Gold Solidus of Crispus, 4.4 g.
Title
Gold Solidus of Crispus, 4.4 g.
Creator
Crispus
Date
325-326 CE
Description
Obverse: Diademed head of Crispus facing right
Reverse: Victoria advancing facing left, holding wreath in right hand and palm branch in left; CRISPVS CAESAR: Crispus Caesar; in exergue, N, symbol of the mint at Nicomedia.
Style/Period: Roman Empire
Flavius Julius Crispus, the eldest son of Constantine the Great and his concubine, Minervina, was made Caesar in 316 CE, together with his half-brother, Constantine II. He was made governor of Gaul, where he defeated the Germans, and he headed the successful naval campaign against Constantine's rival, Licinius. He was executed in 326 CE, apparently amid accusations of adultery with his step-mother, Fausta.
The early coin portraits of Crispus emphasize his military successes by depicting him armed, and the Victory on the reverse of this coin probably also alludes to these achievements, but later a new portrait style, a diademed head with an upward gaze, appears on his coins. The head of this coin and the type of the reverse are almost identical to the types on contemporary coins of Constantine, and the similarities were probably meant to strengthen Crispus' position as an heir to the throne.
-- Jonathan D. Greene, LU '93
Bibliography: P.M. Bruun, The Roman Imperial Coinage VII: Constantine and Licinius A.D. 313-337 (London 1966) 618 no. 110.
The early coin portraits of Crispus emphasize his military successes by depicting him armed, and the Victory on the reverse of this coin probably also alludes to these achievements, but later a new portrait style, a diademed head with an upward gaze, appears on his coins. The head of this coin and the type of the reverse are almost identical to the types on contemporary coins of Constantine, and the similarities were probably meant to strengthen Crispus' position as an heir to the throne.
-- Jonathan D. Greene, LU '93
Bibliography: P.M. Bruun, The Roman Imperial Coinage VII: Constantine and Licinius A.D. 313-337 (London 1966) 618 no. 110.
Source
Former collection of Ottilia Buerger. Purchased from Münzen und Medaillen, 1987.
Identifier
91.242
Rights
Wriston Art Center Galleries, Lawrence University, Appleton, WI,wriston-gallery@lawrence.edu,920-832-6890
Subject
Roman, Empire, Crispus, Victoria, wreath, plam branch
Files
Citation
Crispus, “Gold Solidus of Crispus, 4.4 g.,” Lawrence University Classics Department & Ottilia Buerger Coin Collections, accessed November 5, 2026, https://thor.lawrence.edu/omeka/buerger/items/show/315.