By This Sign, You Shall Be Victorious
The conflict between Constantius II and the usurper Magnentius resulted in one more type of Christian interest.
Constantine the Great, numismatically speaking, never properly commemorated his vision at the Milvian bridge. Neither, actually, did his son Constantius II but in
350 AD a few mints under the control of the loyal usurper Vetranio used a type showing Victory crowning a soldier surrounded by the words seen in Constantine's
vision. Following the vision, Constantine had ordered the sign of Christ (Chi-Rho) painted on shields (oddly, never shown on coins) and carried on a standard called
a 'Labarum'. Most of the soldiers were pagans since Christians had been eliminated from the army in 298 AD. They followed orders and won the battle against the greater forces of
the rival Augustus Maxentius. Constantine credited the victory to the God of the Christians.
Constantius II 'by Vetranio' - AE2 'Centenionalis' - Sirmium Mint - c.350 AD Recent hoards have made coins of Vetranio, as well as coins of the types used by Vetranio in the name of Constantius, much more readily available. Some dealers have adopted the unfortunate practice of listing coins bearing the name of Constantius under the heading 'Vetranio'. Coins actually bearing the name of Vetranio are still much more uncommon and higher in price than the 'Vetranio' issues for Constantius. Collectors need to be certain that they know which name a coin being offered bears. The smaller photo here shows a Siscia mint coin of Vetranio. Both coins shown on this page bear an unclear letter before the mint mark which indicated the workshop (officina). Coins of this class are usually found with less than perfect strikes. Specimens with full legends, clearly struck are worth a premium. |
(c) 1997 Doug Smith