Constantinus II's reign as sole emperor in the West lasted barely three years before his disastrous invasion of his brother Constans's territory in 340 AD, ending with his death in an ambush near Aquileia. The VIRTVS AVGVSTI types struck at Rome in the immediate aftermath of Constantine the Great's death belong to a chaotic transitional period in which the three surviving sons were dividing the empire and simultaneously jockeying for dominance — a rivalry that would turn lethal within months of these coins leaving the mint.
Constantinus II's reign as sole emperor in the West lasted barely three years before his disastrous invasion of his brother Constans's territory in 340 AD, ending with his death in an ambush near Aquileia. The VIRTVS AVGVSTI types struck at Rome in the immediate aftermath of Constantine the Great's death belong to a chaotic transitional period in which the three surviving sons were dividing the empire and simultaneously jockeying for dominance — a rivalry that would turn lethal within months of these coins leaving the mint.