Constantine The Great. AD 330-340. Antioch. AE Nummus. (18 mm, 2.56 g)
Obv: CONSTANTINOPOLIS; Laureate, helmeted and mantled bust left, holding sceptre.
Rev: Victory advancing left on prow, holding sceptre and resting hand upon shield; SMANZ in exergue.
NGC Ch VF, smoothing
RIC VII Heraclea 120; Sear 16471
On 11 May 330, Constantine I refounded Byzantium, renamed it Constantinopolis after himself, and moved the capital of the Roman Empire from Rome to his new city. The new capital was Christian, old gods and traditions were either replaced or assimilated into a framework of Christian symbolism. Constantine built the new Church of the Holy Apostles on the site of a temple to Aphrodite. Generations later there was the story that a divine vision led Constantine to this spot. The capital would often be compared to the 'old' Rome as Nova Roma Constantinopolitana, the "New Rome of Constantinople." Special commemorative coins were issued with types for both Rome and Constantinople to advertise the importance of the new capital.
Constantine The Great. AD 330-340. Antioch. AE Nummus. (18 mm, 2.56 g)
Obv: CONSTANTINOPOLIS; Laureate, helmeted and mantled bust left, holding sceptre.
Rev: Victory advancing left on prow, holding sceptre and resting hand upon shield; SMANZ in exergue.
NGC Ch VF, smoothing
RIC VII Heraclea 120; Sear 16471
On 11 May 330, Constantine I refounded Byzantium, renamed it Constantinopolis after himself, and moved the capital of the Roman Empire from Rome to his new city. The new capital was Christian, old gods and traditions were either replaced or assimilated into a framework of Christian symbolism. Constantine built the new Church of the Holy Apostles on the site of a temple to Aphrodite. Generations later there was the story that a divine vision led Constantine to this spot. The capital would often be compared to the 'old' Rome as Nova Roma Constantinopolitana, the "New Rome of Constantinople." Special commemorative coins were issued with types for both Rome and Constantinople to advertise the importance of the new capital.