CONSTANS Leads Captive "Barbarian", Happy Times, c 348 AD, Imperial Emperor Coin

Description

Constantinian Dynasty
Constantine I
had four sons whom he originally designated as Caesars.
His first wife,
Minervina
, bore him his eldest son named
Crispus
. He was made Caesar while his three half-brothers (whose mother was
Fausta
) were very young.
Constantine
had Crispus killed for reasons that are unclear today, but it is strongly suspected that his second wife, Fausta, had something to do with it so that her sons could move ahead of
Crispus
into the position of Emperor.  Subsequently,
Constantine's
remaining sons,
Constantine II, Constantius II, and Constans
, each became a Roman Emperor after disposing of most of the cousins.
CONSTANS, Emperor, A.D. 337-50
The second child of Constantine's three surviving sons, Constans inherited Italy and the provinces in Africa after the death of his father in 337. Soon after that, Constans and Constantine II began arguing over who got what.  Constantine, Jr wanted to settle the issue with his army; however, luck was with Constans who easily appropriated all of Junior's former territories when died in battle. He thus became the
de facto
ruler of the West. He held on to power for another ten years until his top general, Magnentius, proclaimed himself the emperor. Without an army, Constans had no real power and escaped as best he could. His former soldiers found him hiding in a temple, dragged him out of it and killed him.
FEL TEMP
REPARATIO – “Happy Times are Here Again”
FELicium TEMPorum REPARATIO
most likely reads, "re-establishment of the happy times”.   These coins were introduced as part of the coinage reform of 348 AD by Constantius II and Constans, two of Constantine the Great's sons. All coins of this reform bear the reverse legend
FEL TEMP REPARATIO
or sometimes known as
'Happy Days are Here Again'
.  They are good examples of how the Roman emperors of this time used coins as official propaganda.   Propaganda was and is an art form used by rulers of any era!  There were a great many of these coins minted, so they are easily obtained by collectors at any level of expertise.  There are many types of these coins.
FEL TEMP
"Hut Type"
The one featured here is called a "
Hut Type
Fel Temp".
The Hut Type typically shows a soldier, possibly meant to be the Emperor or a personification of valour, guiding or dragging a barbarian from a hut beneath a tree. The barbarian is docile and does what the large, well-armored Roman with the big spear wants him to do.
The scene probably honors Constans' military victories against the Franks in 341 AD and then in
Britain
in 342 AD where he oversaw operations along
Hadrian's Wall
.  Some historians think that the barbarian being dragged actually represents a slave being taken back to Rome. In his role as a Christian emperor, much like his father Constantine, Constans took an active part in trying to promote their "brand" of Christianity. In turn this led him to continue the persecution of the Donatist Christians in Africa, as well as to act against the pagans and the Jews.
This coin was struck in the ancient city of  Constantinople
.
It was struck in one of many
officinae
or workshops in the city.
Officinae
were designated by a different letter of the Greek or Roman alphabets (in the case of this coin by the letter
gamma
indicating that it was struck in the 3rd
officina
), or by certain recognizable symbols such as palm branches, dots, stars, and sunrises.
CONSTANS  AE2 (19-21 mm, 3.01 gm)
OBV:
DN CONSTA-N PF AVG, pearl-diademed, draped and cuirassed bust left, holding globe
REV:
FEL TEMP REPARATIO, emperor walking right, looking left, leading barbarian from hut; Γ in upper center
EXE:
CONSΓ     Constantinople
mint    RIC 92  347-348 A.D.
As usual, the pictures really don't do justice. Let me know if you have questions.
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