Constantine I 307-337 AD, Heraclea, 317 AD, Reduced Follis, 2.90g.png
Constantine I 307-337 AD, Heraclea, 317 AD, Reduced Follis, 2.90g (2).png
Constantine I 307-337 AD, Heraclea, 317 AD, Reduced Follis, 2.90g.png
Constantine I 307-337 AD, Heraclea, 317 AD, Reduced Follis, 2.90g (2).png

Roman Bronze Reduced Follis of Constantine I (about 1708 years ago)

$106.50 $125.00
sale

This bronze coin was struck during the reign of Constantine I (the Great) at the mint of Heraclea (modern Marmara Ereğlisi, Turkey). As the Roman Empire underwent significant religious and administrative transformation, Constantine's coinage reflected both traditional Roman imagery and new Christian influences.

Coin Description:

  • Front side: Laureate bust of Constantine I facing left, holding ceremonial handkerchief (mappa), globe, and scepter; Latin inscription "IMP CONSTA-NTINVS" (Emperor Constantine)

  • Back side: Camp gate with three turrets and no doors; Latin inscription "PROVIDEN-TIAE AVGG" (to the Providence of the Emperors); mint mark "MHTB" in exergue (bottom section)

Technical Details:

  • Bronze composition, weighing 2.90 grams

  • Reduced Follis denomination (standard bronze coin of the period)

  • References: RIC-16, officina B=2 (C1)

  • No certification mentioned

  • Date: 317 CE, minted at Heraclea

  • Condition: Not specified

Historical Significance:

This coin was issued during Constantine's rise to power, shortly after defeating his rival Licinius at the Battle of Cibalae (316 CE). The fortress gate symbolizes the security of the empire, while the "Providence" inscription acknowledges divine favor. Constantine would go on to reunify the Roman Empire and establish Constantinople (modern Istanbul) as its new capital. His reign marked a pivotal transition period as Christianity began to receive imperial support, although this coin still uses primarily traditional Roman imagery.

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This bronze coin was struck during the reign of Constantine I (the Great) at the mint of Heraclea (modern Marmara Ereğlisi, Turkey). As the Roman Empire underwent significant religious and administrative transformation, Constantine's coinage reflected both traditional Roman imagery and new Christian influences.

Coin Description:

  • Front side: Laureate bust of Constantine I facing left, holding ceremonial handkerchief (mappa), globe, and scepter; Latin inscription "IMP CONSTA-NTINVS" (Emperor Constantine)

  • Back side: Camp gate with three turrets and no doors; Latin inscription "PROVIDEN-TIAE AVGG" (to the Providence of the Emperors); mint mark "MHTB" in exergue (bottom section)

Technical Details:

  • Bronze composition, weighing 2.90 grams

  • Reduced Follis denomination (standard bronze coin of the period)

  • References: RIC-16, officina B=2 (C1)

  • No certification mentioned

  • Date: 317 CE, minted at Heraclea

  • Condition: Not specified

Historical Significance:

This coin was issued during Constantine's rise to power, shortly after defeating his rival Licinius at the Battle of Cibalae (316 CE). The fortress gate symbolizes the security of the empire, while the "Providence" inscription acknowledges divine favor. Constantine would go on to reunify the Roman Empire and establish Constantinople (modern Istanbul) as its new capital. His reign marked a pivotal transition period as Christianity began to receive imperial support, although this coin still uses primarily traditional Roman imagery.

This bronze coin was struck during the reign of Constantine I (the Great) at the mint of Heraclea (modern Marmara Ereğlisi, Turkey). As the Roman Empire underwent significant religious and administrative transformation, Constantine's coinage reflected both traditional Roman imagery and new Christian influences.

Coin Description:

  • Front side: Laureate bust of Constantine I facing left, holding ceremonial handkerchief (mappa), globe, and scepter; Latin inscription "IMP CONSTA-NTINVS" (Emperor Constantine)

  • Back side: Camp gate with three turrets and no doors; Latin inscription "PROVIDEN-TIAE AVGG" (to the Providence of the Emperors); mint mark "MHTB" in exergue (bottom section)

Technical Details:

  • Bronze composition, weighing 2.90 grams

  • Reduced Follis denomination (standard bronze coin of the period)

  • References: RIC-16, officina B=2 (C1)

  • No certification mentioned

  • Date: 317 CE, minted at Heraclea

  • Condition: Not specified

Historical Significance:

This coin was issued during Constantine's rise to power, shortly after defeating his rival Licinius at the Battle of Cibalae (316 CE). The fortress gate symbolizes the security of the empire, while the "Providence" inscription acknowledges divine favor. Constantine would go on to reunify the Roman Empire and establish Constantinople (modern Istanbul) as its new capital. His reign marked a pivotal transition period as Christianity began to receive imperial support, although this coin still uses primarily traditional Roman imagery.

Constantine I[g] (Latin: Flavius Valerius Constantinus; 27 February c. 272 – 22 May 337), also known as Constantine the Great, was a Roman emperor from AD 306 to 337 and the first Roman emperor to convert to Christianity.[h] He played a pivotal role in elevating the status of Christianity in Rome, decriminalizing Christian practice and ceasing Christian persecution in a period referred to as the Constantinian shift.[4] This initiated the Christianization of the Roman Empire. Constantine is associated with the religiopolitical ideology known as Caesaropapism, which epitomizes the unity of church and state. He founded the city of Constantinople and made it the capital of the Empire, which remained so for over a millennium.

Born in Naissus, in Dardania within Moesia Superior (now Niš, Serbia), Constantine was the son of Flavius Constantius, a Roman army officer of Illyrian origin who had been one of the four rulers of the Tetrarchy. His mother, Helena, was a Greek woman of low birth, probably from Asia Minor in modern Turkey. Later canonised as a saint, she is traditionally credited for the conversion of her son. Constantine served with distinction under the Roman emperors Diocletian and Galerius. He began his career by campaigning in the eastern provinces (against the Persians) before being recalled in the west (in AD 305) to fight alongside his father in the province of Britannia. After his father's death in 306, Constantine was proclaimed as augustus (emperor) by his army at Eboracum (York, England). He eventually emerged victorious in the civil wars against emperors Maxentius and Licinius to become the sole ruler of the Roman Empire by 324.

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