Solidus (Coin) Portraying Emperor Constantine I

Discussion

FROM THE ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO’S CATALOG

The portrait of Constantine on the front (obverse) of this coin is among the last in the history of Roman coinage, for increasingly the emphasis lay not on the individual person of the emperor but on the office. Constantine's luminous eyes in this coin portrait were said by his contemporaries to reflect his divine inspiration. On the back (reverse) of the coin, Constantine rides to the left on horseback, raising his right arm, and carrying a scepter in his left.

Source ↗