Gold Solidus of Constantine IV, 4.42 g.
Title
Gold Solidus of Constantine IV, 4.42 g.
Creator
Constantine IV
Date
674-681 CE
Description
Obverse: Helmeted and cuirassed bust of Constantine IV three-quarter facing right, holding spear behind head in right hand; shield with attacking horseman at left shoulder; D(OMINVS) N(OSTER) (CONST)AN(TIN)VS P(ERPETVVS AVGVSTVS): Our lord Constantine, perpetual Augustus.
Reverse: Cross potent on stepped base, with Heraclius on left and Tiberius on right, each wearing chlamys, crown with cross, and holding globus cruciger in right hand; VICTORIA AVGV(STI) E: Victory of the Augustus, officina mark E; in exergue, CONOB: gold of Constantinople.
Style/Period: Byzantine
Constantine IV came to the throne after the murder of his father, Constans II, in 668 CE and ruled first in association with his brothers, Heraclius and Tiberius. In 681 CE, however, after the birth of his son, Justinian, Constantine deprived his brothers of their imperial titles and had their noses cut off, an oriental custom indicating that they were no longer fit for office. Afterwards he ruled alone until his death in 685 CE. The most significant event of the reign of Constantine IV was the Arab siege of Constantinople, which lasted from 674 CE until 678 CE and ended with the decisive defeat of the Arabs.
On this solidus, Constantine briefly revived the old armored portrait bust, which had for the most part been replaced by the portrait of the emperor wearing the chlamys (see 91.275). His use of the type in this period may have been an attempt to recall the great military emperors such as Justinian who had used the military type in the sixth century.
The reverse indicates that the coin dates from the period before the deposition of Constantine's brothers. Here he continues the dynastic tradition of his father's coins, which had depicted all three brothers, with the youngest two, Heraclius and Tiberius, on the reverse. Heraclius is identified as the elder by his height and position on the left. The legends of the coins of Constantine IV, as this coin demonstrates, are often so crude and abbreviated that they are illegible.
-- Rebecca K. Browning Wojcik, LU '93
Bibliography: W. Wroth, Catalogue of the Imperial Byzantine Coins in the British Museum (London 1908) 3; P. Grierson, Byzantine Coins (London 1982).
On this solidus, Constantine briefly revived the old armored portrait bust, which had for the most part been replaced by the portrait of the emperor wearing the chlamys (see 91.275). His use of the type in this period may have been an attempt to recall the great military emperors such as Justinian who had used the military type in the sixth century.
The reverse indicates that the coin dates from the period before the deposition of Constantine's brothers. Here he continues the dynastic tradition of his father's coins, which had depicted all three brothers, with the youngest two, Heraclius and Tiberius, on the reverse. Heraclius is identified as the elder by his height and position on the left. The legends of the coins of Constantine IV, as this coin demonstrates, are often so crude and abbreviated that they are illegible.
-- Rebecca K. Browning Wojcik, LU '93
Bibliography: W. Wroth, Catalogue of the Imperial Byzantine Coins in the British Museum (London 1908) 3; P. Grierson, Byzantine Coins (London 1982).
Source
Former collection of Ottilia Buerger. Purchased from Hesperia Art, Feb. 9, 1959.
Identifier
91.277
Rights
Wriston Art Center Galleries, Lawrence University, Appleton, WI,wriston-gallery@lawrence.edu,920-832-6890
Subject
Byzantine, helmet, Constantine IV, spear, horseman, horse, cross, cross potent, steps, Tiberius, globus cruciegers
Files
Citation
Constantine IV, “Gold Solidus of Constantine IV, 4.42 g.,” Lawrence University Classics Department & Ottilia Buerger Coin Collections, accessed November 5, 2026, https://thor.lawrence.edu/omeka/buerger/items/show/325.