Numismatica Ars Classica
Auction 125 23-24 Jun 2021
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Helena, mother of Constantine I.
Solidus, Thessalonica 324, AV 4.48 g. FL HELENA – AVGVSTA Diademed and draped bust r., wearing double necklace. Rev. SECVRITAS – REIPVBLICE Securitas, veiled, standing facing, head l., holding branch and raising skirt; in exergue, SMTSΓ . C 11. Alföldi 463 var. (SMT). RIC 134. Depeyrot 10/4.
Of the highest rarity, apparently only the fifth specimen known of this variety and by
far the finest specimen known. Undoubtedly the finest solidus of Helena in
private hands. An interesting portrait perfectly centred on a full flan.
A perfect Fdc
Of all the women associated with Constantine the Great, his mother Helena was not only the most influential, but the most enduring, for she outlived even those who were significantly younger. Because the sources that mention her are fragmentary, biased or of Byzantine vintage, we can only speculate about just how strongly she influenced Constantine. However, we can be sure she was an imposing woman who cast a long shadow in her son's courts. Constantine probably was raised in rural Dardania by Helena at a time when his absentee father Constantius was among the most important men in the western provinces. Mother and son clearly forged a strong bond in those formative years, and we should presume that Helena joined Constantine at his court in Trier soon after his accession in 306. In doing so Helena went from a life of provincial obscurity, which she had known for more than half a century, to the highest office a woman could hold in the empire. However, Helena soon had a competitor, her son's new bride Fausta, a woman of whom the historical tradition reports few positive qualities. Together they remained the two most influential women in the court, each probably being accorded the title nobilissima femina immediately, and then the title of Augusta late in 324, after Constantine had defeated Licinius and brought the entire empire under his rule. Gold coins were struck for Helena only at Nicomedia, Thessalonica, Sirmium and Ticinum. This exceedingly rare solidus belongs to the earliest period when Helena held the title Augusta. No literary evidence describes when Helena was hailed Augusta, but it is generally assumed to have been on November 8, 324, as a part of the ceremonies at which Constantine traced the boundaries of his future capital on the site of old Byzantium. Other appointments were also made at this grand ceremony: Constantine's wife Fausta was raised to Augusta, his infant son Constantius II was named Caesar, his step-mother Theodora may have been given posthumous honours as Augusta, and his half-sister Constantia was downgraded from Augusta - a title she'd held as wife of his vanquished enemy Licinius - to nobilissima femina. On coinage Constantine distinguished the roles of his mother and his wife: Helena, who in the guise of Securitas, personified the "well-being of the State" whereas Fausta was shown as the mother of Constantine's children and filled the dual role of Salus and Spes, the "health of the State" and the "hope of the State". Helena's three surviving grandsons also struck small bronzes in her posthumous honour, on which she personified "public peace". This was a prudent message considering the bloody purge of their step-family soon after their father's death.
Solidus, Thessalonica 324, AV 4.48 g. FL HELENA – AVGVSTA Diademed and draped bust r., wearing double necklace. Rev. SECVRITAS – REIPVBLICE Securitas, veiled, standing facing, head l., holding branch and raising skirt; in exergue, SMTSΓ . C 11. Alföldi 463 var. (SMT). RIC 134. Depeyrot 10/4.
Of the highest rarity, apparently only the fifth specimen known of this variety and by
far the finest specimen known. Undoubtedly the finest solidus of Helena in
private hands. An interesting portrait perfectly centred on a full flan.
A perfect Fdc
Of all the women associated with Constantine the Great, his mother Helena was not only the most influential, but the most enduring, for she outlived even those who were significantly younger. Because the sources that mention her are fragmentary, biased or of Byzantine vintage, we can only speculate about just how strongly she influenced Constantine. However, we can be sure she was an imposing woman who cast a long shadow in her son's courts. Constantine probably was raised in rural Dardania by Helena at a time when his absentee father Constantius was among the most important men in the western provinces. Mother and son clearly forged a strong bond in those formative years, and we should presume that Helena joined Constantine at his court in Trier soon after his accession in 306. In doing so Helena went from a life of provincial obscurity, which she had known for more than half a century, to the highest office a woman could hold in the empire. However, Helena soon had a competitor, her son's new bride Fausta, a woman of whom the historical tradition reports few positive qualities. Together they remained the two most influential women in the court, each probably being accorded the title nobilissima femina immediately, and then the title of Augusta late in 324, after Constantine had defeated Licinius and brought the entire empire under his rule. Gold coins were struck for Helena only at Nicomedia, Thessalonica, Sirmium and Ticinum. This exceedingly rare solidus belongs to the earliest period when Helena held the title Augusta. No literary evidence describes when Helena was hailed Augusta, but it is generally assumed to have been on November 8, 324, as a part of the ceremonies at which Constantine traced the boundaries of his future capital on the site of old Byzantium. Other appointments were also made at this grand ceremony: Constantine's wife Fausta was raised to Augusta, his infant son Constantius II was named Caesar, his step-mother Theodora may have been given posthumous honours as Augusta, and his half-sister Constantia was downgraded from Augusta - a title she'd held as wife of his vanquished enemy Licinius - to nobilissima femina. On coinage Constantine distinguished the roles of his mother and his wife: Helena, who in the guise of Securitas, personified the "well-being of the State" whereas Fausta was shown as the mother of Constantine's children and filled the dual role of Salus and Spes, the "health of the State" and the "hope of the State". Helena's three surviving grandsons also struck small bronzes in her posthumous honour, on which she personified "public peace". This was a prudent message considering the bloody purge of their step-family soon after their father's death.