Arelate — modern Arles — became an imperial mint only in 313 AD, established by Constantine himself after his defeat of Maxentius gave him control of the western provinces. The PROVIDENTIAE AVGG reverse type, invoking divine foresight on behalf of the emperors plural, was struck at a moment when Constantine was still nominally sharing power with his son Crispus and younger Caesar Constantinus II — though Crispus would be executed on his father's orders in 326, just a few years before this issue.
RIC VII 325 places this emission squarely in the period of Arelate's third officina activity. The camp-gate reverse type common to this series was part of a coordinated, empire-wide propaganda push.
Arelate — modern Arles — became an imperial mint only in 313 AD, established by Constantine himself after his defeat of Maxentius gave him control of the western provinces. The PROVIDENTIAE AVGG reverse type, invoking divine foresight on behalf of the emperors plural, was struck at a moment when Constantine was still nominally sharing power with his son Crispus and younger Caesar Constantinus II — though Crispus would be executed on his father's orders in 326, just a few years before this issue.
RIC VII 325 places this emission squarely in the period of Arelate's third officina activity. The camp-gate reverse type common to this series was part of a coordinated, empire-wide propaganda push.