Ancient Roman Bronze Oinochoe. 3rd century BC. 15 cm H.
No. 83910021
Ancient Roman Bronze Constantine I the Great Urbs Roma Commemorative Follis (No Reserve Price)
No. 83910021
Ancient Roman Bronze Constantine I the Great Urbs Roma Commemorative Follis (No Reserve Price)
A fine Roman follis of Constantine I commemorating the foundation of Rome. The obverse features a helmeted and cuirassed bust of Constantine I facing left with the inscription VRBS ROMA, meaning 'City of Rome'. The reverse features the depiction of a she-wolf suckling the twin brothers Romulus and Remus. Above the wolf are two stars. Mintmark SNTSS.
Constantine I, also known as Constantine the Great, was a Roman emperor who ruled from 306 to 337 AD. During his reign he reformed many aspects including the structure of the government in which he separated the civil and military powers. Constantine improved inflation with the creation of a new gold coin named Solidus and was successful with the Roman frontiers. He was the first Roman emperor to convert to Christianity allowing the religion, along with other cults, to be legalised in Rome. A common theme on coins was to display favoured deities on the reverse. Sol Invictus, the unconquerable sun, was a popular deity worshipped during the time of Constantine and was depicted on many of his coins. Supposedly, he had also erected a large statue of Sol, stolen from the temple in Heliopolis, in the forum of Constantinople. He had the head changed to resemble himself and forced citizens to worship the sculpture.
Diameter: ~1.8cm
Weight: 2.74g
Provenance: Ex Cambridgeshire private collection, acquired 1970s.
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