Constantine struck this double solidus — a medallion weight piece rather than a denomination intended for general circulation — in 327, just two years after the Council of Nicaea and during the rapid construction of Constantinople, then still called Nova Roma. Nicomedia had served as the senior imperial capital under Diocletian, and its mint retained considerable prestige and technical capacity long after Constantine shifted dynastic focus westward across the Bosphorus. Pieces of this weight class were almost certainly produced for donative purposes, distributed to high-ranking military officers or court officials at ceremonial occasions rather than exchanged in trade.
RIC VII 133 is scarce at auction. The Nicomedia mint used the mintmark SMNA or SMNB depending on officina.
Constantine struck this double solidus — a medallion weight piece rather than a denomination intended for general circulation — in 327, just two years after the Council of Nicaea and during the rapid construction of Constantinople, then still called Nova Roma. Nicomedia had served as the senior imperial capital under Diocletian, and its mint retained considerable prestige and technical capacity long after Constantine shifted dynastic focus westward across the Bosphorus. Pieces of this weight class were almost certainly produced for donative purposes, distributed to high-ranking military officers or court officials at ceremonial occasions rather than exchanged in trade.
RIC VII 133 is scarce at auction. The Nicomedia mint used the mintmark SMNA or SMNB depending on officina.