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Nummus - Constantine I PROVIDENTIAE AVGG, Antioch
| Issuer | Roman Imperial Mint, Antioch |
|---|---|
| Year | 326-327 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | 2.70 g |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Latin |
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| Reverse description | A Roman camp-gate depicted frontally with two battlemented turrets rising above the fortified wall, each surmounted by a small flaming finial; between the turrets, a star or crescent ornament appears at the top centre. The gateway features a central arched doorway set within a heavily rusticated, multi-tiered ashlar structure rendered in fine relief. The circumferential legend PROVIDEN-TIAE AVGG encircles the type, while the exergual mint mark SMANT with the officina letter Γ appears in the lower field, identifying the Antioch mint. |
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| Additional information |
The PROVIDENTIAE AVGG reverse type — invoking the providential care of the emperors, plural — was struck at a politically charged moment. By 326–327, Constantine had already executed his son Crispus and his wife Fausta under circumstances the ancient sources deliberately obscure. The "AVGG" plural nominally referenced co-rulers, but the dynastic house was fracturing even as the mint at Antioch produced this issue.
RIC VII 71 is assigned to the second officina at Antioch, identifiable by its mintmark. The camp-gate reverse type carried specific propagandistic weight in the eastern mints, where frontier defense remained a live concern after Constantine's Gothic and Sarmatian campaigns of the early 320s.