Sale: Triton V, Lot: 2169. Estimate $3000.  Closing Date: Wednesday, 16 January 2002.  Sold For $3500. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

CONSTANTINE I. 307-337 AD. Æ Follis (2.97 gm). Struck 37 AD. Constantinople mint. CONSTANTI-NVS MAX AVG, laureate head right / SPES PVBLIC across field, labarum, with three medallions on drapery and crowned by a christogram, spearing serpent. RIC VII 19. EF, green patina. Extremely rare. [See color plate 14] ($3000)

According to RIC, this famous reverse type represents the defeat of tyranny by the death of Licinius. Yet, the scene also has powerful Christian imagery in that it allegorically portrays the power of Christianity over evil.