Constantine II Jr Constantine the Great son Ancient Roman Coin Legions i45871

Item: i45871

Authentic Ancient

Coin of:

Constantine II
 ‘Junior’ –
Roman Emperor
:  337-340 A.D.
Son of Constantine I the Great as Caesar

Bronze AE3 20mm (2.55 grams) Constantinople mint: 330-336 A.D.
Reference: RIC VII 60
CONSTANTINVS IVN NOB C, laureate and cuirassed bust right
 GLOR-IA EXERC-ITVS, two soldiers holding spears and shields with two
standards
between them with o on banners. Mintmark CONS Gamma.

Numismatic Note* The reverse
legend dedicates this coin to “the glory of the Army.”
 

 You are bidding on the exact item pictured,

Authenticity.

Standards

Roman military standards. The standards with discs, or signa
(first three on left) belong to centuriae of the
legion (the image does not show the heads of the standards – whether
spear-head or wreathed-palm). Note (second from right) the
legion’s
aquila
. The standard on the
extreme right probably portrays the
She-wolf
(lupa) which fed
Romulus
, the legendary founder of
Rome. (This was the emblem of
Legio VI Ferrata
, a legion then
based in
Judaea
, a detachment of which is
known to have fought in Dacia). Detail from Trajan’s Column, Rome

Modern reenactors parade with replicas of various legionary
standards. From left to right: signum (spear-head type), with
four discs; signum (wreathed-palm type), with six discs;
imago of ruling emperor; legionary aquila; vexillum
of commander (legatus) of
Legio XXX Ulpia Victrix
, with
embroidered name and emblem (Capricorn) of legion

Each tactical unit in the imperial army, from centuria upwards, had
its own standard. This consisted of a pole with a variety of adornments that was
borne by dedicated standard-bearers who normally held the rank of duplicarius.
Military standards had the practical use of communicating to unit members where
the main body of the unit was situated, so that they would not be separated, in
the same way that modern tour-group guides use umbrellas or flags. But military
standards were also invested with a mystical quality, representing the divine
spirit (genius) of the unit and were revered as such (soldiers frequently
prayed before their standards). The loss of a unit’s standard to the enemy was
considered a terrible stain on the unit’s honour, which could only be fully
expunged by its recovery.

The standard of a centuria was known as a signum, which was
borne by the unit’s signifer. It consisted of a pole topped by either an
open palm of a human hand or by a spear-head. The open palm, it has been
suggested, originated as a symbol of the
maniple
(manipulus = “handful”), the
smallest tactical unit in the
Roman army of the mid-Republic
. The poles were
adorned with two to six silver discs (the significance of which is uncertain).
In addition, the pole would be adorned by a variety of cross-pieces (including,
at bottom, a crescent-moon symbol and a tassel). The standard would also
normally sport a cross-bar with tassels.^[194]

The standard of a Praetorian cohort or an auxiliary cohort or ala was
known as a vexillum
or banner. This was a square flag,
normally red in colour, hanging from a crossbar on the top of the pole. Stitched
on the flag would be the name of the unit and/or an image of a god. An exemplar
found in Egypt bears an image of the goddess Victory on a red background. The
vexillum was borne by a vexillarius. A legionary detachment (vexillatio)
would also have its own vexillum. Finally, a vexillum
traditionally marked the commander’s position on the battlefield.^[194]
The exception to the red colour appears to have been the Praetorian Guard, whose
vexilla, similar to their clothing, favoured a blue background.

From the time of
Marius
(consul 107 BC), the standard of all
legions was the
aquila
(“eagle”). The pole was surmounted
by a sculpted eagle of solid gold, or at least gold-plated silver, carrying
thunderbolts in its claws (representing
Jupiter
, the highest Roman god. Otherwise the
pole was unadorned. No exemplar of a legionary eagle has ever been found
(doubtless because any found in later centuries were melted down for their gold
content).^[194]
The eagle was borne by the aquilifer, the legion’s most senior
standard-bearer. So important were legionary eagles as symbols of Roman military
prestige and power, that the imperial government would go to extraordinary
lengths to recover those captured by the enemy. This would include launching
full-scale invasions of the enemy’s territory, sometimes decades after the
eagles had been lost e.g. the expedition in 28 BC by
Marcus Licinius Crassus
against
Genucla
(Isaccea, near modern
Tulcea
, Rom., in the Danube delta region), a
fortress of the Getae
, to recover standards lost 33 years
earlier by
Gaius Antonius
, an earlier
proconsul
of
Macedonia
.^[195]
Or the campaigns of AD 14-17 to recover the three eagles lost by
Varus
in AD 6 in the
Teutoburg Forest
.

Under Augustus, it became the practice for legions to carry portraits (imagines)
of the ruling emperor and his immediate family members. An imago was
usually a bronze bust carried on top of a pole like a standard by an
imaginifer.

From around the time of Hadrian (r. 117-38), some auxiliary alae
adopted the dragon-standard (draco) commonly carried by Sarmatian cavalry
squadrons. This was a long cloth wind-sock attached to an ornate sculpture of an
open dragon’s mouth. When the bearer (draconarius) was galloping, it
would make a strong hissing-sound.

Decorations

The Roman army awarded a variety of individual decorations (dona) for
valour to its legionaries. Hasta pura was a miniature spear; phalerae
were large medal-like bronze or silver discs worn on the cuirass; armillae
were bracelets worn on the wrist; and

torques were worn round the neck, or on the cuirass. The highest
awards were the coronae (“crowns”), of which the most prestigious was the
corona civica, a crown made oak-leaves awarded for saving the life of a
fellow Roman citizen in battle. The most valuable award was the corona
muralis, a crown made of gold awarded to the first man to scale an enemy
rampart. This was awarded rarely, as such a man hardly ever survived.^[196]

There is no evidence that auxiliary common soldiers received individual
decorations like legionaries, although auxiliary officers did. Instead, the
whole regiment was honoured by a title reflecting the type of award e.g.
torquata (“awarded a torque”) or armillata (“awarded bracelets”).
Some regiments would, in the course of time, accumulate a long list of titles
and decorations e.g. cohors I Brittonum Ulpia torquata pia fidelis c.R..^[193]

Flavius Claudius Constantinus, known in English as

Constantine II, (316-340) was

Roman Emperor

from 337

to

340. The eldest son of

Constantine the Great

and

Fausta
, he was

born at Arles
,

and was raised as a Christian.

On

March 1
,

317,

Constantine was made

Caesar

, and at the age of seven in 323, took part in his father’s campaign

against the

Sarmatians

. At the age of ten he became commander of

Gaul, after the

death of his half-brother

Crispus
. An

inscription dating to 330 records the title of Alamannicus, so it is

probable that his generals won a victory over the

Alamanni
.

His military career continued when Constantine I elected his son field commander

during the 332 campaign against the

Goths
.

Following the death of his father in 337, Constantine II

became emperor jointly with his brothers

Constantius II

and

Constans
.

After the division of the empire, made by the three brothers in September of the

same year in Pannonia, he ruled over

Gaul,

Britannia

and

Hispania
.

He was involved in the struggle between the different

Christian streams. The Western portion of the empire leaned towards

Catholicism

and against

Arianism
,

and Constantine freed

Athanasius

and allowed him to return to

Alexandria
.

This action also put some burden on Constantius II, who was a supporter of

Arianism.

At first, he was the guardian of his younger brother Constans, whose portion

was

Italia

,

Africa

and

Illyricum

. As Constans came of age, Constantine would not relinquish the

guardianship and in 340 he marched against Constans in Italy, but was defeated

at Aquileia

and he was killed in an ambush in

Cervignano del Friuli

. Constans came to control his deceased brother’s

realm.

 

Division of the Roman Empire among the Caesars appointed by
Constantine I
: from left to right,
the territories of Constantine II,
Constans I
,
Dalmatius
and
Constantius II
. After the death of
Constantine I (May 337), this was the formal division of the Empire,
until Dalmatius was killed and his territory divided between
Constans and Constantius.