Constans, reduced AE2, bronze, reign 337-350 CE, struck 348-350 CE

Constans, reduced AE2, bronze, reign 337-350 CE, struck 348-350 CE, weight 4.50 g, diameter 22 mm. Obverse: D N CONSTANS P F AVG; pearl-diademed, draped and cuirassed bust left, holding globe in right hand. Reverse: FEL TEMP REPARATIO; helmeted, draped and cuirassed soldier advancing right, head left, leading a small bare-headed figure from a hut beneath a tree with right hand, spear held in left hand pointed downwards between legs; exergue SMNB. Strike: well-centered late-Roman strike with complete beaded borders and moderate relief. Toning: even dark brown-green patina with lighter high-point rub. References: RIC VIII Nicomedia 70; standard FEL TEMP REPARATIO series documentation. The FEL TEMP REPARATIO bronze reform coinage was introduced jointly by Constans, Constantius II and Constantius Gallus in 348 to re-establish confidence in the circulating small change and celebrate frontier victories. The hut-type reverse symbolises Rome’s recovery of control over barbarian settlements along the Danube and Rhine, depicting a Roman soldier removing a defeated enemy from his dwelling. Nicomedia, the chief mint in Bithynia, contributed substantial quantities of these coins, ensuring uniform legends and control marks such as SMNB (“Sacra Moneta Nicomedia, officina B”). The legend D N CONSTANS P F AVG emphasised Constans’s status as “Our Lord, Dutiful and Fortunate Augustus” during a period of dynastic rivalry that culminated in his overthrow by Magnentius in 350.