Antique Bronze Coin of Emperor Helena, 328–329 AD, in a Pendant from Our Workshop

Saint Helena

Antique Bronze Coin of Emperor Helena, 328–329 AD, in a Pendant from Our Workshop

€ 980.00 ^*

Content 1 piece

Incl. VAT, Shipping

Description

This description was automatically translated from German. If you have any questions about this piece of jewellery, we will be happy to help!

Owning a genuine ancient artifact may seem unusual at first; after all, we usually encounter artifacts from antiquity behind glass cases in museums. Ancient coins, however, are a notable exception. This pendant contains one such original coin: a late-antique bronze follis bearing the portrait of Empress Helena, the mother of Constantine the Great. This coin was minted around 328–329 CE at the Roman mint in Arelate (today Arles in southern France). The obverse features the portrait of the empress with the inscription FL HELENA AVGVSTA (“Flavia Helena Augusta”). On the reverse, Helena appears as the personification of the empire’s security and well-being, with the legend SECVRITAS REIPVBLICE (“The Security of the State”). The letters “S F” serve as control marks for the issue, while the mint mark “ARLT” refers to the third officina, a production unit, within the Arles mint. The coin was minted during the reign of Constantine the Great, who had reunified the Roman Empire after decades of internal strife. The reverse legend reflects the political aspirations of that era: peace, stability, and security for the empire. Just a few years later, in 330 AD, Constantinople was inaugurated as the empire’s new capital. Helena, Constantine’s mother, was likely born around the middle of the 3rd century. After her son’s rise to power, she received the honorary title Augusta and became one of the most influential women of her time. She became famous above all for her pilgrimage to Jerusalem, where she is said to have discovered the True Cross of Christ. Through her patronage of Christian shrines and churches, she became a central figure in early Christianity and was later venerated as a saint. This coin is among the last to have been minted in Helena’s honor during her lifetime, and it links the memory of Constantine’s mother to an era in which the Roman Empire was making the transition from pagan antiquity to Christian-influenced late antiquity. In our workshop, we had a simple gold setting crafted for this ancient coin, which holds it securely without causing any damage. A modern gold chain complements the pendant and allows you to wear it right away.

Size & Details

Saint Helena

€ 980.00 ^*

Content 1 piece

Incl. VAT, Shipping

Our Promise

We want you to be 100% satisfied! For that reason, we examine, describe and photograph all of our jewellery with the utmost care.

You can rely on our years of experience in the trade and our expertise as a professional art historians for reviews of the antique jewellery. As a member of various trade organisations and the British Society of Jewellery Historians, we remain committed to the highest possible degree of accuracy. In our descriptions, we always also indicate any signs of age and defects and never hide them in our photos – this saves you from any unpleasant surprises when your package arrives.

Should you for some reason not be satisfied, please don’t hesitate to contact us so that we can find a solution together. In any case, you can return any article within one month and we will refund the full purchase price.

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Saint Helena

Pendants

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