Constantine I the Great, as Augustus (AD 307-337). BI follis or reduced nummus (19mm, 1h). NGC AU, Silvering....
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Constantine I the Great, as Augustus (AD 307-337). BI follis or reduced nummus (19mm, 1h). NGC AU, Silvering. Rome mint, 4th officina, AD 317-318. IMP CONSTANTINVS P F AVG, laureate, draped, and cuirassed bust of Constantine I right, seen from front / SOLI INV-I-CTO COMITI, Sol standing facing, head left, nude save for chlamys across left shoulder, raising right hand, holding globe in outstretched left; wreath in left field, RQ in exergue. RIC VII 97. Oyster-like toning. Constantine I is most well known for his tolerance toward Christianity in the Empire and for founding Constantinople, but his reign also marks a key turning point from classical antiquity to the Middle Ages. Constantine was raised in the days of the tetrarchy and was intended to take over his father's position as one of the junior emperors; instead, he took power as the sole emperor through a series of civil wars. He attributed his success to his piety, as Roman emperors tended to do - but he was the first emperor to profess Christianity as his religion and the cause of his success. He ushered Rome into a new era by ending the Praetorian Guard and moving the capital city to the East. In his final years, Constantine declared Christianity the official religion of the Empire and himself as the defender of all Christians; thus, he waged war against the Sasanians in retaliation for their persecution of Christians in Armenia, a Roman client state. In AD 309, he replaced the aureus with the solidus, which remained the standard gold coin in the late Roman and Byzantine Empires until it was replaced by the histamenon nomisma over 600 years later. HID07901242017 www.HA.com/TexasAuctioneerLicenseNotice
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