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Davissons Ltd.
E-Auction 13  4 November 2015
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Lot 35

Estimate: 150 USD
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Crispus. Caesar, A.D. 317-326. Æ. 2.92 gm. 19 mm. Treveri (Trier) mint, 1st officina. Struck A.D. 323-324. His laureate head right; IVL CRIS-PVS NOB C / Laurel wreath enclosing VOT | X; CAESARVM NOSTRORVM around, PTR and crescent in exergue. RIC VII 440. Extremely Fine; lustrous brown patina; some areas of weak strike; attractive. 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.
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