Sale: CNG 72, Lot: 1776. Estimate $10000.  Closing Date: Wednesday, 14 June 2006.  Sold For $10000. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

Constantine I. AD 307/310-337. AR Medallion (16.61 g, 6h). Constantinople mint, 9th officina. Struck circa 11 May AD 330. Head right, wearing jeweled diadem / D N CONSTANTINVS MAX TRIVM F AVG, Constantinopolis, turreted and veiled, seated right, head facing, right foot on prow, holding short sceptre in right hand and cornucopiae in left; MCONSQ. Gnecchi p. 588, 11-13 and pl. 28, 11-13 var. (officina); Alföldi pl. 18, 225 var. (same). VF, toned, areas of roughness, light cleaning scratches. Extremely rare, one of eleven known, and the sole example from the 9th officina.

Gemini I (11 January 2005), lot 475; Berk BBS 138 (1 June 2004), lot 364.

On 11 May 330 AD, after almost six years of transformation from the ancient city of Byzantium, Constantine dedicated Constantinople as the new eastern capital of the Roman Empire. Forty days of festivities culminated with a final dedication ceremony in the newly-enlarged Hippodrome.

To commemorate the dedication, silver five-siliquae multiples were struck which were presented to the new city’s elite in the emperor's presence. They were minted with two reverse types: the well-known seated Constantinopolis, struck at six different officinae, and the very rare seated Roma, struck only at officina S. Their anepigraphic obverse with the large head of Constantine right and the vertical placement of the reverse legend on either side of the figure are reminiscent of Hellenistic royal tetradrachms.

Ten other specimens of this type have been recorded; of these, six are in public collections: two in Berlin (officinae B and Z); one in Copenhagen (officina D); one in Rome (also officina D); one in Milan (listed as officina V); and one in Trier (officina Z). Those in private collections include: Triton VIII (11 January 2005), lot 1249 (officina E); Leu 22 (8-9 May 1979), lot 383 (officina Z); Berk 100 (29 January 1998), lot 684 (no officina mark); and Tkalec (18 February 2003), lot 247 (officina IA).