CONSTANTIUS II, Caesar, Roman Soldiers/Legions, Shields/Spears, Imperial Coin

Description

Constantinian Dynasty
Constantine I
had four sons whom he originally designated as Caesars.
His first wife,
Minervina
, bore him his eldest son named
Crispus
. He was made Caesar while his three half-brothers (whose mother was
Fausta
) were very young.
Constantine
had Crispus killed for reasons that are unclear today, but it is strongly suspected that his second wife, Fausta, had something to do with it so that her sons could move ahead of
Crispus
into the position of Emperor.  Subsequently,
Constantine's
remaining sons,
Constantine II, Constantius II, and Constans
, each became a Roman Emperor after disposing of most of the cousins.
CONSTANTIUS II, Caesar 324-337; Roman Emperor 337-361 A.D.
Perhaps the ambitiousness and ruthlessness of the three surviving sons of
Constantine the Great
and his second wife,
Fausta
, was best exemplified by their second eldest son,
Constantius II
.  Right after their father's death in 337 A.D.,
Constantius
had all surviving male descendants of
Constantine
murdered, with the exception of two cousins,
Gallus and Julian
. The Empire was split three ways by
Constans, Constantine II
and
Constantius II
.
Constantius
started as Emperor of the eastern portion of the empire holding off Persian invaders, but also dealt with several ursurpers to his throne. He eventually became sole ruler of the empire after the deaths of his two brothers,
Constans
and
Constantine II
.
Constantius II
died of an unknown illness in 361 and was immediately succeeded by his cousin, Julian II.
GLORIA EXERCITVS
This Roman coin is known as the
"Glory of the Army"
or simply the "Soldiers and Standards" coin. This coin is also known as a "Behold, the glorious army of new Rome".
These coins were introduced in the 330's by
Constantine I (the Great)
and various members of his family - sons and Caesars
Constantine II
,
Constantius II
, and
Constans
, in addition to his nephew,
Delmatius Caesar
.  The type shows two soldiers each holding a spear and a shield.  Between them, on the early issues, are two standards that consist of a stack of medallions on a pole.  Like many coins of this period they were decreased in size during the period of their issue.  Just before his death in 337 A.D.,
Constantine I
reduced the size of the
nummus
(also called a
follis
) which was marked by the change from two standards to one shared standard. Consequently, one can find both one standard and two-standard coins bearing
Constantine the Great's
name. They are good examples of how the Roman emperors of this time used coins as official propaganda.
This coin was struck in the ancient struck in the ancient city of
Thessalonica
.  It was struck in one of many officinae or workshops in the city.
Officinae
were designated by a different letter of the Greek or Roman alphabets (in the case of this coin by the letter
gamma
indicating that it was struck in the 3rd
officina
), or by certain recognizable symbols such as palm branches, dots, stars, and sunrises.
CONSTANTIUS II  (as Caesar)  AE Follis (15-17 mm, 1.59 total gm)
OBV:  FL IVL CONSTANTIVS NOB C, laureate, draped cuirassed bust right
REV:
GLORIA EXERCITVS, two soldiers standing facing each other, each holding a spear and shield, one standards between them
EXE:
SMTSΓ    Thessalonica mint    RIC 224    336-337 A.D.
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