4 /32 TO BHMA
Fourth Century Coins Discovered
at St Andrew’s Theological College
Any visitor to St Andrew’s Greek Or-
thodox Theological College would be fa-
miliar with the two offices adjoining the
main classrooms, one of which is cur-
rently occupied by my brother Chris.
Around June this year I happened to be
rummaging through his bookshelf when I
discovered four cardboard slips contain-
ing what seemed to be authentic ancient
coins.
I could not understandthe Latin acro-
nyms on the coins but all four of the slips
were clearly marked in English. They
were of Constantine the Great (the first
Roman emperor to convert to Christiani-
ty), his mother St Helen, Constantinople
personified as a female warrior (with a
Nike on the reverse), and a coin of the
usurper emperor Magnentius (who ruled
briefly from A.D. 351-53), which had a
chi-rho, or the first two initials of the
word ‘Christ’ – known as the Christogram
– on the reverse. As a historian, I was
thrilled to find these gems that had ap-
parently been forgotten by the passage
of time.
The four coins illustrate the gradual
Christianisation of the empire that was
begun by Constantine but was not fully
effected in his reign; the emperor had to
negotiate between Christianity and pa-
ganism in his attempt to consolidate and
strengthen the fragmented Roman em-
pire and it was not until after his death in
A.D. 337 that more emphatic Christian
imagery could be used by the imperial
court.
Whilst Chris, the College registrar Ana-
stasios Kalogerakis (the former occupant
of the office) and I debated over whether
the coins were genuine, an idea struck;
what if we were to get them authenticat-
ed? I contacted Dr Bernard Doherty, a
friend of the College and alumnus of
Macquarie University, which has an ex-
cellent numismatics department, and he
suggested that I send an email to Dr Gil
Davis, who is the managing editor of the
Journal of the Numismatic Association of
Australia, to find out how to go about it.
I was ready to do this, and happily
showed the coins to faculty and students
who were equally surprised and excited
about the discovery.
What happened next? Well, the blame
lies squarely with me. I had to put the
finishing touches on my PhD and neglect-
ed these little treasures, which were
once again threatened by oblivion (in my
desk drawer), when in mid-October our
efficient registrar sent me an email ask-
ing if I had taken the coins to be authen-
ticated yet. Without further delay, I con-
tacted Dr Davis, who kindly put me in
contact with Mr Colin Pitchfork, an ex-
pert numismatist. I visited Mr Pitchfork
at Noble Numismatics on Macquarie
Street in Sydney, and he graciously took
the time to evaluate the coins. Mr Pitch-
fork quickly identified the coins I brought
him with recourse to several hefty books
on Roman numismatics, including vol-
umes from the standard British cata-
logue entitled Roman Imperial Coinage
(RIC, in 10 volumes; Mr Pitchfork used
The Greek Australian VEMA DECEMBER 2015
drape and cuirass) one would have been
able to read D N MAGNENTIVS P F AVG,
an abbreviation of ‘Dominus Noster [Our
Lord] Magnentius Pius Felix Augustus.’
On the reverse around the chi-rho it
would have said SALVS DD NN AVG ET
CAES, which, to jump straight to the
translation, means the ‘The Safety of our
Lords the Augustus and Caesar’ (the Cae-
sar being Magnentius’ brother, Decen-
tius). This coin was minted at Trier be-
tween the years A.D. 352-53.
The future of these coins will be deter-
mined in due course. Hopefully they will
be encased and mounted somewhere in
St Andrew’s for visitors to admire – veri-
table windows into the beginnings of
Christendom.
volumes VII and VIII). on his own sword. This coin is significant Many thanks to Mr Pitchfork for verify-
The one of Constantine (figure 1) fea- because, as Mr Pitchfork explained, it de- ing the authenticity of these coins and
tures the god Sol on the reverse, with the picts on the reverse one of the earliest for giving me the invaluable information
inscription SOL INVICTO COMITI, which images of the Christogram – in this case that I would have not been able to ac-
means ‘The Unconquered Sun, Compan- flanked on the left and right by the alpha quire on my own. Gratitude is also due to
ion,’ emblazoned around the god who (Α) and omega (Ω) – on Roman coinage. Dr Doherty and Dr Davis for facilitating
wears a radiate crown and holds an orb The coin is badly damaged and so the the process.
or globe in his left hand. The obverse fea- legends that appeared on either side are
tures a bust of the emperor wearing a lost. But since we know the RIC number Dr Mario Baghos
laureate crown and a cuirass, with the in- (VIII 318), we can be pretty sure that Associate Lecturer in Church History
scription CONSTANTINVS P F AVG, which around the bust of Magnentius (below St Andrew’s Greek Orthodox
is an abbreviation of ‘Constantine, Pius which one would have clearly seen his Theological College
Felix Augustus’ (meaning Constantine, Pi-
ous and Blessed Augustus). The coin is
numbered RIC VII 105; it can be dated to
A.D. 316 and was minted in Trier, which
is in modern day Germany.
The second coin (figure 2), dating from
A.D. 325-26, is of Constantine’s mother,
St Helen, who is depicted on the obverse
as diademed and mantled. The inscrip- est. 1985
tion around her head reads, FL HELENA
AVGVSTA, the ‘FL’ being short for ‘Flavia,’
Morea Architects has established a reputation for excellence in service
and on the reverse is depicted the god- and procurement of wonderful and beautiful buildings
dess SECVRITAS REIPVBLICAE, or the ‘Se-
curity of the Republic,’ who raises her
hem with her left hand and lowers a
branch with her right. This coin was min-
ted in Heraclea in Thrace and is RIC VII
79.
The third coin (figure 3) is of Constan-
tinople, which was dedicated by Con-
stantine on the former site of Byzantion
(Byzantium) in the year A.D. 330 to be-
come the capital of the Eastern Roman
Empire for just over a thousand years. As
mentioned above, the coin features Con-
stantinople personified as a female war-
rior wearing a laurel, helmeted and man-
tled and holding a sceptre. Around her
head is minted the word CONSTANTI-
NOPOLIS. On the reverse we see a Nike
or Victory goddess standing with her left
foot on the prow of a boat, holding a
spear with her right hand and leaning on
a shield with her left. The coin was mint-
ed in Rome between A.D. 330-31, around
the time of the founding of the city; its
RIC number is VII 339.
The final coin (figure 4) is of the em-
peror Magnentius, who usurped control
of the Western territories of Italy and
parts of North Africa from Constans, one
of the emperor Constantine’s sons, in Cnr Hurstmon St & Clynden Ave t + 61 3 9885 8999
350. He was defeated by Constans’ bro- Malvern East VIC 3145 Australia f + 61 3 9885 6622
ther, the Arian Constantius II in 353, af- PO Box 115, Darling VIC 3145 e info@moreaarchitects.com.au
ter which he committed suicide by falling