Featured Celebrating the Site of Constantine I's Vision and Victory

Carthago · Jul 3, 2016

TIF, love your coin and the write-up is very interesting. You take really great coin pictures too!

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Alegandron · Jul 3, 2016

Ok, have a few Commems... All from the help of @John Anthony

Roman Imperial
Urbs Roma Commem
AE Follis Thessalonika 330-333 CE
She-Wolf Romulus-Remus Dioscuri stars
Ref: S 16516

IN THE MAIL!

Roman Imperial
Constantinopolis Commem 227-340 CE
Victory

COOL Dirt Patina...

Roman Imperial
AE 17
Constantinopolis Commem 227-340 CE
Victory
Alexandria mint
RIC VIII 17

zumbly · Jul 3, 2016

Great historical type, great architectural type, and as usual, great writeup!

Since he was mentioned, here's the guy who ended up underneath the bridge.

MAXENTIUS
AE Follis
6.05g, 25.6mm
Ostia mint, Late 309 - October 312 AD
RIC 45
O: IMP C MAXENTIVS P F AVG, laureate head right.
R: FIDES MILITVM AVG N, Fides standing left, holding two standards, MOSTT in exergue.

noname · Jul 3, 2016

.

Aidan_() · Jul 3, 2016

Man TIF, that's a fantastic piece! I've never seen that type before, though I'm still a noob at this, so a lot is new to me. Still pretty awesome.

Bing · Jul 3, 2016

zumbly said: ↑

Since he was mentioned, here's the guy who ended up underneath the bridge.
Click to expand...

That's a wonderful Maxentius Z.

zumbly · Jul 3, 2016

Bing said: ↑

That's a wonderful Maxentius Z.
Click to expand...

Thanks, Bing. My first, and still favorite Maxentius.

Alegandron · Jul 3, 2016

Roman Imperial
Maxentius 306-312 CE
AE Folles
Dioscuri holding their horses, She-Wolf between

Roman Imperial
Maxentius 306-312 CE
AE Folles
Dioscuri holding their horses (She-Wolf must have run away?)

Alegandron · Jul 3, 2016

TIF said: ↑

I don't seek out many late Roman coins, but you could say this one spoke to me:

"In hoc moneta vinces"

View attachment 515484
Commemorative Series under Constantine I
330 CE; Æ 14.5 mm, 1.16 gm
Constantinople mint, 1st officina
Obv: POP ROMANVS; draped bust of Genius left, with cornucopia over shoulder
Rev: Milvian Bridge over Tiber River; CONS//A
Ref: RIC VIII 21; LRBC 1066; Vagi 3043
ex E.E. Clain-Stefanelli collection

Small anonymous Constantinian-era bronze coins were presumably issued for distribution at consecration ceremonies for the empire's new capital at Constantinople. Struck from 330-348 CE, with some rare medallions struck for a few more years, there are many types (Victory on prow, she-wolf suckling twins, etc) and in general they are very common. This particular type shows the Milvian bridge, site of Constantine's storied vision in which he received battle tips from Jesus.

.........

Constantine I is credited with making Christianity a mainstream religion of Rome. His conversion to Christianity, as described in a contemporary biography by Eusebius, occurred the eve before battling Maxentius at Milvian bridge.

The story does not appear in other written histories prior to the Eusebius biography. Constantine related the event directly to Eusebius, according to Eusebius.

Here is the abbreviated version. I encourage you to read the original translated work (link at end of this post).

.........

After much reflection and introspection, Constantine determined that worshiping idols led to savagery and barbarism. He decided to be a Christian, and set out to battle the wicked emperor Maxentius.

October 27, 312; mid day: Constantine, deep in prayer, received a vision. From Eusebius:

"He said that about noon, when the day was already beginning to decline, he saw with his own eyes the trophy of a cross of light in the heavens, above the sun, and bearing the inscription, "In hoc signo vinces" [In this sign, conquer]. At this sight he himself was struck with amazement, and his whole army also, which followed him on this expedition, and witnessed the miracle."

That night as he slept he received another vision, this time in a dream. "Christ of God appeared to him with the same sign which he had seen in the heavens, and commanded him to make a likeness of that sign which he had seen in the heavens, and to use it as a safeguard in all engagements with his enemies."

At dawn he arose and gathered his artisans, describing the sign. It sounds quite elaborate. His artisans must've been very skilled to make such a thing so quickly, and while encamped. The labarum, which Eusebius saw with his own eyes, is described thusly:

"A long spear, overlaid with gold, formed the figure of the cross by means of a transverse bar laid over it. On the top of the whole was fixed a wreath of gold and precious stones; and within this, the symbol of the Saviour's name, two letters indicating the name of Christ by means of its initial characters, the letter P being intersected by X in its centre: and these letters the emperor was in the habit of wearing on his helmet at a later period. From the cross-bar of the spear was suspended a cloth, a royal piece, covered with a profuse embroidery of most brilliant precious stones; and which, being also richly interlaced with gold, presented an indescribable degree of beauty to the beholder. This banner was of a square form, and the upright staff, whose lower section was of great length, bore a golden half-length portrait of the pious emperor and his children on its upper part, beneath the trophy of the cross, and immediately above the embroidered banner."

The engagement began and despite outnumbering Constantine's troops, Maxentius and his army were vanquished. The emperor himself drowned in the Tiber along with many of his troops.

The rest, as they say, is history . The Chi-Rho insignia (Christogram) appeared on coins first as a minor device. Later, beginning under Magnentius, it appeared as a featured device.

The Vision of the Cross, Raphael, c. 1520-1524

The Battle of the Milvian Bridge, Giulio Romano, c.1520-1524

.........

In case you don't know about Genius on ancient coins, it's not some smart guy; it's a personification of the divine nature present in every man. With the legend POP ROMANVS ("people of Rome"), this coin celebrates the spirit of the Romans-- a fitting design for a commemorative coin.

.........

References and further reading:

Eusebius. Life of Constantine. Chapters XXVI-XXXVIII relate Constantine's vision and victory at Milvian bridge. The chapters are brief and entertaining and I highly recommend reading them. It will only take a few minutes.

An interesting and somewhat skeptical article about the Christian historian Eusebius; from ChristianityToday

Coinage and History of the Roman Empire, Volume I, David Vagi, 1999.

Review of Vagi's book by Doug Smith

Wikipedia entry, Battle of the Milvian Bridge

Warren Esty's page about Christian symbols on Roman coins

Simplified overview of the tetrarchy on Livius.org

A downloadable spreadsheet of Constantinian-era city commemorative bronze coins, from Dane Kurth. Scroll down the page for the spreadsheet. Bookmark the page if you haven't already; it contains many valuable spreadsheets of use to collectors of later Roman coins.

.........

One last pesky detail: there is not universal agreement about identity of the bridge shown on this coin or of the iconography's significance. Some scholars doubt that it is the Milvian bridge. I'm choosing to believe it is the Milvian bridge .

Milvian bridge, c. 2005

.........

Please pile on with your Constantine-era city commemoratives and Christograms!
Click to expand...

Um... WELL DONE!
I like all the cool history and detail you laid out. Even the pic of the Milvian Bridge from today's time.

And your unique coin is REALLY nice... I REALLY like the Milvian Bridge reverse... I want one!

Alegandron · Jul 3, 2016

And for X-P... Chi Rho... from MAGnetius...

Roman Imperial
Magnentius 351-352 CE
AE 1
CHI RHO

Roman Imperial
Magnentius 351-352 CE
AE 2 Maiorina
2 Victories holding wreath VOT V X-P (Chi-Rho) above wreath

AncientJoe · Jul 4, 2016

A great coin and a great writeup! Thanks for the historical context!

YOC · Jul 4, 2016

Valentinian said: ↑

The OP coin is excellent, and the writeup even better. The ancient testimony, "he saw with his own eyes the trophy of a cross of light in the heavens, above the sun, and bearing the inscription, "In hoc signo vinces" [In this sign, conquer]" has lead some to think Constantine saw a cross, but the other evidence cited by TIF, combined with the next coin, is convincing that it was a chi-rho.
View attachment 515609
Chi-rho on the shield.
IVL CRISPVS NOB CAES ("IVL" for "Julius")
Bust of laureate Crispus left, holding spear in his right hand pointing back over his right far shoulder and holding a shield in his left hand. The shield has a bold chi-rho on it.
BEATA TRAN - QUILLITAS around votive altar inscribed VO/TIS/XX, with globe on top and *** above.
In exergue: • PTR • , a mintmark of Trier
Struck 322-323 according to RIC.
This coin: 19-17 mm.
[Ex Langtoft hoard, found Sunday, 24 Sept. 2000 at Langtoft, near East Riding, Yorkshire, England.]
RIC Trier 372

Crispus was the first son of Constantine and was executed in 326, so even if the RIC date is not precise, this type certainly was issued at the latest in 326 (no more than 14 years after the battle of the Milvian Bridge) when many people would have remembered the event and understood the reference. It shows a bold chi-rho symbol on the shield held by Crispus as described by Lactantius.

For more about early Christian symbols on coins, see:
http://esty.ancients.info/Christian/ChristianSymbols.html
Click to expand...

.

YOC · Jul 4, 2016

tbc said: ↑

I think Mr Esty should step up with a picture of his Crispus...........
Click to expand...

Thought I recognised the coin!

Mikey Zee · Jul 4, 2016

That's a SUPER coin @TIF !!! I can't recall running across that fantastic reverse before....and what a great write-up!

Wonderful posts everyone....

I'll offer this seemingly scarce example with the small cross reverse (I WANT A MILVIAN BRIDGE REVERSE!!):

YOC · Jul 4, 2016

I have two of this very rare type....

YOC · Jul 4, 2016

Poor camera shot, sorry, but camera packed away at the moment...
My milvian bridge example..

Okidoki · Jul 4, 2016

Thx TIF for sharing.

tbc · Jul 4, 2016

YOC said: ↑

Thought I recognised the coin!
Click to expand...

That is the only coin I have ever truly regretted selling!

YOC · Jul 4, 2016

I'll bet....
Don't imagine there's too many about.
I still regret selling a mint henry V hammered.... I will never sell another find again.

techmuser · Jul 19, 2016

Hi Folks! I am new to this forum. I came across it when I was looking for more info on the coin featured on this thread. How rare is this coin? I have one of them that I tried to capture in my album but my coin photography is super amateur

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Featured Celebrating the Site of Constantine I's Vision and Victory

Carthago Does this look infected to you?

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Alegandron "ΤΩΙ ΚΡΑΤΙΣΤΩΙ..." ΜΕΓΑΣ ΑΛΕΞΑΝΔΡΟΣ, June 323 BCE

zumbly Ha'ina 'ia mai ana ka puana

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zumbly Ha'ina 'ia mai ana ka puana

Alegandron "ΤΩΙ ΚΡΑΤΙΣΤΩΙ..." ΜΕΓΑΣ ΑΛΕΞΑΝΔΡΟΣ, June 323 BCE

Alegandron "ΤΩΙ ΚΡΑΤΙΣΤΩΙ..." ΜΕΓΑΣ ΑΛΕΞΑΝΔΡΟΣ, June 323 BCE

Alegandron "ΤΩΙ ΚΡΑΤΙΣΤΩΙ..." ΜΕΓΑΣ ΑΛΕΞΑΝΔΡΟΣ, June 323 BCE

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Featured Celebrating the Site of Constantine I's Vision and Victory

Carthago Does this look infected to you?

Guest User Guest

Alegandron "ΤΩΙ ΚΡΑΤΙΣΤΩΙ..." ΜΕΓΑΣ ΑΛΕΞΑΝΔΡΟΣ, June 323 BCE

zumbly Ha'ina 'ia mai ana ka puana

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Aidan_() Numismatic Contributor

Bing Illegitimi non carborundum Supporter

zumbly Ha'ina 'ia mai ana ka puana

Alegandron "ΤΩΙ ΚΡΑΤΙΣΤΩΙ..." ΜΕΓΑΣ ΑΛΕΞΑΝΔΡΟΣ, June 323 BCE

Alegandron "ΤΩΙ ΚΡΑΤΙΣΤΩΙ..." ΜΕΓΑΣ ΑΛΕΞΑΝΔΡΟΣ, June 323 BCE

Alegandron "ΤΩΙ ΚΡΑΤΙΣΤΩΙ..." ΜΕΓΑΣ ΑΛΕΞΑΝΔΡΟΣ, June 323 BCE

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