Constantine I

Constantine I. A.D. 307-337. Æ medallion (25 mm). Constantinople, with Constantine II and Constantius II as Caesars, A.D. 328-30. CONSTANTINVS MAX AVG, laureate, draped and cuirassed bust left, holding Victory on a globe / NOBB CAESS, confronted laureate and draped busts of Constantine II and Constantius II, holding Victory on a globe between them; CONS. Gnecchi pl. 29, 10; Cohen 3. Extremely rare and important, only three traceable specimens. Deep olive-green, near black patina. Good VF. Ex Markov 11 (3 September 2003), 319. Realized USD 5250 on an estimate of USD 5000. This fascinating small medallion was struck during an early phase of the newly commissioned mint of Constantinople, after its first striking in 326 and before the official dedication of the new capital on 11 May, 330. Although the Caesars are not named, their identity is clear, for Crispus had already been tragically executed in 326 as a result of the slanderous machinations of his stepmother Fausta, and Constans would not be elevated to junior imperial rank until 333. The prominence of Victory on the coin may allude to Constantine and Constantine II’s Alamannian War of 328. Cited by Cohen in the Fontana Sale of 1860; a second example sold in the Triton I Sale, Dec. 1997, lot 1697.