Ancient Rome Divus Constantine Aeterna Pietas 340AD

Emperor Constantine I of Rome (Constantine the Great) died in 337AD. He was declared divine after his death as indicated by the title divus (or divo) Constantine. His sons issued several different coins posthumously, and these coins are sought by collectors today.

The divus coins use a veiled head of the emperor on the front, and various patterns on the back, including an eagle, a quadriga (four horse chariot), the sitting emperor, the veiled emperor, the hand of god (second photo, to right), and, in this case, the emperor standing with a globe in his right hand.

Inscriptions on this coin (upper left) are DIVO CONSTANTINO P on the front and AETERNA PIETAS (eternal duty, loyalty, piety, devotion, etc.) This is a rare coin, and nice-looking specimens are essentially impossible to find. The other reverses are more common than this one, but a complete collection of divus Constantine coins is not complete without it.

It is difficult to place accurate values on coins like this. Each coin stands on its own merits. Surveying auction results and dealer sale pricing, CoinQuest estimates:

DIVUS CONSTANTINO AETERNA PIETAS:
worn: $35 US dollars approximate catalog value
average circulated: $150
well preserved: $350

The values above are for the aeterna pietas coin at the upper left. Some of the other divus coins, with other reverses, are much more common, so it is not difficult to assemble a partial set of divus coins. Typical prices run like this:

DIVUS CONSTANTINO MANY OF THE OTHER, MORE COMMON, REVERSES:
worn: $10 US dollars approximate catalog value
average circulated: $40
well preserved: $85

There is a page with several other Divus coins at Constantine the Great Coins.

The aeterna pietas coin in our picture comes from The Antique Store New Zealand, and CoinQuest thanks them for use of their coin photo.
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