Well, I received this follis in the mail today. It depicts one of the Caesars Crispus. His story is rather sad. He was the oldest son of Constantine the Great and was in line to be the next emperor. However, his evil step mother falsely accused him of raping her. Constantine had his son put to death for this transgression. At a later date Constantine found out that his wife was lying about the rape. He had her slowly boiled alive. Icky story about a dysfunctional family that perhaps only needed a bit of consuling and theraphy. NAHHHH !!!!. ID on this one is RIC 181 a and it was minted in Siscia between 321-324 AD.
Yeah, poor Crispus. However, there are always two sides (sometimes more) to every story. There are some who believe the initial charge was correct and the later accusation against his wife were false. Anyways, nice coin.
Great Crispus Ripley! Thanks for the bit of history too. It always adds something to the coin imo. Here's my Crispus: Crispus, AD 317-326 AE3(Bronze, 2.26 grams, 19.86 mm). Lyons mint. Obverse: CRISPVS NOB CAES; laureate, cuirassed, bust right. Reverse: BEATA TRANQVILLITAS; Three stars above globe on altar inscribed VO/TIS/XX. C - R on either side. PLG in exergue. (RIC 133).
I love hot tubs!! (yah, but that is taking it a bit too far, eh?) => great coin, Ripley!! Here is my only Crispus (I am quite fond of my example) => hey, I hope that you crazy coin dudes are having a nice long-weekend!! => I am about to head-off to a fantasy NFL draft ... yeeehaaa, wish me luck!! (thanks gang) Cheers => have a great day!!
I spent 1973-1976 in Germany . I seen so many coins like this. Nice one Rip I was only updated on Usa and some England South Americans .So I passed up some real deals.great coins
Where in Germany? I was there from '75 til '79. Here is one of my Crispus coins: AE Follis OBV: D N FL IVL CRISPVS NOB CAES Laureate, draped and cuirassed bust right REV: PROVIDEN TIAECAESS Jupiter stg. l., chlamys across l. shoulder, leaning on scepter, holding Victory on globe. In field to l., palm branch; in field to r., dot A; in exergue, SMN Struck at Nicomedia, 317-20 AD 2.92g, 18mm RIC VII 32
Historians disagree on what really happened between Fausta and Crispus, but it's the sort of stuff that makes for Roman legend - that much is certain. I'm inclined to think that they were having an affair, and when rumor got out, Fausta accused Crispus of rape, thinking he'd get away with a slap on the wrist from his father. Whether it was mutual or not, Constantine must have been livid when he discovered Fausta's treachery. He had loved Crispus tremendously, and it must have been traumatic for father to execute son, hence the torturous punishment for Fausta. However, given Constantine's extreme attachment to Crispus, it calls into question whether the father really did execute his son. Perhaps there's a part of the story we don't know. Constantine I was the first "Christian" emperor of Rome, and I put the word Christian in quotation marks because that means so many different things to different people. How many times in history have we seen that the idea of forgiveness is little more than a fetish among religious persons: often revered and averred, but seldom practiced?
I know this is off of Crispus, but Constantine I only accepted Christianity on his deathbed. However, he was tolerant of the new sect during his later life, some say it was because of a sign he saw during a dream.
That's true Bing - I had forgotten that. Perhaps things would have worked out differently for Crispus and Fausta if Constantine had found his new faith earlier, but who knows?
I enjoyed this book on the period enough that it became the only non-coin book I review on my site: "Jones, A. H. M., Constantine and the Conversion of Europe, Medieval Academy Reprints for Teaching, 4, U. of Toronto Press, 1978 Facts about the times of Constantine the Great are difficult to separate from reports colored by historians with an agenda. To Christians, Constantine was the man who ended the persecutions of their faith; a man who could do no wrong. Pagan historians had difficulty seeing the good in the man. Certainly he was so powerful that negative information was not published until the primary sources were long gone. The author discusses critically the evidence from all sources including bits of information from surviving inscriptions and documents to present a balanced view on the events of the early 4th century AD. I found the discussion of the events surrounding the deaths of Crispus and Fausta most interesting. While this is not a coin book, collectors of the Constantinian period should enjoy knowing more about the history of the period they collect. This little paperback is clearly written and full of information about a period not well covered by historians. Feb 98" Amazon has it used for a reasonable price and new for too much. Of course there are other books with other views on the same events. I always placed a lot of weight on the fact that eliminating Crispus would clear the way for Fausta's boys to succeed Constantine. Had Crispus lived and considering his military successes, he might have been made sole emperor and that would not have pleased his step mother.
What link? I copied the whole paragraph from my review page and it brought the image with it. Compare: http://www.forumancientcoins.com/dougsmith/book.html
Well, I just recently turned 50 years old, so whether I'm considered old is a point of view ... Bing and Doug probably think that I'm still a young nose-picker, but Jango, A-Noob and Windchild probably think that 50 is older than dirt!! ... but regardless, my brain has been farting during my entire life!!
Hey ya know fellow 50+ */* I was born with Brain farts I think overloaded the Dna . @62 9/12th if you could compair Brain farts damage due life lived so far to buildings .here what my Brain may look like.?
nice lookin' crispi everyone, here my latest crispus....got it from a friend from across the pond who set me up with a beata tranqullitas coin. this coin looks much nicer than my pics. ric 308, trier mint