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In 330 AD, Constantine the Great celebrated a gargantuan milestone: the dedication of his new Eastern imperial capital, Constantinople. Building this magnificent city and luring the Roman elite to relocate required enormous wealth, logistical mastery, and the immediate establishment of the Empire's largest mint. To broadcast his new world order, Constantine executed a numismatic overhaul unparalleled in Roman history. He abruptly halted the production of all existing bronze currency across the Empire, replacing it with a massive, strictly controlled propaganda campaign designed to visually enforce the absolute equality of his two capitals.
This unprecedented campaign materialized as a carefully paired series of commemorative coins that stunned the public by completely omitting the Emperor's portrait. Instead, production was split exactly in half between two distinct types representing the divine personifications of the cities. The VRBS ROMA issue featured Roma on one side and the ancient she-wolf on the other to reassure the West of its enduring mythological legacy, while the Constantinopolis issues featured Tyche/Constantinopolis on one side and a winged Victory on a ship's prow on the other to celebrate the triumph that secured Constantine's absolute power. Both of these standard city commemorative issues were struck at all the Empire's mints, using the same basic design; Constantine wanted everyone across the Empire to know that his new Eastern capital was the absolute equal to the ancient heart of Rome, and that both cities were fully united under his unconquered rule.
While the VRBS ROMA and Constantinopolis issues were designed to visually enforce the absolute equality of his two capitals, they were not the only coins flooding the Empire. Running parallel to the city commemoratives was another massive propaganda campaign aimed directly at the true source of Constantine's absolute power: the Roman legions. Introduced simultaneously in 330 AD, the GLORIA EXERCITVS ("Glory of the Army") series was specifically designed to flatter and secure the loyalty of the military. Struck in staggering quantities, coins with this reverse theme quickly became one of the most ubiquitous and common coins in circulation. For the first five years of production, the reverse featured two heavily armed soldiers flanking two tall military standards. However, around 335 AD, as the physical flan size of the bronze coinage was slightly reduced across the Empire due to economic inflation, the design was updated and tightened to show the two soldiers flanking a single standard.
Toward the very end of Constantine's reign, circa 336 to 337 AD, the imperial mints did something highly unusual: they began intentionally blending these two distinct campaigns together. This fascinating billon nummus is a perfect example of that late-reign synthesis, pairing a classic city commemorative obverse with the updated single-standard GLORIA EXERCITVS reverse.
The obverse features the traditional, striking bust of Roma facing left, wearing a crested helmet and an imperial cloak, surrounded by the bold legend VRBS ROMA. For years, the Roman public had been conditioned to receive this specific obverse and flip the coin over expecting to see the famous, nostalgic image of the she-wolf suckling Romulus and Remus. However, on this coin, Constantine's propaganda machine swapped out that mythological foundation scene for a contemporary military one, completely altering the coin's psychological impact.
On the reverse, instead of ancient mythology, the viewer is confronted with the stark reality of modern Roman power: two heavily armed soldiers standing face-to-face. They are draped and cuirassed, each resting their inner hand on a grounded shield while holding a reversed spear in their outer hand. Standing between them is the single military standard, surrounded by the titular legend GLOR-IA EXERC-ITVS. Confirmation of the coin's origin is provided by the mintmark on the reverse in exergue, CONSƐ, pinning this coin's strike to the fifth
officina (workshop) of the Constantinople mint.
Though struck in Constantinople, coins like one were produced in massive numbers and circulated across the entire Mediterranean world, carried in the very coin purses of the soldiers they depicted. Accordingly, the message behind this pairing was completely borderless. It functioned as both a promise and a blunt warning: the Empire's protection against foreign invasions and barbarian incursions depended absolutely on the might of the Roman army.
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, City Commemorative, Rome City Commemorative, BI nummus (1.71g, 17mm), circa 336-337 AD, Constantinople Mint, NGC Grade: XF, Strike: 5/5, Surface: 3/5, Obverse: Bust of Roma, helmeted, wearing imperial cloak, left, VRBS ROMA, Reverse: Two soldiers, helmeted, draped, cuirassed, standing facing each other, each holding reversed spear in outer hand and resting inner hand on shield; between them, a standard, GLOR-IA EXERC-ITVS, CONSƐ in exergue, Reference: RIC 154.
Image: NGC Photo Vision