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Message:: [QUOTE="Victor_Clark, post: 26550876, member: 10613"]There is a lot more nuance to the rise of Constantine. After the death of his father Constantius in 306 (the second wife of Constantius was a daughter of Emperor Maximianus -- remember this guy...he is a major player in this drama) he was declared Emperor by his troops; in effect, making him a usurper, since he was not officially recognized. In a compromise, Constantine's first coins had the title Nobilisimus Caesar. His first coin -- [ATTACH=full]1692010[/ATTACH]  Constantine IA.D. 30628mm     9.1gCONSTANTINVS NOBILI C; laureate, draped and cuirassed bust right.GENIO POPVLI ROMANI; Genius standing left, tower on head, loins draped, r. holding patera, l. cornucopiae.RIC VI London 66; LMCC 4.04.009 Ex Rauceby Hoard by 307, Constantine was striking coins with the title Augustus. Of course since he was in charge in his territory and far from the Emperor in the East, he could do what he wished. [ATTACH=full]1692011[/ATTACH] Constantine IA.D. 307- 31024mm     6.1gIMP CONSTANTINVS P F AVG; laureate and cuirassed bust right.PRINCIPI IVVENTVTIS; Prince standing facing head left, in military dress, holding standard in each hand.In ex. PLNRIC VI London 111; LMCC 5.04.011 Outside the territory of Constantine it was different. In Rome, Maxentius (son of Maximianus) was making a power play. He issued coins in his territory portraying himself as an Augustus with brother-in-law (in 307, Constantine married Fausta, daughter of Maximianus and sister of Maxentius) Constantine merely a Caesar. One of the mints controlled by Maxentius was Carthage. Here is Maxentius as Augustus [ATTACH=full]1692012[/ATTACH] MaxentiusA.D. 30728mm       9.6gIMP MAXENTIVS P F AVG; Laureate head right.CONSERVATOR AFRICAE SVAE; Africa standing facing, head left, in long drapery with elephant skin headdress, right holding standard, left tusk, at feet to left lion with captured bull, in right field I.; SE in left field, F in right.In ex. Γ          RIC VI Carthage 57 and Constantine as Caesar [ATTACH=full]1692013[/ATTACH] Constantine IA.D. 306-30727mm     9.4gFL VAL CONSTANTINVS NOB CAES; laureate head right.CONSERVATOR AFRICAE SVAE; Africa standing facing, head left, in long drapery with elephant skin headdress, right holding standard, left tusk, at feet to left lion with captured bull, H-ER across fields.In ex. ΔRIC VI Carthage 55 Shortly after the conference at Carnuntum in A.D. 308 and the elevation of Licinius to Augustus; a new title was seen on coinage for Maximinus and Constantine I which proclaimed that they were sons (filius) of Augusti. This was an attempt by Galerius to placate them; which failed as they both rejected the title. Constantine had already claimed the title of Augustus in A.D. 307 and Maximinus thought he deserved to be Augustus after the death of Severus. Only Eastern mints struck these types. In A.D. 310, Galerius finally recognized Constantine and Maximinus each as Augustus. [ATTACH=full]1692014[/ATTACH] Constantine IA.D. 309-310Ӕ follis 23mm 6.7gFL VAL CONSTANTINVS FIL AVG; laureate head right.GENIO CAESARIS; Genius standing left, modius on head, naked except for chlamys over left shoulder, holding patera from which liquid flows & cornucopiae; K in left, A over P in right.In ex. ALERIC VI Alexandria 99b By A.D. 312, Constantine defeated Maxentius and took control of the West [ATTACH=full]1692015[/ATTACH]  Constantine IA.D. 312- 31321mm   4.7gIMP C CONSTANTINVS P F AVG; laureate and cuirassed bust right.HERCVLI VICTORI; Hercules standing right, leaning on club and holding Victory on globe and lion’s skin.In ex. R SRIC VI Rome 299 In 316, tensions between the brother in laws (Licinius was married to the half sister of Constantine) Constantine and Licinius boiled over and Constantine issued a series of coins in Rome with a captive on the reverse that must have symbolized Licinius. After the defeat of Licinius, Constantine gained more territory. <img src="https://constantinethegreatcoins.com/Rome/Rome_55.jpg" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /> Constantine IA.D. 316- 31718mm    2.9gIMP CONSTANTINVS P F AVG; laureate, draped and cuirassed bust right.SOLI INVICTO COMITI; Sol rad., stg. L., raising r. hand, globe in l., chlamys over l. shoulder, bare- headed captive to left.in ex. RSRIC VII Rome 55 Constantine became sole ruler after he defeated Licinius in A.D. 324 and his new city of Constantinople struck a series of commemorative coinage.   “Four entirely new types were created for Constantine, GLORIA EXERCITVS, GLORIA ROMANORVM, LIBERTAS PVBLICA, and SPES PVBLIC…Here the reverses record a summing up of the Civil War II, the glory of the army constituting the glory of the Empire, the death of the tyrant (SPES PVBLIC) granting liberty for all.” RIC VII pg 567. [ATTACH=full]1692016[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=full]1692017[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=full]1692019[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=full]1692021[/ATTACH] this is a very brief gloss as entire books have been written about Constantine; but hopefully demonstrates a bit of the complexity of the time. to demonstrate the ever changing dynamics, below is a list of Tetrarchy as they appeared at the mint of Carthage A.D. 296- 305Augustii-- Diocletian, MaximianusCaesars-- Constantius I, Galerius A.D. May 305- July 306Augusti-- Constantius I, GaleriusCaesars-- Severus, Maximinus IISeniors-- Diocletian, Maximianus A.D. July 306- Nov 306Augusti--  Galerius, SeverusCaesars-- Maximinus II, Constantine ISeniors-- Diocletian, Maximianus A.D. Nov 306- mid 307Augusti--  Maximianus, MaxentiusCaesars-- Maxentius, Maximinus II, Constantine I <a href="https://constantinethegreatcoins.com/Carthage/" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://constantinethegreatcoins.com/Carthage/" rel="nofollow">https://constantinethegreatcoins.com/Carthage/</a> [/QUOTE]

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