Empire, but fell ill and died on 22 May AD 337, after accepting baptism and thereby becoming the first Christian Emperor.