Unlike her soft and odious bloodthirsty son, Constantine I, Saint Helena was actually a fairly amazing woman. In an age where women were seldom heard, she definitely stood out. She was a dutiful and dignified wife and mother, and was active in the shaping early Christianity. She is responsible for the building of many of the early Christian churches, and for locating many of the important sites in the New testament, as well as "relics" from the life of Christ. I picked this humble but very appealing example from our friend @Ken Dorney . Helena, Mother of Constantine, 327 - 328 AD AE Follis, Antioch Mint, 20mm, 2.88 grams Obverse: FL HELENA AVGVSTA, Diademed and mantled bust of Helena right. Reverse: SECVRITAS REIPVBLICAE, Securitas standing left holding branch and raising robe with right hand, DE in right field, SMANT in exergue RIC80
Nice example. Helena (324 - 330 A.D) Æ3 O: FL HELENA AVGVSTA, Draped bust right. R: SECVRITAS-REIPVBLICE, Securitas standing left. Siscia Mint, 5th offcina 19mm 2.8g RIC 218
Great example @Sallent ... you are choosing some nice Bronzes. Congrats! I only have one of Helena: RI Helena mother Constantine AE Follis Securitas Nicomedia mint 325-326 CE 19mm 3.3g RIC-95 Sear 16619
Very nice. I am after a nice Alexandrian example at some point. Such a long list.... My nicest at the moment is:- Obv:– FL HELENA AVGVSTA, Diademed draped bust right, with necklace Rev:– SECVRITAS REIPVBLICE, Helena standing left, holding branch Minted in Constantinople. B in left field, CONS in exe. A.D. 326-327 Reference:– RIC VII Constantinople 11 (R2) I have what I hope will be a half decent Trier example on the way. I will post when it arrives. Hopefully tomorrow....
Agreed Helena is portrayed in a much better light than Constantine. This one shows her title as Nobilissima Femina. 318 to 319 AD Mint: Thessalonica AE Follis Obvs: HELENA N F, bare head right, waved hair, mantled. Revs: Laurel wreath enclosing eight pointed star. 17x18mm, 3.05g
Great pickup, @Sallent. (Your Helena looks like she's been burning the midnight oil!) Here's a Trier. Why is Securitas rather immodestly raising the hem of her robe like that?
I had that coin in my Vcoins watch list @Sallent, very nice example for the price! I will be quicker next time!
I too am a fan of Helena. But early medieval traditions depict her as every bit as persistent and ruthless as her son. She doesn’t trip over the cross in the Holy Land; she “aggressively interrogates” Judas Cyriac to find the whereabouts of the cross. Here’s the major outline of the medieval tradition: 1. Constantine sends Helena to the Holy Land to find the cross of the Crucifixion. 2. The Jewish population fear that if Helena finds the cross, the Christians will be further strengthened and Jews will forever lose cultural power in the region. (In some traditions, Satan even appears to help unite Jews against the Christian investigators.) 3. Helena tortures the Jewish leader Judas Cyriac (Quiriacus) by throwing him in a well without food or water for 6 days; on the 7th, Judas agrees to help find the cross. 4. Judas leads Helena to a place to dig, but they find three crosses. One cross is used to bring a dead man back to life, and this miracle-working cross is deemed to be Jesus’s cross. 5. Judas converts to Christianity and becomes a bishop. 6. The end. Below are excerpts from a 12th c. version of the legend. This hagiography is not to be relied upon as history, and it is predictably and spectacularly anti-Semitic. The Anglo-Saxon poet Cynewulf wrote a long epic poem in the 9th century on the subject, entitled Elene. It’s not quite Beowulf, but it’s a pretty stirring read.
Nice coins, everyone! Someday I will get some of hers, if only to own coins of the original Crazy Cat Lady .
Yeah, it went on my want list, but then i had a feeling someone else was coveting the coin and getting ready to buy it, so I followed my instincts and pulled the trigger. I guess I was right, someone else had eyes on this coin. I've lost some great coins in the past by leaving them too long on the want list, so these days I tend to snap them up as soon as possible.
Well my Trier has arrived. As you can see these coins come with two varieties of harstyle. Severus Alexander has posted a wonderful example of the more elaborate version above. Mine has a much simpler hairstyle. This is a common enough coin but I haven't seen too many that have manitained the majority of the silvering especially on the reverse which is almost completely silvered. There are a few minor hard green surface blobs which I don't find too distracting. The sharp details on both sides captured my attention. Helena - AE3 Obv:– FL HELENA AVGVSTA, Diademed, draped bust right Rev:– SECVRITAS REIPVBLICE, Securitas, standing left, holding branch Minted in Trier (//STR). Reference(s) – RIC VII Trier 458 (C1).
