Constans BI Half Centenionalis AD 337-350 Ch XF

The centenionalis (plural centenionales) is a large bronze coin.  Centenionales were minted under Constantius II and his brother Constans as an attempt to reintroduce bigger bronze coins to the Roman Empire’s currency.  However, these centenionales were not fated to last.  By 395, just 34 years after Constantius’ rule, only small bronze coins were minted by the empire.  This specific centenionalis was minted in Siscia (now known as Sisak, Croatia) while Constans was emperor.

Constans I, born Flavius Julius Constans c. 323 AD, was the youngest son of Constantine I.  When his father died in 337, Constans and his brothers Constantius II and Constantine II declared themselves emperors and each took control of a different part of the empire.  Constans had Italy, Africa, and Illyricum, a province spanning the eastern coast of the Adriatic Sea.  Three years into their joint rule, Constantine II invaded Italy, believing that as the oldest brother he had a right to Constans’s provinces.  When Constantine II was killed by Constans’s troops, Constans assumed control of both their territories (Spain, Gaul, and Britain), and consequently held dominion over the entire western portion of the empire.  He was the last legitimate emperor to set foot in Britain.  Surviving sources paint Constans as a deeply unpopular emperor, but they may have been influenced by mutinous propaganda.  He was overthrown and killed by forces loyal to Magnus Magnentius in 350, which sparked a civil war that ended with Constantius II as the sole emperor.

This coin was graded Ch XF (choice extremely fine) by the Numismatic Grading Company, the official grading service of the American Numismatic Association and the Professional Numismatists Guild.  Here is a list of grades used by the NGC, as well as information about Strike, Surface, and Style ratings.

Obverse: DN CONSTANS PF AVG (Dominus Noster Constans Pius Felix Augustus, Our Lord Constans, Pious and Happy Emperor); diademed, draped, and curiassed bust right
Reverse: FEL TEMP REPARATIO (Restoration of Happy Times); Constans, phoenix on globe in right hand, labarum with Christogram in left hand, standing left on galley ship steered by Victory, mint mark SIS in exergue, preceded by dot and officina mark ͼ (5) and followed by dot

Reference: RCV 18673, RIC VIII 252