Divine Providence and Destiny

Sale: Triton X, Lot: 786. Estimate $500.  Closing Date: Monday, 8 January 2007.  Sold For $725. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

Helena. Augusta, AD 324-328/30. Æ Follis (3.61 g, 7h). Thessalonica mint. Struck circa AD 318-319. HELE-NA N F, draped bust right / Star of eight rays within laurel wreath. RIC VII 48 var. (with mint mark); LRBC 820. EF, dark green patina, traces of silvering. Rare.

The coinage of Helena as Augusta commenced with her elevation to full imperial status in AD 324 and continued until her death five years later. Preceding these issues, however, was a remarkable series struck circa AD 318 at Thessalonica on which both Helena and her daughter-in-law Fausta are accorded the lesser title of Nobilissima Femina (N F). Both ladies had borne this rank for a considerable time, Helena since her son's elevation to imperial status in 306, Fausta since her marriage to Constantine in March of the following year. The significance of this anepigraphic reverse remains uncertain, though it presumably contains some reference to divine providence and destiny.