Bronze Coin of Empress Fausta, 307 CE - 326 CE
Bronze
C.4447
Obverse: FLAV MAX FAVSTA AVG; Draped Bust of the Empress Facing Right Reverse: SPES REIPVBLICAE; Fausta Standing to the Left, Holding Two Children in her Arms Fausta, full name Flavia...
Obverse: FLAV MAX FAVSTA AVG; Draped Bust of the Empress Facing Right
Reverse: SPES REIPVBLICAE; Fausta Standing to the Left, Holding Two Children in her Arms
Fausta, full name Flavia Maxima Fausta, was born in 290 A.D., daughter of Emperor Maximianus. She married Constantine the Great in 307 A.D. and bore three children by him, all of whom would go onto rule different parts of the empire after their father’s death: Constantine II, Constantius II, and Constans. Upon the fall of the Licini in 324 A.D., she was given the title of Augusta. However, Fausta is best remembered for committing an act of treachery that brought much tragedy to the House of Constantine and resulted in her own demise. Fausta was a young woman, much younger than Constantine, and not much older than his first son Crispus, whose mother was one of Constantine’s concubines. Apparently, Fausta fell in love with Crispus and attempted to initiate and affair with him. However, her advances were spurned. Enraged and spiteful, the young empress told her husband that his son had made improper advances towards her. Constantine acted quickly and plotted to have his son murdered without first checking the facts. Once the damage was done, the truth began to emerge and this whole tragic saga came to an end when Fausta was ordered to be executed in 326 A.D.
How many hands have touched a coin in your pocket or purse? What eras and lands have the coin traversed on its journey into our possession? As we reach into our pockets to pull out some change, we rarely hesitate to think of who might have touched the coin before us, or where the coin will venture to after it leaves our hands. More than money, coins are a symbol of the state that struck them, of a specific time and location, whether contemporary currencies or artifacts of a long forgotten empire. This stunning hand-struck coin reveals an expertise of craftsmanship and intricate sculptural detail that is often lacking in contemporary machine-made currencies. Today, this coin is an ancient memorial to a powerful woman passed from the hands of civilization to civilization, from generation to generation.
Reverse: SPES REIPVBLICAE; Fausta Standing to the Left, Holding Two Children in her Arms
Fausta, full name Flavia Maxima Fausta, was born in 290 A.D., daughter of Emperor Maximianus. She married Constantine the Great in 307 A.D. and bore three children by him, all of whom would go onto rule different parts of the empire after their father’s death: Constantine II, Constantius II, and Constans. Upon the fall of the Licini in 324 A.D., she was given the title of Augusta. However, Fausta is best remembered for committing an act of treachery that brought much tragedy to the House of Constantine and resulted in her own demise. Fausta was a young woman, much younger than Constantine, and not much older than his first son Crispus, whose mother was one of Constantine’s concubines. Apparently, Fausta fell in love with Crispus and attempted to initiate and affair with him. However, her advances were spurned. Enraged and spiteful, the young empress told her husband that his son had made improper advances towards her. Constantine acted quickly and plotted to have his son murdered without first checking the facts. Once the damage was done, the truth began to emerge and this whole tragic saga came to an end when Fausta was ordered to be executed in 326 A.D.
How many hands have touched a coin in your pocket or purse? What eras and lands have the coin traversed on its journey into our possession? As we reach into our pockets to pull out some change, we rarely hesitate to think of who might have touched the coin before us, or where the coin will venture to after it leaves our hands. More than money, coins are a symbol of the state that struck them, of a specific time and location, whether contemporary currencies or artifacts of a long forgotten empire. This stunning hand-struck coin reveals an expertise of craftsmanship and intricate sculptural detail that is often lacking in contemporary machine-made currencies. Today, this coin is an ancient memorial to a powerful woman passed from the hands of civilization to civilization, from generation to generation.