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In 330 AD, Augustus Constantine led the Roman Empire in celebrating a gargantuan milestone: the establishment of a new imperial capital in the far East at Byzantium. Built from the ground up, the new imperial seat of power was name Constantinople, of the City of Constantine. To build this magnificent new capital and entice the Roman elite to uproot their lives, enormous wealth and logistical control were required. Constantine established a second Senate in his new city, aggressively luring Western patricians eastward with lavish estates, free grain distributions, and high-ranking titles. To ensure payment for all the involved parties, it was a high priority to establish a local mint. Within just a year and a half, the Empire had not only launched a new mint, but also its largest, comprising no fewer than eleven
officinae (workshops)
More than establishing a new mint, Constantine executed a massive numismatic overhaul unparalleled in Roman history: a complete, simultaneous replacement of the Empire’s circulating bronze currency. Virtually overnight, the production of all existing coin types was halted at mints spanning from Lugdunum in the West to Antioch in the East. In their place, a strictly controlled, Empire-wide propaganda campaign was launched to ensure no citizen could possibly remain ignorant of his new world order.
This unprecedented propaganda campaign materialized as a massive, carefully paired series of commemorative coins celebrating both the old and new imperial capitals. In a stunning departure from standard Roman currency, these new issues completely omitted the name and portrait of the Emperor himself. Instead, they featured the divine personifications of the two capitals. To visually enforce their exact equality, Constantine mandated that the mints produce the two distinct types in virtually a 50/50 split, comprising over 99% of the empire's circulating commemorative bronze. Half of the production was dedicated to VRBS ROMA (the City of Rome). Its reverse featured the ancient she-wolf suckling Romulus and Remus, a calculated diplomatic move designed to reassure the West that their mythological foundations remained deeply revered. The other half was dedicated to CONSTANTINOPOLIS (the City of Constantine). Its reverse featured a winged Victory standing on the prow of a warship, a direct nod to the naval triumph that secured Constantine's absolute power.
Besides the two standard city commemoratives, there was a handful of additional Constantinian issues concurrently struck at limited mints, or even a single mint. Like the VRBS ROMA and Constantinopolis issues this fractional piece was struck exclusively at Constantinople and omits the Emperor's portrait. Its size it slightly smaller and its weight is about half compared to the VRBS ROMA and Constantinople city commemorative issues.Thus some references denote its denomination as a bronze medalette. NGC Ancients catagorizes this coin as AE4 (BI Nummus).
The obverse features the laureate and draped bust of the
Genius Populi Romani, accompanied by the epithet POP ROMANVS. In Roman theology, Genius was the divine guiding spirit or guardian angel of a person, place, or group; here, it represents the collective divine spirit of the Roman people themselves. Bearing a cornucopia over his shoulder as a symbol of boundless prosperity, this youthful guardian served as a reassuring promise. Even as the Empire's center of gravity shifted eastward, the Roman populace would continue to thrive.
While the bridge commemorative utilized this same obverse to introduce a complex, historically layered reverse, this specific issue takes a wonderfully simple and elegant approach. The true brilliance of this coin lies in its structural symmetry within the broader propaganda campaign. Just as Constantine mandated a carefully balanced production split between the primary VRBS ROMA and Constantinopolis city commemorative coins, this smaller POP ROMANVS fractional series follows the exact same dualistic logic. The bridge commemorative, depicting the Milvian pontoon trap, served as a specific nod to the ancient capital of Rome and Constantine's hard-won conquest of the West. This coin, conversely, was designed to represent Constantinople herself.
The reverse abandons complex architectural scenes in favor of a striking, minimalist motif: a prominent eight-rayed star perfectly centered within a tied laurel wreath. Just below the star lies the mintmark CONSΓ, proudly denoting the Constantinople mint and identifying the third
officina (Gamma) as the specific workshop of origin. The eight-rayed star was a well-established symbol of the new Eastern capital, frequently appearing as a celestial beacon alongside the personification of the city on the standard Constantinopolis city commemoratives. Enclosing it within a laurel wreath—the universal Roman symbol for martial triumph and eternal victory—amplified the message. If the bridge coin was a stern, backward glance at the victory that made the new regime possible, this star and wreath coin was a radiant, forward-looking celebration of the new capital's eternal glory.
Additional Reading: "Coins and Medallions struck for the Inauguration of Constantinopolis 11 May 330," L. Ranskold, June 2010, Conference: Niš & Byzantium, Volume IX.
Coin Details: ROMAN EMPIRE, Constantinian, circa AD 330-340, AE4 BI Nummus ("Bronze Medalette") (15 mm, 1.30 g), Commemorative series struck by Constantine I, Constantinople mint, NGC Grade: Ch VF, Strike: 5/5, Surface: 3/5, Obverse: Laureate, draped bust of Genius Populi Romani left, cornucopia over shoulder POP ROMANVS, Reverse: Eight-rayed star within laurel wreath, CONSΓ in exergue, References: RIC VIII 22 (Γ).
Image: NGC Photo Vision Plus.