Two more members of Constantine I's family, plus: which of Fausta's sons are shown on her coins?

I thought I'd follow up on my "Four Sons of Constantine the Great" thread from a while ago (see https://www.cointalk.com/threads/the-four-sons-of-constantine-the-great.360683/ ) -- and on the coins I've posted of other family members like his nephew Julian II, his father-in-law Maximian, and his brothers-in-law Maxentius (his wife's brother) and Licinius I (his sister's husband) -- by posting two more recently-arrived coins of members of his family.

First, his father:

Constantius I Chlorus Caesar (father of Constantine I), Billon Follis, 296-297 AD, Heraclea Mint (3rd Officina). Obv. Laureate head right, FL VAL CONSTANTIVS NOB CAES / Rev. Genius wearing modius on head, standing left, nude, chlamys draped over left shoulder, holding cornucopiae in left hand and pouring libation from patera in right hand, GENO POPV-L-I ROMANI; mintmark HT Γ[gamma] [Γ= 3rd Officina] in exergue. RIC VI Heraclea 18a (p. 531), Sear RCV IV 14061. 29 mm., 9.91 g.


At 29 mm., this is actually the largest follis I have from the period; all the others -- two issued by Diocletian, and one each by Maximian, Galerius, and Maxentius -- range from 27-28 mm. The heaviest, though, is the one from Maximian at 10.26 g. This is the second heaviest.

Second, his wife Fausta:

Fausta (wife of Constantine I and daughter of Maximian), Billon reduced Centenionalis, Alexandria Mint (First Officina) 326 AD. Obv. Draped bust right, FLAV MAX FAVSTA AVG / Rev. Veiled Fausta standing facing, head left, holding two children (Constantius II and Constans?) in her arms, SPES REIP-VBLICAE; in exergue, SMALA [Alexandria, First Officina]. RIC VII Alexandria 40 (p. 709), Sear RCV IV 16582. 19 mm., 2.92 g. Ex. Dr. Frank Sternberg Collection, Sternberg I, Zurich, Nov. 30-Dec. 1, 1973, part of Lot 524 (catalogue p. 61.).



The coin came with the old Sternberg ticket, and @Valentinian kindly provided me with a copy of the relevant page from the 1973 Sternberg auction describing Lot 524:



I found the cover page for the catalogue on the Internet:



You may have noticed that I tentatively identified the two infants as Constantius II and Constans, adopting Sear's identification. Typically, in other sources, in descriptions of the Fausta coins showing her holding two infants on the reverse -- all with SALVS REIPVBLICAE and SPES REIPVBLICAE reverse legends -- the two infants are described as Constantine II and Constantius II. The sources identify those two sons even though these coins were all issued from 324-326 (see Sear RCV IV 16536-16582), at which time both boys were 7-10 years old. Constans, the youngest, is generally omitted from consideration as one of the children in such descriptions, even though he was an actual infant, assuming that, as generally stated, he was born in 323. (He was at most six years old when these coins were issued if, as some sources state, he was born in 320.)

By contrast, Sear identifies the two children as Constantius II and Constans. He does so not only because it makes more sense to include the one actual infant among Fausta's sons in a depiction of Fausta holding two infants, but because -- even though almost every single source I've looked at states without equivocation that Fausta had three sons by Constantine I -- Sear argues that in fact she and Constantine had only two sons. According to Sear, Constantine II, typically described as the oldest of her three sons by Constantine, was the child of Constantine I and a concubine. See Sear RCV IV at p. 507 ("Fausta did not bear Constantine any sons until the birth of Constantius II in 317 followed by Constans six years later"); Sear RCV V at p. 77:

"Constantine II is sometimes described as the eldest of three sons of Constantine I and Fausta. However, it seems clear that he was illegitimate as Fausta gave birth to Constantius II in early August of 317, only six months after the birth of Constantine II. Additional evidence is provided by Fausta's coinage which depicts her holding just two children in her arms (Constantius II and Constans)." Sear's logic, presumably, is that if she had had three sons, the coins would have shown all three. (Query: if, in fact, she had only two sons, and showing only two on her coinage implied to the general public that the eldest, Constantine II, was not her son and was illegitimate, would the Imperial administration really have been likely to allow the issuance of coins carrying such an implication?)

Most of the other sources I looked at ignore this supposed problem, because most of them state that Constantine II was born in 316, one year before Constantius II's birth in 317, rather than in the same year. Which is correct? I have no idea, and have no idea how we could know for sure one way or the other. Does any of you know how one could conclusively determine when the two were actually born?

In poking around for half an hour or so, I have found only two sources even alluding to this issue. First, in the book Imperial Rome AD 264-383, by Jill Harries (Edinburgh 2012), the author refers at p. 112 to "Fausta's (or a concubine's) first-born, Constantine II," and explains in n. 35 that "There are problems with the dates of the births of Constantine II and the next son, Constantius II, very soon after (see entry in PLRE [Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire] on Constantine II). If, hypothetically, Constantine [II] was the son of an unknown mother, not Fausta, this would have implications for the position of the still childless Fausta in 316 . . . . [citations omitted]."

By contrast, although acknowledging the issue in his book Coinage and History of the Roman Empire (2016), David Vagi dismisses it: he states at p. [? -- the Google Books version is unpaginated] that "[a]lthough [Constantine II's] parentage was questioned in ancient times, we may be certain that Constantine the Great was his father, and that Fausta -- not a concubine -- was his mother. . . . Sometime late in 316, before he had reached his first year, Constantine II was given the extraordinary rank of Caesar alongside his much older half-brother, Crispus. About half a year later . . . Constantine II and Crispus were formally invested with that rank together with the child Licinius II, who was the heir of Constantine the Great's rival, Licinius I. The ceremony was held at March 1, 317, at Serdica." Note that if that date is correct, and at the same time Sear is correct that Constantine II was born six months prior to Constantius II in August 317, then this ceremony would have to have been held when Constantine II was a newborn -- and an illegitimate one to boot, with Fausta pregnant with Constantius II at the time.

Is any of you familiar with this issue? Do you all identify the children shown on Fausta's coins as Constantine II and Constantius II, or does any of you identify Constans as one of them?

 

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Donna, you always have the most boss, fresh off the mint, coins... and these are no exception.
I'm a little green with envy, as is my Chlorus!


And poor Fausta. Can you imagine knowing that the wife before you was boiled alive!?


Ps, I LOVE the mystery. But it's my first time hearing that Constantine ll was illegitimate

 

Thanks for the kind words. The difficult part is trying to find nice-looking coins without spending a huge amount of money. I realize that bronze coins from this era aren't all that expensive in general, but if I could afford to spend hundreds of dollars on every coin, it would be a lot easier.

Fausta is the one who was (supposedly) boiled alive, so I'm not sure what you mean. Unless you mean a subsequent wife knowing this, but there was no subsequent wife.

I never heard of this issue before either, until I started trying to figure out who the children were on Fausta's coins.

 

Very nice write up, @DonnaML . Really great coins! Sorry, I cannot help with the kids...


RI Constantius I Chlorus 293-306 CE DIVO AE Quinarius Thesalonika 317-318 Seated RIC VII 25 R5 RARE



RI Fausta 325-326 CE AE3 Spes stdg 2 infants SMHA 20mm 3.48g scratch over eye damnatio memoriae by Constantine

 

You lost me on this one. There was no wife after Fausta. Can you find any suggestions that after Crispus was gone that the two younger brothers were closer than they were with Constantine II? If Constantine II was not Fausta's, I could see how Constantine I might have preferred him after the Fausta affair. Rome might have been better off had he executed her two sons avoiding the civil wars that followed. .

 

Both your coins are great. Especially the damnatio memoriae one!

 

..very nice examples Donna...i dont think i have Chlorus, but i do have Fausta..tho not in mint condition(understatment) .(and i reckon i have Cons ll and Constans too, by that reckoning )..

 

Thank you very much. I think it is really cool, also. Some feel it is NOT a Damnatio. However, it is very compelling that it is the EYES and THROAT that look ritually cut on the coin. Might not be an "official" damnatio, but purdy damnatio to me.

 

Really nice additions!
I do not own a coin of Fausta as of yet.

Here is my Constantius I:


Denomination: Æ Follis. Diameter: 29 mm.
Weight: 9.34 grams. Mint: Cyzicus, c. A.D. 297-299.
Obverse: Laureate head right.
Reverse: Genius standing left, holding patera and cornucopia.
Reference: RIC 11a.

 

For anyone still interested in the issue of Constantine II's legitimacy, here's a footnote citing a couple of articles on the subject:

https://www.jstor.org/stable/4436264?read-now=1&seq=2#page_scan_tab_contents

JOURNAL ARTICLE
Flavia Maxima Fausta: Some Remarks
Jan Willem Drijvers

Historia: Zeitschrift für Alte Geschichte
Bd. 41, H. 4 (1992), pp. 500-506 (7 pages)



And here is an extended discussion of the issue in a PhD thesis I found online. After reviewing the original sources on the issue, the author concludes that Constantine II was, in fact, a son of Fausta. (Footnotes at end of excerpt.)












If this conclusion is correct, then Sear is incorrect, and the identity of the two infants whom Fausta holds on the reverse of so many of her coins remains something of a mystery. Although, as I mentioned in my previous post, most authorities (with the exception of Sear and his RCV catalogue) have taken the position that the two are supposed to represent her two oldest sons, namely Constantine II (assuming his legitimacy) and Constantius II -- despite the fact that they were well beyond infancy when the coins were issued in 324-326 AD -- with her actual infant at the time, Constans, omitted from the coins for unknown reasons. Even though it would have been simple enough to portray Fausta holding her two younger sons, with the third and oldest (Constantine II) standing by her side. (There are certainly coins of Faustina Jr. depicting her with more than two children.)

 

Nice write-up and great research Donna. Including a doctoral dissertation (and a type written one at that) demonstrates your excellent scholarship. Here's a Chlorus I'll throw in:

from @jamesicus

AE Quarter Follis
Obverse: Bust of Constantius right, IMP C CONSTANTIVS PF AVG
Reverse: Genius left, holding patera and cornucopia, GENIO POPVLI ROMANI
Reference: RIC VI 167
Mint: Siscia

 

Thank you for a great write-up here, Donna. Quite interesting and informative.
Here are some members of the Const-clan. Unfortunately, I lack images of my Helena coins, and Fausta is still on the buying list.

Constantius I Avg.


Constantine I

Constantine II

Constans

Constantius II (this is a light maiorina, not a «centenionalis»)

Crispus

Cousin Gallus

 

The reason why Constans is missing from the picture in 326 might have something to do with the way Constantine I envisioned his vicennalia and dynastic legacy in 325-326. The two sons Fausta holds in this series are also her two sons that had already been raised to the rank of Caesar by 325, when the vicennalia started in the East, and by 326 when this SPES REIPVBLICAE type was minted and the celebrations moved to Rome.

The dynastic issues struck for this occasion also mark the caesarship of the two brothers, with apparently more coinage minted in the name of Constantine II than for Constantius II, but the two are shown as brothers, presented to the world with the same accolades -- and, as far as coinage goes, much more accolades than were reserved for Crispus, whose dynastic coinage is shorter (he dies by summer 326, but his dynastic coinage is shorter even at Antioch in 325).

Here are the two brothers in Rome from either July 326 (RIC VII) or early 329 (Lars Ramskold)

 

@DonnaML.......Sorry no coins here as its not an area I've moved into yet but really enjoyed the write up and have tagged it, learnt a great deal so Thanks!...Paul

 

Thanks for the added background. Interesting that the two brothers were portrayed at the time either as infants or as being at least in late adolescence, but never as anything like their real ages of about 10-13.

 

The coinage of Fausta in 326 harks back to her motherhood of (by now) two future emperors. Her place in the iconography of the Constantinian propaganda of 325-326 is as the Mother of the Caesars. And Constantine Jr's and Constantius's places are as future emperors carrying the legacy of their Great father. At least that is what I am making out of the coinage of those fateful two years.

 

Superb writeup and coins @DonnaML
Here are three coins from Trier



Fausta, AE3 - Trier mint, 1st officina
FLAV MAX FAVSTA AVG, draped bust right
SPES REIP VBLICAE, Fausta standing, holding Constantinus II and Constantius II in her arms,PTR crescent at exergue
3.0 gr
Ref : LRBC # 36, Cohen # 15v



Constantius, Follis - Trier mint, 1st officina, AD 305-306
IMP CONSTANTIVS PF AVG, Laureate and cuirassed bust of Constantius right
GENIO POPVLI ROMANI, Genius standing left, holding patera and cornucopia. S | F in field, PTR at exergue
11.09 gr
Ref : RCV # 14176 (100), Cohen #116, RIC VI # 642a



Divo Constantius, Follis - Posthumous issue, Trier mint, 1st officina, c. AD 307-309
DIVO CONSTANTIO PIO, laureate, cuirassed and veiled bust of Constantius right
MEMORIA FELIX, large altar between two eagles. PTR at exergue
5,62 gr, 26 mm
Ref : RCV # 16420 (200), Cohen # 179, RIC VI # 789

Q