Portrait Gallery of Roman Emperors

Obverse of Constantine I AE20
Reverse of Constantine I AE20

Constantine I (the Great)
305 - 337

Constantine is perhaps best known for being the Emperor who effectively converted the Roman Empire to Christianity. He first attained imperial rank when he became Caesar under his father Constantius I in 305. When his father died in Eborcum (York) the following year, his troops declared him Augustus. His fellow emperors refused to recognise this elevation however, and they continued to recognise him as a Caesar only. By 311, Constantine won a battle against Maxentius against vast numerical odds (with an army a quarter of the size of Maxentius') He ascribed this victory to the Christian God, and slowly came to reject the ancient pagan religion of Rome.
By 324, Constantine defeated his co-emperor and one-time ally Licinius and eventually had him put to death, thus securing sole rule of the Empire and instituted policies to protect and promote Christianity throughout the Empire. He founded a new city on the site of the ancient Greek town of Byzantium, renaming it 'Constantinople' (City of Constantine) and made it the new capital of the Empire.
Constantine died in 337, and his surviving sons (Crispus had been put to death for an alleged affair with his stepmother several years earlier) divided the Empire between them.

The coin featured is an AE20 Bronze (The real denominational name for this coin is unfortunately lost to history). The reverse features the sun-god Sol Invictus (Invincible Sun). Pagan themes where quite common on Constantine's earlier coins, despite Constantine's increasing sympathy for Christianity. Very nice state of preservation. Price & Availability:-

Description	Grade	Price £	Price $	Availability
Bronze AE 20 3.47g	aEF/aVF (Typical weak strike on reverse)	£40	$Ask	Yes

Roman Emperors Portrait Gallery
You may wish to visit our portrait gallery of Roman emperors. Although it is not complete, we add new and better coins when we can. We are always keen to buy superior quality Roman coins to upgrade our photo gallery.

If you want to find the value of a coin you own, please take a look at our page I've Found An Old Coin, What's It Worth?