Ancient Rome 337-361 AD Constantius II Bronze Coin with Information Sheet

Ancient Rome 337-361 AD Constantius II Bronze Coin with Information Sheet

With the reign of Constantine, the Roman Empire had poked its head up from decades of brutally violent decline to relive some of its former glory. Constantine had reunified the fracturing empire, stabilized currency, legalized Christianity, and moved the capital from Rome to glittering Constantinople. When he died in 337, Rome seemed positioned for a triumphant return. His multiple successors, however, wasted no time in undoing everything and descending into a total bloodbath.

Constantine had three (living) sons: Constantine II, Constans, and Constantius II. The idea was that they would share the responsibility of running the empire, divided roughly into western, central, and eastern provinces. Predictably, the brothers could not share. They started by pruning the extra branches of the family tree, putting cousins and uncles to death to shore up their own power. Then, they turned on each other. Constantine was the first to fall in 340, with Constans seizing control of his third of the empire in addition to his own. Then, Constans was assassinated by his own general, Magnus Magnentius. Constantius, who had been distracted by Sasanian aggression in the east, pivoted and went to war. This ended with Magnentius' defeat and suicide in 353.

Now sole emperor, Constantius wasted no time in making even more enemies. He outlawed paganism -- a bold move, considering his father had only just legalized Christianity -- and started a persecution campaign against Jews. He picked fights with the Alamanni across the northern border. Then, in 360, some of Constantius' karma finally caught up with him. His cousin, Julian, whose father had been one of the men Constantius had executed early in his reign, popped up, claimed the imperial title, and declared war. Constantius pivoted to fight, but no battle occurred. The emperor caught malaria and died on the road. Julian (who would become known as "the Apostate" for undoing the pagan ban) took his place, promising that Constantius had absolutely, definitely named him his heir on his deathbed, cross his heart.

The fourth century is a fascinatingly chaotic time in Roman history. The old ways are dying, and the seeds of the Middle Ages are being planted. Bring home a piece of it with this bronze coin from the reign of Constantius II. The portrait on the obverse displays Constantius' portrait, and, stylistically, it shares more in common with early Medieval art than late Classical. The coin comes with its own information sheet, which summarizes some of Constantius' other exploits.

Please note, the coin pictured is an example of the coin you will receive.