Constantine I, 307/310-337. Solidus (Gold, 20 mm, 4.49 g, 6 h), Treveri, second half of 326. CONSTANTI-NVS P F AVG Laureate head of Constantine I to right.
Rev. SECVRITAS REI PVBLICAE / TR Securitas standing front, head to right, her legs crossed, placing her right hand on her head and leaning her left elbow on column. Depeyrot 32/6. RIC 502. Rare and with an exceptionally fine portrait. Extremely fine.
From the collection of a retired senior air force officer, ex Bolaffi 25, 4 December 2014, 382.
The year 326 saw a far-reaching incidence in the unexpected execution of Fausta, Constantine's second wife, and her stepson Crispus, Constantine's oldest son and heir, allegedly on charges of adultery. Generations of historians have attempted to lift the veils of secrecy surrounding these dramatic events, but what matters to us is that the downfall of Crispus cleared the way for Constantine's younger sons Constantine II, Constantius II and Constans, who would dominate the empire for decades to come. The striking of the SECVRITAS REI PVBLICAE-type in the aftermath of the tragedy of 326 is to be seen as a sign of continuity to the populace of the empire, and more importantly, to the troops, many of whom had served under Crispus on the Rhine frontier and in the civil war against Licinius I.
