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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Gavin Richardson, post: 6437534, member: 83956&quot;]Mirabile spectu!</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1254718[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><b>EMPEROR:</b></p><p>Constantine I</p><p><br /></p><p><b>REIGNED:</b></p><p>306-337 A.D.</p><p><b>DATE STRUCK:</b></p><p>327 A.D.</p><p><b>TYPE:</b></p><p>Æ nummus/follis</p><p><b>SIZE:</b></p><p>19.2 mm.</p><p><b>WEIGHT:</b></p><p>3.72 g.</p><p><b>DIE AXIS:</b></p><p>180°</p><p><b>OBVERSE:</b></p><p>CONSTANTI-NVS MAX AVG; Diademed bust facing right.</p><p><b>REVERSE:</b></p><p>LIBERT-A-S PVBLICA; [Public Liberty] Victory standing left on galley, wreath in both hands B left.</p><p><b>EXERGUE:</b></p><p>CONS</p><p><b>REFERENCES:</b></p><p>RIC VII Constantinople 18</p><p><b>PROVENANCE:</b></p><p>Zephyrus Coins. eBay.</p><p><b>ACQ. DATE:</b></p><p>2/26/06</p><p><br /></p><p><b>NOTES:</b></p><p><br /></p><p>Notes: Nice looking coin in hand; difficult to scan. Scarce. R1. “In 323 A.D., a second civil war broke out between Constantine and Licinius. They fought a battle at Adrianople, with the defeat of Licinius. Licinius fled to Byzantium. Crispus attacked the fleet of Licinius and won a brilliant naval victory. Licinius was put to death in 325 A.D. and Constantine became the sole ruler of the Roman empire. Byzantium was renamed Constantinople and work was started on it to transform it into the new capital of the Roman empire. Hundreds and hundreds of people were working in the city. A new series of coinage was minted to pay the workers; but these coins also had a message. ‘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 p. 567.’” -- Victor Clark.&nbsp; “Alludes to the naval victory of Crispus on the Bosphorus where he captured Byzantium (soon to be called Constantinople) from Licinius. This series when first issued has Constantine with a laureate head. Constantine started wearing a diadem on the next issue (possibly because of the pagan associations with the laurel headress).”[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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