CONSTANTINE I 'THE GREAT'
307-337 A.D.
Caesar (recognized): a.d. 306-309
filius augustorum (recognized): A.D. 309-3IO
Augustus (self-proclaimed): a.d.
307-310
Augustus
(recognized): a.d. 310-337  SON
OF CONSTANTIUS I AND HELENA
HUSBAND OF MINERVINA AND FAUSTA
FATHER (BY MINERVINA) OF CRISPUS AND
(BY FAUSTA) OF CONSTANTINE II, CONSTANTIUS II, CONSTANS, CONSTANTINA {W.
OF HANNIBALLIANUS & CONSTANTIUS GALLUS) AND HELENA THE YOUNGER (W. OF
JULIAN II)
SON-IN-LAW OF MAXIMIAN AND EUTROPIA
BROTHER-IN-LAW OF MAXENTIUS
HALF-BROTHER OF CONSTANTIA (wife OF LICINIUS I)
HALF-UNCLE OF DELMATIUS, HANNIBALLIANUS, CONSTANTIUS GALLUS, JULIAN II,
LICINIUS II AND NEPOTIAN
GRANDFATHER OF CONSTANTIA (W. OF GRATIAN)
Flavius Valerius Constantinus, c. A.D. 272/3, 274 (alternately, early
28os)~337. The importance of Constantine the Great to western history
cannot be underestimated. Only two other Roman emperors — Augustus and
Diocletian — had so great an impact on the future of his world.
For Constantine is inextricably tied to the emergence of Christianity as
the chief religion of the Western world, and thus with the introduction
of Europe into the post-Classical world.
Constantine was born at Na'issus to Helena, a Bithynian barmaid, and
Constantius I, a Danubian soldier whose origins were humble but who
achieved the ranks of Caesar and Augustus in the course of his duty. It
is not known if Constantine's parents were married, but we can be
certain that Constantine was not ashamed about his origins, for he
extensively honored his parents in coinage and on other media.
Historians sharply disagree on the subject of Constantine's birth year,
though most favor sometime between 272 and 274. Some of his panegyrists
suggest he was born in the early 280s, but these almost certainly are
attempts to falsify his youth.
One of the great Roman emperors, Constantine rose to power when his
father Constantius Chlorus died in the year 306 while campaigning
against Scottish tribes. He later went on to defeat the rival emperor
Maxentius in the decisive battle of Milvian Bridge in 312. He is
credited for several great landmarks in history and is probably best
memorialized by the city that bore his name for hundreds of years:
Constantinople. Although now renamed Istanbul, this city was to be the
seat of power for all Byzantine emperors for the next 680 years.
Constantine is also remembered as the first Roman emperor who embraced
Christianity and instituted the buildings and papal dynasty that
eventually grew into what is today the Vatican and the Pope.
The latter part of his life saw his commitment to the church rise in
step with the increasing repression against old-school paganism. He left
behind several sons who would, after his death, turn on each other and
generally undo much of the stability that Constantine had fought so hard
to bring about.
Numismatic Note: Like
Diocletian, Constantine was an avid reformer of coinage in all metals.
Thus, his coinage is complex and diverse, incorporating many
denominations and a considerable variety of reverse types. At different
stages in his reign Constantine abandoned Diocletian's denominations,
and thus established a path for coinage which would survive the
remainder of the Roman Empire and serve as the foundation for the
succeeding "Byzantine" series.
Base metal and billon coinage also underwent considerable change during
the three decades of Constantine's reign. From a large nummus of about
27-3 lmm (which Constantine struck as Caesar), the denomination was
continually reduced in size and weight. The first drop occured c. 307/8
and and the second c. 311/3; the nummus was eventually reduced in size
to what numismatists call an Ail (c. 17-22mm). In 335/6 this
once-impressive coin was further reduced to a size category most often
called .4:3/4 (15-18mm), and finally, around the time of Constantine's
death, it was reduced again to the /E4 module (10-12mm). The nummus
continued to be reduced in weight, purity (the small traces of silver
being replaced with lead) and value, eventually becoming what was called
a
nummus minimus. Constantine struck various 'fractional' nummi
denominations in the base metal and billon series, most of which
are not understood fully, but
seemingly are half- or quarter-nummi, or are late examples of the
antiquated quinarius.
The development of Constantine's bust types is also of interest. These
began with a relatively crude image with laurel wreath and short-cropped
hair (in the 'pagan' phase of his reign). Gradually his effigy was
transformed into a less-militant image with longer hair, curling at the
nape of the neck. The portrait on some of Constantine's final issues is
'upward gazing,' which, when combined with the royal diadem (in place of
the laurel wreath), is remniscent of the ancient Greek portraiture of
six centuries before. In terms of their general treatment, Constantine's
portraits are uniformly youthful, harking back to the Augustan ideal.
Also noteworthy is the shift in emphasis of reverse types from pagan to
Christian. Constantine's earliest issues primarily honor the sun-god
Sol, and Jupiter, the chief pagan deity. Later, these two deities were
abandoned in favor of personifications (and
deities-turned-personifications, such as Victory).
Constantine made the best use of his coins for propaganda, paying
careful attention to the historical events of his reign. Although most
of his commemorative types bear portraits of himself or his sons on the
obverse, there was a rather large series of coins and medallions which
featured the
busts of 'Roma' and 'Constantinopolis' — the personifications of the
Empire's two capitals. These issues were so popular that they were
perpetuated under Constantine's sons, and in the case of the small
silver pieces (c. l.Og.), even into the 5th and 6th Centuries.
Unfortunately, the remarkable variety of reverse types largely ended
with Constantine's reign. Although his sons issued coins of some
icono-graphic interest and variety, there was a homogenization of design
which would only increase with the passage of time. The once-vibrant
Roman coinage fast became standardized in appearance and lost most of
its artistic merit — setbacks from which it never recovered.
The commemorative coins struck after Constantine's death are limited to
the smallest and least-valuable denomination, the reduced nummus of theÆ4
module. As a perfect reflection of his institutionalization of
Christianity through a gradual transition from paganism, the most common
piece shows Constantine driving a quadriga of horses (in the manner of
the sun-god Sol) skyward toward the hand of God (the manus Dei),
which emerges from clouds to receive him into heaven. | 
