Constantius II, as Caesar, AE3

Constantius II as Caesar, AE3, AE (bronze), AD 324–337; struck c. AD 330–337; 2.39 g; 18 mm. Antioch mint. Obverse: FL IVL CONSTANTIVS NOB C; laureate, draped and cuirassed bust right. Reverse: GLORIA EXERCITVS; two soldiers standing facing, each holding spear and resting on shield; two military standards between; exergual mintmark of Antioch. Struck on the reduced AE3 module instituted under Constantine I, characteristic fabric and module for the Antioch series of the early to mid-330s. RIC VII Antioch 88.

Issued after Constantius II was created Caesar in AD 324, this GLORIA EXERCITVS bronze belongs to the large Constantinian propaganda series that emphasized the discipline and unity of the army during the consolidation of imperial authority in the 330s. The obverse title NOB C identifies Constantius as Nobilissimus Caesar, while the reverse legend “Glory of the Army” and the paired soldiers with standards promoted military stability along the empire’s frontiers. As a principal eastern workshop, Antioch supplied these small bronzes in large quantities for circulation in the eastern provinces up to the death of Constantine I in 337, when Constantius and his brothers assumed power.