Constantine I, 307/310-337. Follis (Bronze, 22 mm, 3.87 g, 6 h), Rome, 314. IMP CONSTANTINVS P F AVG Laureate, draped and cuirassed bust of Constantine I to right. Rev. LIBER-A-TOR ORBIS / R✱P Constantine I, in military attire, on horseback galloping right, extending his right hand and holding shield in his left; below horse, lion advancing right, head to left, with a javelin lodged in its back. Cohen 317. RIC -. Very rare and of great interest. Slightly smoothed and with minor traces of corrosion, otherwise, very fine.



This unusual reverse type was not included by Bruun in RIC VII, but several examples for both Constantine and Licinius were published by J.-M. Doyen: Une émission constantinienne méconnue (Rome, 313) et la date de la 3ème réduction pondérale du follis, in: Bulletin du Cercle d'Études Numismatiques 27/1 (1990), p. 1-9. The reverse legend praises Constantine as the 'liberator of the world'.