Watch List notes:

Crispus. Caesar, A.D. 317-326. Æ. 2.72 gm. 19 mm. Arelate (Arles) mint, 4th officina. Struck A.D. 317. His laureate, draped, and cuirassed bust right, seen from behind; CRISPVS NOB CAES / Mars advancing right, holding shield and spear; PRINCIPIA IVVENTVTIS around, R-S to either side, QARL in exergue. RIC VII 129 (r2). Good Extremely Fine; well struck, with glossy brown patina. Handsome coin. Very rare.Crispus was the first son of Constantine the Great. Though a much beloved and very skilled commander -- he greatly assisted his father in his triumph over his rival Augustus, Licinius -- he was inexplicably tried and executed under his father's orders in 326. Just a few months later Constantine ordered the execution of his own wife, Fausta. One theory that explains this turn of events is that Fausta, Crispus's stepmother, convinced Constantine that Crispus had attempted to rape her and should be executed, thus paving the way for her own children to inherit the throne. In this theory Constantine ordered Fausta's execution when he discovered the truth several months later. Alternatively, some modern historians suggest that Fausta and Crispus may have had an affair, with Fausta's execution delayed only to allow her to give birth to an illegitimate child.