Gold solidus of Constantius II (337-361 CE), minted in Antioch (Syria), 351-355 CE
Diameter: 1.9 cm
Description
Obverse:
FL IVL CONSTANTIVS PERP AVG
(Flavius Julius Constantius Perpetuus Augustus)
Bust of Constantius II, pearl-diademed, wearing crested and diademed helmet, cuirassed, facing front, holding spear diagonally over right shoulder in right hand and shield decorated with a horseman trampling an enemy in left hand. The border is undecorated. The blank is slightly larger so the die border is visible around the coin.
Reverse:
GLORIA REI PVBLICAE
(Gloria Rei Publicae)
Roma, helmeted, draped, enthroned front, and Constantinopolis, draped, enthroned left, head left, supporting a shield inscribed VOT/XXX/MVLT/XXXX; Roma holding spear in left hand; Constantinopolis holding sceptre in left hand, her right foot on prow.
In exergue: SMNP
Other notes: The coin is in fine condition with only minor wear on the nose of the three-quarter bust.
Commentary
Flavius Julius Constantinus Perpetuus Augustus held the longest reign as one of the sons of Constantine, lasting from 337 to 361 CE. His title of “PERP(etuus)” means “continuous,” and “indicated the holding of a specific office for life” under the emperor Domitian (Sear). However, it was later replaced with the title “P.F.,” or Pius Felix, meaning “reverent or dutiful and fortunate” (Ashby 2018). This particular epithet of “PERP(etuus)” first came into regular use under Constantius II and referred to the perpetual and eternal victories of an emperor (Ruff 2015).
His additional title of “AVG(ustus)” was an honorary title that began with Octavian in 27 BCE(Sear). It was a title “adopted by all of his successors as an indication of their supreme authority” (Sear.). As a high authority leader, he maintained his control over the East by appointing Roman senators to high office positions in provinces and courts, where he also “made them his comites” (Greenlee 2020, 117).
The obverse image is a three-quarter facing bust of Emperor Constantius II wearing a crested and diademed helmet, as well as a cuirass. He is holding a spear diagonally over the right shoulder in his right hand and a shield in his left hand. The decoration on the shield could be a horseman trampling an enemy (OCRE). Under Constantius’ regime, the empire was in constant civil wars and conflicts with its neighbors, especially from 350 to 361. In 350, Magnentius and Vetranio proclaimed themselves as emperors, thus starting a civil war. After Constantius II defeated Magnentius in 353, he waged war against the Persians, Sarmatians, and Alemanni to maintain the border until he died en route to repress Caesar Julian in 361 (Bleckmann 2006). Therefore, depicting Constantius II in lavish armor and weapons to emphasize his role as a competent military leader is a logical choice. His father, Constantine the Great, had issued coins with a similar image, including Constantine’s three-quarter facing bust in full armor with a shield (Münzkabinett). Constantius II could be emulating Constantine’s portrait to emphasize his royal lineage and consolidate his power. Drawing inferences from solidi with similar images minted in Nicomedia, this coin was probably minted between 351 and 355 (Harvard; OCRE).
The reverse of the coin shows two seated figures – the personification of Roma on the left, the personification of Constantinopolis on the right. They are both enthroned, with Roma holding a spear in her left hand and Constantinopolis holding a scepter in her left hand. Constantinopolis rests her feet on the prow of a ship, a common symbol of military victory. The two figures seated together represent a joining of the eastern and western sides of the empire, emphasizing the authority Constantius II held over the vast empire. The two goddesses support a shield bearing the markings VOT XXX || MVLT XXXX, meaning Votis Tricennalibus Multis Quadracennalibus. This inscription translates to “Vows for the Thirtieth Reign Anniversary and More for the Upcoming Fortieth Anniversary” (Stevenson 1889, 901). The shield celebrates the reign of Constantius the II, as he held the longest reign as one of the sons of Constantine, lasting from 337 AD to 361 AD.
The term “republic” referred to the pre-imperial Roman state and public affairs (Nadeau 2004, 19). Constantine the Great reclaimed use of the term and idea of the public in the fourth century. His successor and son, Constantius II, continued to follow in his footsteps and embraced the concept of the republic again. “Res publica,” specifically, embodies a nation where the common interest is strengthened, but the orders of the state institution increase the ease of social relations and better promote the commonwealth (Kaminski 338). One such example is how economic reform issued by the state facilitates the ease of economic transaction across the state. Under Constantius II’s rule, his currency reform further united the regions of the Empire by creating the first gold solidi. This helped to establish order “into the economy by controlling wages and prices” with a consistent form of universal currency (Nicol and Teall 2020).
Constantine the Great was the first to use the term “Gloria Reipublicae” on gold solidi, and Constantius II continued to use this legend. During his reign, Constantius II resided in the new capital of the Roman Empire established by Constantine the Great, Constantinople. Therefore, “The Glory of the Republic” in one respect referred to the unification of the Western and Eastern territories of the Roman Empire. This particular legend also appears on other emperors’ coins, such as Constans, Julian the Apostate, Jovianus, Theodosius II, Valens, Valentinian I, and Valentinian II (“GLORIA REI PVBLICAE”). During this time, attitudes and positions of Christianity were changing with the declaration of Christianity the official religion by Constantine the Great. He actively suppressed the practice of the pagan faith and attempted to unify the Roman Empire under Christianity. Ultimately, he attempted to make Constantinople a safeguard for Christianity for many centuries, while Rome still maintained a presence of paganism (Francis 1881, 663).
A coin’s mint mark, usually located on the bottom of the reverse, is composed of three to four elements. This coin has a mint mark of SMNP. The first two letters, SM, stand for “sacra moneta” which translates to sacred mint (money) (Grierson 1991). The third letter, N, stands for Nicomedia, the city in which the coin originated, Izmit, Turkey (Forum Ancient Coins, “Roman Mints and Officina”). Lastly, the P is the Greek letter ‘rho’ and represents the officina number, to indicate in which Nicomedian workshop the coin was minted (Forum Ancient Coins, “Officina”). These coins were considered sacred because the earliest Roman mint was associated with the sanctuary of Juno (Burström and Ingvardson 2017). Twenty-one coins from the same mint and officina (marked SMNP) are included in the OCRE database, dating from 324 to about 360 CE.
Constantius II was successful in making the new capital of the Roman Empire, Constantinople, a city equal in status to Rome. He embraced the notion of a republic and unified the Easterm and Western parts of the Roman empire by creating a new, universal currency. This helped to stabilize the pre-imperial Roman economy and satisfy the interests of the state and public.
Works Cited:
Ashby, Carol. 2018. “Roman Coins: Interpreting the Inscriptions.” Life in the Roman Empire. June 06, 2018. Accessed December 03, 2020. https://carolashby.com/roman-coins-interpreting-inscriptions/.
Bleckmann, Bruno. 2006. “Constantius II. Roman Emperor (Augustus) AD 337-361.” In Brill’s New Pauly, edited by Hubert Cancik, Helmuth Schneider, and Christine F. Salazar. Leiden: Brill. Accessed December 4, 2020. https://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/brill-s-new-pauly/constantius-e304600#e304610
Burström, Nanouschka Myrberg, and Gitte Tarnow Ingvardson, eds. 2017. Divina moneta: coins in religion and ritual. New York: Routledge.
Francis, J. 1881. “Gleanings of Constantinople.” The Athenaeum Journal of Literature, Science, The Fine Arts, Music, and The Drama 2775: 663.
Forum Ancient Coins. n.d. Numiswiki. The Collaborative Numismatics Project, Forum Ancient Coins. Accessed December 3, 2020. https://www.forumancientcoins.com/numiswiki/view.asp
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Greenlee, Christine. 2020. “The Rule of Constantius II.” Review of Emperor and Senators in the Reign of Constantius II. Maintaining Imperial Rule Between Rome and Constantinople in the Fourth Century AD, by M. Moser. The Classical Review 70: 193-195.
Grierson, Philip. 1991. “Mints.” In The Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium. Oxford: Oxford University Press. https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780195046526.001.0001/acref-9780195046526-e-3564.
Harvard Art Museum. n.d. “Solidus of Constantius II.” Collection. Accessed December 4, 2020. https://harvardartmuseums.org/collections?q=+Constantius+II+so
Kaminski, Antoni Z. “Res Publica, Res Privata.” International Political Science Review 12, no. 4 (1991): 337-51. Accessed December 3, 2020. http://www.jstor.org/stable/1601469.
Nadeau, Christian. 2004. Republicanism: History, Theory, Practice. London: Taylor and Francis.
Nicol, Donald MacGillivray, and John L Teall. “The Reforms of Diocletian and Constantine.” Encyclopædia Britannica. June 5, 2020. Accessed November 23, 2020. https://www.britannica.com/place/Byzantine-Empire/The-reforms-of-Diocletian-and-Constantine.
OCRE. Online Coins of the Roman Empire. “RIC VIII Nicomedia 74.” Online Coins of the Roman Empire, American Numismatic Society. Accessed December 4, 2020. http://numismatics.org/ocre/id/ric.8.nic.74.
Ruff, Julia. 2005. “A Medallion of Constantius II.” Honors thesis, Lawrence University. Accessed November 22, 2020. https://lux.lawrence.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1077&context=luhp.
Sear, David R. “Common Legend Abbreviations On Roman Coins.” Ancient Numismatics. Greek, Roman and Byzantine Coinage. Accessed December 03, 2020. https://davidrsear.com/academy/roman_legends.html.
Stevenson, Seth William. 1889. A Dictionary of Roman Coins, Republican and Imperial. London: G. Bell and Sons. Accessed on Forum Ancient Coins, December 3, 2020. https://www.forumancientcoins.com/numiswiki/view.asp?key=VOT%20XXX%20MVLT%20XXXX
Toynbee, J. M. C. 1947. “Roma and Constantinopolis in Late-Antique Art from 312 to 365.” The Journal of Roman Studies 37: 135-44. doi:10.2307/298464.
Coin type: Sear 3988; RIC VIII Nicomedia 74
Research by: Anni Qu, Class of 2021; Emily Dixon, Class of 2023; Sarah Spencer, Class of 2022; Olivia-Morgan “Lola” Pascucci, Class of 2024