Object Description
Constantinople, Ca. AD 641-668
Constans II Av. solidus, Constantinople. DN CONSTANTINUS PP AVG; bust facing with long beard and moustache, wearing crown and chlamys, holding cross on globe. Rev. VICTORIA AVGU and officina letter; cross potent on three steps, mintmark CONOB. SB 956.
The coinage of Constans II is closely related to that of his grandfather, Heraklius Constantine, but was struck by considerably fewer mints, Constantinople, Ravenna, Carthage, Sicily, and Rome specifically. Constans II reigned for 27 years but was unpopular in Constantinople, leaving the city in AD 662 and eventually taking up residence in Syracuse, where he lived until he was assassinated while bathing.
The obverse of this coin exemplifies the changing styles of Byzantine royal portraiture, beginning around the early 7th Century AD. Moving away from the idealised, linear depictions of the emperor, coins such as this exemplify a more individualised approach, including novel additions such as a long beard. This detail was originally minted by Phocas (AD 602-610) but also taken up in the reign of Constans II.
For additional information see:
Elena Stolyarik, E., 2021, “The Changing Iconography of Byzantine Gold Coinage” American Numismatics Society. Accessed 18th March 2024, https://numismatics.org/pocketchange/byzantine-iconography/
Size: D: 19mm ; 4.39g.