Constantine, 306-337, AE3

Constantine I, AE3, bronze; reign AD 306–337; struck c. AD 328–329, Nicomedia; 2.05 g; 18.5 mm. Obverse with legend CONSTANTINVS AVG, laureate, draped and cuirassed bust right. Reverse with legend PROVIDENTIAE AVGG, campgate with two turrets; mintmark SMNE in exergue (Nicomedia mint, officina E). Struck on the standard AE3 module for this late Constantinian issue. RIC VII Nicomedia 90.

This PROVIDENTIAE AVGG campgate type reflects the Constantinian program emphasizing the provisioning and security of the Empire’s frontiers through fortifications and military infrastructure. Nicomedia, a major imperial residence and administrative hub in Bithynia, served as a key eastern mint after Constantine’s victory over Licinius in 324; its SMN mintmark (Sacra Moneta Nicomedia) with the officina letter E identifies the fifth workshop. The series dates to the late 320s and circulated broadly in the East in the years leading up to Constantine’s foundation of Constantinople in AD 330.