Obverse: FLAV MAX FAVSTA AVG; Draped Bust of
the Empress Facing Right
Reverse: SPES REIPVBLICAE; Fausta Standing to
the Left, Holding Two Children in her Arms
Fausta, full name Flavia Maxima Fausta, was
born in 290 A.D., daughter of Emperor
Maximianus. She married Constantine the Great
in 307 A.D. and bore three children by him, all of
whom would go onto rule different parts of the
empire after their father’s death: Constantine II,
Constantius II, and Constans. Upon the fall of
the Licini in 324 A.D., she was given the title of
Augusta. However, Fausta is best remembered
for committing an act of treachery that brought
much tragedy to the House of Constantine and
resulted in her own demise. Fausta was a young
woman, much younger than Constantine, and not
much older than his first son Crispus, whose
mother was one of Constantine’s concubines.
Apparently, Fausta fell in love with Crispus and
attempted to initiate and affair with him.
However, her advances were spurned. Enraged
and spiteful, the young empress told her
husband that his son had made improper
advances towards her. Constantine acted quickly
and plotted to have his son murdered without
first checking the facts. Once the damage was
done, the truth began to emerge and this whole
tragic saga came to an end when Fausta was
ordered to be executed in 326 A.D.
How many hands have touched a coin in your
pocket or purse? What eras and lands have the
coin traversed on its journey into our
possession? As we reach into our pockets to pull
out some change, we rarely hesitate to think of
who might have touched the coin before us, or
where the coin will venture to after it leaves our
hands. More than money, coins are a symbol of
the state that struck them, of a specific time and
location, whether contemporary currencies or
artifacts of a long forgotten empire. This
stunning hand-struck coin reveals an expertise
of craftsmanship and intricate sculptural detail
that is often lacking in contemporary machine-
made currencies. Today, this coin is an ancient
memorial to a powerful woman passed from the
hands of civilization to civilization, from
generation to generation.
- (C.801)
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