Part
2 – The Era of The Heirs of Constantine (337 – 363)
After
the death of Constantine his three remaining sons inherited the Empire.
The eldest (Constantine) died trying to increase his share at the expense
of his youngest brother. That
brother (Constans) died in a revolt brought on by his religious and sexual
eccentricities. The remaining son
Constantius reigned for a respectable 24 years.
His need for a co-ruler led him to elevate one of his few remaining
relatives (Constantius Gallus) to the rank of Caesar.
When Gallus didn’t work out Constantius had him executed and replaced
with his only remaining cousin, Julian. Julian’s
promotion worked out perhaps a little too well – Constantius died during a
campaign to put down Julian’s rebellion.
Julian lasted only two years before dying while campaigning against the
Persians, and this tedious series of Constantines came to an end.
|
j |
k |
l |
m |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posthumous
commemorative for Constantine the Great |
Constantine
Jr as Augustus |
Constantius
II as Augustus |
Constans |
|
DV
CONSTANTINVS PT AVGG |
CONSTANTINVS
P F |
D
N CONSTANTIVS P F AVG |
D
N CONSTANS
P F AVG |
|
n |
o |
p |
|
|
|
|
|
Constantius
Gallus |
Julian
(as Caesar) |
Julian
(as Augustus) |
|
D
N CONSTANTIVS IVN NOB C |
D
N FL CL IVLIANVS NOB C |
D
N FL CL IVLIANVS P F AVG |
It can be easy to confuse coins of Constantius II with those of Constantius Gallus. Coins of Constantius Gallus and Julian (while Caesar) never have a diadem (the jewel headband later Roman Emperors wore as a sign of royalty). With that as a guide one can often ID a coin with only a few letters showing.
I
haven’t discussed coin size so far. Coins
j, k, n and o are ae3’s (“officially”, bronze coins from
17mm to 21mm, but these will sometimes be found a bit smaller).
The coins you will usually find in uncleaned lots from the Constantine
era will usually be of this size, although you will occasionally find some of
the FEL TEMP series of the larger variety, up to 23mm.
