Constantine I Bronze AE2 RIC VI Rome 350a

Monetary Context and Historical Setting

The production of RIC VI Rome 350a occurred in the immediate aftermath of Constantine's decisive victory over Maxentius at the Battle of the Milvian Bridge on October 28, AD 312. Maxentius had controlled Rome and Italy since AD 306, operating the capital mint under his own fiscal and ideological program. Upon entering Rome, Constantine seized the mint and immediately reorganized its output to legitimize his supreme authority in the Western Empire. At this juncture, the Diocletianic follis or nummus, originally introduced in AD 294 at approximately 10 grams, had undergone repeated reductions across the empire. Under Maxentius and the contemporary eastern rulers, the module dropped to a reduced standard often classified in modern numismatics as an AE2, hovering between 4 and 5 grams and struck at approximately 1/72 or 1/96 of a Roman pound. Struck during the transition between the terminal phase of the Tetrarchic monetary system catalogued in RIC VI and the subsequent Constantinian arrangements recorded in RIC VII, RIC VI Rome 350a functioned as the primary billon and copper-alloy circulating denomination for daily urban transactions, carrying an official silver wash that rapidly wore off in active use.

Production and Mint Organization

The issue was struck exclusively at the urban mint of Rome, which operated multiple parallel production lines known as officinae. Constantine retained the existing administrative and artisan personnel of the Rome mint after the fall of Maxentius, directing their die-cutting infrastructure toward new dynastic and senatorial messages. Typical for Rome issues of this specific series, the reverse fields or exergual registers carry officina designations that indicate systematic division of labor among the workshops, commonly evidenced by Greek numerals or Latin letters. Metallurgical analyses of contemporary Rome folles from late AD 312 confirm a low intrinsic silver content, generally below two percent by weight, paired with a dominant copper-alloy core containing small proportions of lead and tin to facilitate high-volume cast flan production and crisp striking. Dies were prepared with standardized punches for the letterforms, portraits, and standard shafts, yet die-sinkers exhibited minute stylistic variance in detailing the plumage of the legionary eagle and the drapery folds on the imperial bust.

Obverse Iconography and Style

The obverse of RIC VI Rome 350a displays the bust of Constantine I facing right, adorned with a laurel wreath, imperial drapery, and a military cuirass. This combination of garments, standard for Tetrarchic and early Constantinian military representation, projects the dual role of the ruler as supreme military commander and civic magistrate. Stylistically, the Rome mint portraits of this transitional period reflect a softening of the severe, block-like geometric abstraction that characterized earlier Tetrarchic portraiture under Diocletian and Galerius, while still avoiding the idealized, upward-looking neoclassical style that Constantine adopted in the late 320s AD. The facial features present a pronounced aquiline nose, defined jawline, and neatly cropped hair under the laurel ties, balancing individual imperial portrait characteristics with the conventional physical durability expected of an Augustus.

Reverse Iconography and Symbolism

The reverse iconography of RIC VI Rome 350a features an aquila, the Roman legionary eagle, standing facing or with its head turned to the right, positioned centrally between two military standards known as vexilla. The standards are rendered with crossbars, hanging banners, and crowning ornaments or wreaths. This military configuration drew upon deep traditions of Roman martial coinage, evoking army loyalty, discipline, and legionary presence. Unlike earlier Tetrarchic types that emphasized the protective deities Jupiter and Hercules, Constantine's immediate post-conquest coinage in Rome deliberately adopted non-denominational military and civic themes. The prominent legionary eagle served both to honor the victorious field army that had marched south through Italy and to assure the populace of Rome that military stability had been restored under disciplined imperial leadership.

Epigraphy and Legends

The obverse inscription reads IMP CONSTANTINVS P F AVG, representing the formula Imperator Constantinus Pius Felix Augustus ('Emperor Constantine, Pious and Fortunate Augustus'). This formula established his full imperial titulature in the West, having discarded earlier claims to junior rank or specific local accommodations. The reverse inscription presents the civic formula S P Q R OPTIMO PRINCIPI, expanding to Senatus Populusque Romanus Optimo Principi ('The Senate and the Roman People to the Best Prince'). This legend consciously resurrected the title 'Optimus Princeps', an honorific originally granted by the Senate to Trajan in the early second century AD. By invoking this classic phrase at the mint of Rome in late AD 312, Constantine emphasized senatorial reconciliation and framed his victory not as a civil war conquest, but as the liberation of the capital by an ideal ruler acting with the blessings of the Senate and citizens.

Typology and Chronological Sequence

Catalogued under type 350a in RIC Volume VI for the mint of Rome, this issue is part of a discrete series of bronzes bearing the S P Q R OPTIMO PRINCIPI legend struck between late AD 312 and early AD 313. In the classification scheme established by C. H. V. Sutherland, RIC VI Rome 350 is subdivided into variants based on the imperial bust type; subtype 350a specifically denotes the laureate, draped, and cuirassed bust facing right. Neighboring catalogue entries include subtype 350b (laureate and cuirassed without drapery) and parallel strikes issued for Constantine's imperial colleague Licinius. The type was struck for only a brief period before the closure of the RIC VI chronological boundary, marked historically by the meeting of Constantine and Licinius at Mediolanum (Milan) in early AD 313 and the subsequent monetary shifts codified in RIC Volume VII.

Circulation and Hoard Evidence

Because RIC VI Rome 350a was struck in substantial volume over several active officinae during a period of acute political interest, examples circulated widely through central and northern Italy. Hoard contexts from Italy and adjacent western provinces indicate that these reduced nummi circulated alongside remaining Maxentian issues, older reduced Tetrarchic bronzes, and contemporary emissions from northern mints such as Ticinum and Aquileia. While urban circulation within Rome itself absorbed a large proportion of the issue for daily market transactions and municipal commerce, specimens traveled northward along military corridors supporting the army. As Constantine and Licinius enacted subsequent weight reductions toward the middle of the decade, these late AD 312 coins gradually suffered heavy surface wear and demonetization, frequently being melted or re-tariffed in later fourth-century monetary reforms.

References

1. The Roman Imperial Coinage, Volume VII: Constantine and Licinius: A.D. 313-337. pp. 297-300
2. Roman Coins. pp. 52-54
3. Online Coins of the Roman Empire: RIC VI Rome 350a. ric.6.rom.350a
4. The Roman Imperial Coinage, Volume VI: From Diocletian's Reform (A.D. 294) to the Death of Maximinus (A.D. 313). p. 388, no. 350a