CONSTANCE II Flavius Julius Constantius Augustus May 22, 337 - Lot 242

CONSTANCE II Flavius Julius Constantius Augustus May 22, 337 - November 3, 361 FL IVL CONSTANTIVS P F AVG. His bust diademed, cuirassed and draped right. R/.VICTORIA DD NN AVG. Victory seated right on a shield, writing VOT X MVLT XX on a shield supported by a winged genie. At the exergue, SIS*. ♦ Cohen 260/25 frs or; RIC 30; Sear 17793 Solidus (gold penny) struck in Siscia in 342-343 (4.51 g). Rare type. Small strike to obverse on top of tiara. Very fine/Superb. Exemplaire vente JVN 12 avril 1988 n°626 bis Constantius II was the youngest son of Constantine I. Of his brothers Constantine II, Crispus and Constant, Constantius II reigned the longest. He was a good athlete, but was considered to have low intelligence. When Constans was killed by Magnentius, he realized he had two problems: the Sassanids in the East and Magnentius in the West. In the East, he installed half-cousin Constantius Galle as Caesar in Antioch. Fighting Magnentius proved to be an exhausting affair. In the battle of Mursa in 351, 55,000 men lost their lives and no solution to the struggle for power had emerged. Magnentius had lost, however. He fled to Gaul where, in 353, he and his relative Decence committed suicide. Gallus was recalled from the East and beheaded for incompetence and other crimes. Constantius' entire reign was a never-ending battle against enemies on the frontiers. Finally, he had to find a blood relative to help him share the burden, and he chose his other half-cousin Julian II for the job. This erudite and capable pagan was so charismatic that his western armies hailed him Augustus in 360 and refused to come to Constantius' aid in the East. He fell ill and died in Cilicia in 361.