Collection History: Unknown
Treir? Commemorative series.
Folles with an obverse depicting a helmeted bust, considered to be a personified Constantinople, and Victory with her foot on a prow on the reverse are called the “Constantinopolis type” by modern scholars. Constantine and his son Crispus defeated Licinius in a naval battle in the Sea of Marmara in 324 C.E., allowing him to earn control of the eastern half of the empire. He then founded Constantinople in 330 C.E. at the site of the ancient city of Byzantium. He commemorated the foundation of the city and his victory over Licinius with this and other coin types. Constantinople is depicted on the obverse in a manner similar to Roma, thus linking the previous capital to what will become the new capital of the Roman Empire. Melanie Godsey 2013.