A Constantinian Evening

Discussion in 'Ancient Coins' started by Gavin Richardson, Nov 15, 2018.

  1. Gavin Richardson

    Gavin Richardson Well-Known Member

    On Monday, November 5, I was pleased to host @Victor_Clark and his wife at Union University. Victor gave a substantial illustrated lecture on Constantinian coinage beginning with the tetrarchic period and extending deep into Constantine’s career. I regret that we didn’t have more time for him; Victor had plenty of more coins to show.

    CoinageConstantine_Signboard_Fa18[2].jpg
    VICTOR CLARK AT UU.jpg

    After the lecture, I took Victor, his wife, two students, and another faculty member to dinner. At dinner Victor pulled out a stack of VF-EF Constantine coins and let each guest pick a favorite—a generous keepsake of a nice evening.

    And speaking of generous, before Victor’s talk, I awarded a student a prize for giving the finest classical numismatic presentation in the course. (See this thread on my ROMAN COIN PROJECT.) Here’s me awkwardly making the presentation to Shea McCullough. The fact that he cited me in his write-up in no way won him the prize. But it didn’t hurt.

    IMG_4056.JPG

    The prize was a silver denarius of Septimius Severus donated by our own @dougsmit. Doug actually donated two coins; one was a very nice Julia Domna that ended up being written about by the student runner-up, Katie Chappell. I may post her write-up a bit later, with permission. Katie really wanted to win that Septimius Severus denarius and accused Shea of being a “homewrecker” for separating SS and Julia Domna. Here are Doug's kind donations:

    JULIA DOMNA VENUS.jpg
    SEPT SEVERUS.jpg

    There’s actually one more CoinTalk connection. The coin Shea wrote about was a Constantius II “Barbarian and Hut” centenionalis that I picked out of @Valentinian's pick bin. Warren actually sent the wrong coin at first (a different “Barbarian and Hut” centenionalis), and just told me to keep it. That coin went to another student for her project. (Shea's coin has a little verdigris; I don't think it's BD.)

    Anyway, below is Shea’s winning write-up. He also gave an illustrated oral presentation that was part of his project. Shea has really good Latin skills and hopes to go to grad school in medieval studies. In January he will travel to Rome for the first time. I’m excited for him. He may not “read” the coin the way typical numismatists do, but sometimes it’s nice to hear how a novice sees a coin. One can still learn something.

    Thanks to Victor, Doug, and Warren for supporting this project in their own ways. Feel free to pile on with Constantines, or better yet, pics of numismatists that you finally got to meet in real life. I very much enjoyed my time meeting Victor and his wife Dawn.

    -------------------------------------------------

    IMG_6427.jpg
    Shea McCollough
    Dr. Gavin Richardson
    ENG 430
    30 October 2018
    Constantius II (AD 337-361); AD 348-350; AE-2; 21mm; 4.0g; 0°

    OBV: Laurel and rosette diademed, draped, cuirassed bust facing left, globe in right hand; D[OMINUS] N[OSTER] CONSTAN—TIVS P[IUS] F[ELIX] AVG[USTUS]; “Our Lord Constantius, Dutiful and Happy Augustus (Emperor).”

    REV: Helmeted soldier, spear in left hand, advancing right with head facing left; leading a small figure from a hut beneath a tree. The spear points downwards, between the soldier's legs; FEL[ICIUM] TEMP[ORUM] REPA—RATIO ; “Happy Times Restored.”

    ALEA in exergue, Alexandria mint, 1st officina

    RIC VIII Alexandria 59

    Constantius II was born the third son of Constantine the Great and Fausta in AD 317, and he ruled as the emperor of Rome from AD 337-361. Constantius II originally served as Caesar under his father in AD 324, but, when his father died in AD 337, he began to share rule of the empire with his brothers, Constantine II and Constans I. At the death of Constantine the Great, the military murdered many of Constantine’s relatives, including his brother Constantius I, father of Julian, the future emperor of Rome. Julian would later blame Constantius II for orchestrating these murders of his cousins and uncles, an unprecedented degree of slaughter for the imperial family. However, this massacre did establish a clear line of rule for Constantine I’s sons, leaving only the cousins Julian and Gallus as survivors with imperial claims. Constantius II divvied up the empire with his two brothers, keeping for himself the most prized provinces in the east, as well as the new capital Constantinople. After the death of his brothers, Constantius II became sole ruler of the Empire in AD 353. He quickly learned that he could not rule the entirety of the Roman world alone, though, and eventually appointed his two surviving male cousins, Julian and Gallus, as Caesars under him. The was a unique time of unrest for the empire, coming from both within and without. For more than ten years, Constantius II fought an inconclusive war with the Persians, under the leadership of king Shāpūr II. However, he also faced internal conflicts, quelling many civil wars during his time as emperor, most famously the war with Magnentius, a military leader from Gaul, to avenge the murder of his brother Constans I. Even his two cousins, whom he had appointed Caesars, rebelled against him, resulting in another civil war, which ended with the defeat of Gallus. Constantius II was quite the paranoid leader, and his foreign policy is often deemed weak and cautious. Even though he was not incredibly focused on the outside world, he did work for reform within the empire, enacting many laws which encouraged Christianity and forbade the worship of the pagan deities that still had a hold in the West. Near the end of Constantius II’s life, he faced more internal unrest at the hands of his cousin Julian. However, as he journeyed to the Western part of the empire to face his cousin, he became ill and ultimately died, leaving the empire to Julian, Caesar of Gaul.

    The legends and iconography on this coin come from an interesting grouping of mints issued by Constans I and Constantius II. On the obverse of this coin, we see a traditional depiction of the bust of Constantius as it is on many coins and medallions. The legend is also fairly straightforward and generic, seeing that Constans I had coins struck with the exact same legend, only altered to represent the specific names of each ruler. However, the two descriptions of the Emperor, felix and pius (F P), are interesting in light of our class discussions concerning the critical concept of pietas in works such as the Aeneid. Even more, the description of the emperor as pius, or dutiful, seems to stand in stark contrast to the actions of the emperor. Perhaps this description is commonplace for emperors, acting as a general title that comes along with the position. I cannot help but simultaneously see this as an act of propaganda, though—an act of aligning an emperor who celebrated the death of his father by massacring his competing family members with the age-old concept of duty to father, gods, and homeland. Perhaps this observation is overstated because the Romans seemed to have at least some level of comfortability with fratricide, seeing that their myth of national origin features Romulus’ murder of Remus. However, the description remains as a tension between a ruler who would see or oversee the deaths of his two brothers and multiple cousins during his lifetime, as well as an emperor who rejected the example of Octavian, boasting in his triumph in civil war rather than distancing himself from it. The Aeneid-esque imagery does not stop on the obverse though, as the reverse of the coin also bears strong ties to the renowned epic. The legend of the reverse reads FEL TEMP REPA–RATIO, translating as “Happy times restored” or “The return of happy times;” accordingly, the obverse iconography features a Roman soldier leading a young, presumably barbarian, boy from a hut under a tree. This iconography is one of four images that often appeared on coins with the obverse legend FEL TEMP REPA—RATIO, more than likely as a part of commemorations for Rome’s 1100th anniversary in AD 348. But, this image definitely differs from the rest, depicting a humane scene rather than one of defeat and conquest. In some ways, this image represents the Roman affinity for syncretism, conveying the message that the Roman way is available for all who will accept it, especially little children who will be raised up in it. However, as Gavin Richardson discusses in his essay entitled “The ‘Barbarian/

    Hut’ Centenionalis and Vergilian Iconography,” the iconography bears incredible similarity to the classical numismatic motif of Aeneas fleeing Troy. This artistic similarity, he asserts, works to align the Vergilian model of assimilation found in book XII of the Aeneid with the ever-increasing struggle to assimilate the barbarians to Roman ideals and destiny (92-93). In a similar way, this icon also displays an instance of Anchises’ book VI command to “spare the conquered and battle down the proud.” Ultimately, even though Constantius II’s rule represents some of the earliest shifting towards anti-paganism in the Roman world, this coin is rife with traditional Roman heritage and history, and uses these familiar images to relate to an empire that seems so far removed from its foundation eleven-hundred years prior.
     

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  3. TIF

    TIF Always learning.

  4. ancient coin hunter

    ancient coin hunter 3rd Century Usurper

    Wonderful, just wonderful - making coins come alive and tell a story. Thanks all.
     
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  5. Bing

    Bing Illegitimi non carborundum Supporter

    A very good thread indeed.
     
  6. Nicholas Molinari

    Nicholas Molinari Well-Known Member

    That’s terrific all around.
     
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  7. AnYangMan

    AnYangMan Well-Known Member

    Awesome! As a university student myself, I can only say that I wish my professors organised these kinds of wonderful competitions/events!
     
    Last edited: Nov 15, 2018
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  8. dadams

    dadams Well-Known Member

    Awesome write up - I hope everyone who got a coin gets hooked! Stellar job all. -d
     
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  9. John Anthony

    John Anthony Ultracrepidarian

    Now that's what I call REAL education! Bravo to all of you. I wish I had known - I would have happily taken a drive down to Tennessee to attend Victor's lecture!
     
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  10. Andres2

    Andres2 Well-Known Member

    Thanks for the great write up and pictures Gavin

    Granddad:

    P1180760 chlorus.jpg

    Daddy:

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    Son:

    P1160280constantinople.jpg
     
  11. Orfew

    Orfew Draco dormiens nunquam titillandus

    Absolutely wonderful! We need more of this in our universities. I salute you Gavin and Victor for getting young people involved in these fascinating pieces of history. Congrats to the students for keeping the study of numismatics alive.
     
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  12. Valentinian

    Valentinian Well-Known Member

    If there are any ways to turn students on to a love of ancient coins, giving out one in the context of a talk on them must be among the best. Congratulations to you, @Gavin Richardson , and [CORRECTED TO] Victor Clark for creating that occasion.
     
    Last edited: Nov 15, 2018
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  13. Gavin Richardson

    Gavin Richardson Well-Known Member

    I would've loved to have had Jeff there. But to Victor go the spoils. (See what I did there?)
     
  14. dougsmit

    dougsmit Member

    There are two things I do not like in the above quoted passage. I'm not sure either are evidence of a complete misunderstanding but they leave me thinking it would have been better to have been more clear and to use standard names for family members whose names overlapped. Worst is the use of a numeral on the name of a man who was not Emperor. Julius Constantius was father of Julian II but was never Emperor. Constantius I was the father of Julius Constantius and of Constantine I (the Great) who were half brothers. Second: True, Constantius II was the third son of Constantine I but only the second son of Fausta. He was older than Constans. Constantine I's first son was Crispus but his mother Minervina was set aside so Constantine could make the political marriage with Fausta, daughter of Maximianus. I may be unreasonable asking a student to be solid with the details of this complex family but the piece would have been better if minor details were correct.

    I hope Katie will agree to allow us (or just me, privately) to read her write-up. Did she win anything as runner up?
     
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  15. Gavin Richardson

    Gavin Richardson Well-Known Member

    I covered the Constantius name issue with Shea in my evaluation. I had the same criticism, so that’s been covered.

    Katie didn’t win anything for runner up. She got the sweetest coin in the class though, so I don’t feel too bad.

    I will check with her for permissions soon. She wrote a good response. Again, keep in mind that these students are dealing with coins for the first time. They did a very good job for being complete novices.
     
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  16. Victor_Clark

    Victor_Clark all my best friends are dead Romans Dealer

    It was a pleasure to meet Gavin in person, but my public speaking skills need improvement. I was also concerned that I would not have enough material, but I had too much and did not notice that I was running out of time and had to rush through about a decade in 5 minutes. It was a pleasant evening though and I was glad my wife went; but now I have to travel to NC to see a play her brother is putting on next month...and I must be as gracious as she is when listening to me go on about coins.
     
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  17. randygeki

    randygeki Coin Collector

    Sounds like a great time. Great post too.
     
  18. Carausius

    Carausius Brother, can you spare a sestertius?

    Gavin, I'm curious: what class is this? I see Shea's write-up identified ENG 430, but the material appears geared to a Classics class!! In any case, I commend your efforts to spread an appreciation for the coins, presumably without the anti-collecting bias that pervades academia today.
     
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  19. Gavin Richardson

    Gavin Richardson Well-Known Member

    My university doesn't have a dedicated Classics Department, alas. This means that classics courses find "homes" in various departments. We are a faith-based institution, so we have an excellent biblical Greek program in our School of Theology, but no Homeric Greek. We have limited Latin offerings, also in the School of Theology, but there are plans to expand these. As far as the literature goes, that's housed in the Department of English, so I get to teach classical lit in translation. My B.A. was in English and Classics from Vanderbilt, and my Ph.D. is in medieval studies from Illinois, so I'm reasonably qualified to teach the courses, though perhaps not as credentialed as a dedicated classicist. It's a small school (3300 total, including some grad and professional programs; probably closer o 2000 undergrad), so faculty wear lots of hats. I very much enjoy teaching this course, and I am blessed with fine students.
     
  20. Nicholas Molinari

    Nicholas Molinari Well-Known Member

    I’m surprised Union doesn’t have a classics program. Didn’t the American fraternity system originate there?
     
  21. Gavin Richardson

    Gavin Richardson Well-Known Member

    You may be thinking of a Union college or seminary in New York. I'm in Jackson, Tennessee. The only think that originated here was Carl Perkins and rock n' roll, and I'm just fine with that.
     
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