Solidus - Constantius II GLORIA REI PVBLICAE, Rome

The GLORIA REI PVBLICAE type was introduced in the early 350s as Constantius II consolidated sole rule following the defeat of the usurper Magnentius at Mursa in 351 — one of the bloodiest battles of the fourth century, estimated to have killed tens of thousands of Roman soldiers on both sides. Rome's mint, by this period largely ceremonial in its output of gold, produced the solidus in limited quantities compared to the more active eastern mints at Antioch and Constantinople.

Depeyrot's Rom 14/1 locates this piece within a tightly defined emission, useful for die-study purposes given the mint's relatively modest striking volume for this type.