Constantine I, 307/310-337. Medallion (Bronze, 35 mm, 38.23 g, 12 h), celebratory issue on the emperor's vicennalia. Rome, 325. IMP CONSTAN-TINVS P F AVG Laureate, draped and cuirassed bust of Constantine I to right. Rev. VICTORIA CONSTANTINI AVG Victory seated right on cuirass, holding stylus in her right hand and inscribing shield set on her left knee with VOT / XX / FEL in three lines; behind cuirass, shield. Cohen -. Gnecchi II, 18 and pl. 131, 1. Ntantalia -. RIC 261 corr. (FEL not CES on shield). Extremely rare and perhaps the finest known example. A highly interesting medallion with traces of original gilding. Minor roughness on the obverse, otherwise, very fine.



While Gnecchi was unable to determine the correct reading of the inscription on the shield of his specimen, the authors of RIC proposed VOT / XX / CES. Our medallion, however, clearly shows that the inscription ends in FEL, and it should therefore be read as votis vicennalibus felicibus ('vows for twenty years of rule'). This impressive medallion was thus struck for Constantine’s vicennalia on 25 July 325 and, with its depiction of the seated Victory, celebrates the 'Victory of Emperor Constantine' - an apt reverse type, since after his final victory over Licinius I in the previous year, Constantine had at last emerged, after nearly two decades of struggle, as sole ruler of the empire.

On our specimen, faint traces of gilding are still visible on the obverse beneath the bust. It is therefore likely that at least the obverse, bearing the imperial portrait, was originally fully gilt in order to enhance the medallion’s appearance at the time of issue. For a discussion of similar surface embellishment on bronze coins, see most recently L. Rutten: Glänzende Bronzen. Zur Vergoldung und Versilberung römischen Provinzialprägungen, in: JNG 75 (2025), pp. 169-204. Originally gleaming with its gilded surface, the medallion may thus have been distributed as an honorary gift during the vicennalia celebrations of 325.