The Roman Empire Constantius II augustus, 337 – 361 Medallion of 3 solidi 355-361, AV 13.40 g. FL IVL CONSTAN – TIVS PERP AVG Pearl-diademed, draped and cuirassed bust l. Rev. VICTORIA AVGVSTORVM N N Victory standing r., inscribing VOT / XXX / MVLT / XXXX on shield set on column and supported by small genius; in exergue, SMRP branch. C –. Gnecchi –. Toynbee –. Depeyrot –. Apparently unique and unrecorded. An impressive medallion and a very interesting portrait, minor edge marks and traces of soldering on reverse most probably due to being removed from a brooch, otherwise good very fine / about extremely fine Every aspect of this three-solidus medallion of the Rome mint earmarks it as an issue of the period A.D. 355 to 357, when Constantius II shared rule with his half-cousin, the Caesar Julian II. It was an eventful period, during which there were two major occasions for the issuance of a medallion of this importance.In 355 the emperor was winding up a successful campaign against the Alemanni in Rhaetia when he learned of an unsuccessful revolt of the commander Silvanus in Cologne. Later that same year Constantius raised Julian to the rank of Caesar at a ceremony held in Milan on 6 November. At the investiture, Julian also married the emperor’s youngest sister, Helena the Younger.Both emperor and Caesar fought in Europe during the next two years, with Julian struggling to defend Gaul. In 356 they jointly led a campaign against the Alemanni, but by year’s end Julian and his army were forced to pass the winter at Sens while under siege by the Alemanni. In 357 Julian was able to extract himself and to lead his army in Gaul, during the course of which he routed an enemy force at Strasbourg.In that same year, 357, Constantius spent April and May in the city of Rome to launch celebrations for his 35th year in power. After the festivities had ended, Constantius left the capital for Pannonia, where he prepared for yet another campaign, this one against the Quadi and Sarmatians, which he waged successfully in the following year.A review of events in this period shows that unless there was an unrecorded need to reward soldiers with a bonus, there are but two occasions for this medallion: the investiture of Julian late in 355 and the start of celebrations for Constantius’ 35th anniversary in the spring of 357. Deciding between the two is a nearly impossible task, as nothing about the designs or inscriptions decisively favors one over the other.The mint is of no consideration since Rome would have been the obvious choice for this medallion in either case: Constantius’ celebrations were held in Rome, and though Julian’s investiture occurred in Milan, the only other Italian mint in operation at that time was Aquileia, and its activities were by then quite limited, especially as regards gold, for which only a single, inconsequential emission of solidi is known for this period.The reverse type, on which Victory inscribes a shield with the votive formula VOT XXX MVLT XXXX, would seem to favor an event closer to 355, especially since one issue of Rome mint solidi (RIC 296-298), presumably struck in 357, bears the inscription VOT XXXV MVLT XXXX. Though it must be noted that the use of the generic VOT XXX (instead of the specific XXXV) does not preclude this medallion from having been issued in anticipation of the emperor’s arrival in Rome. The fact that it is a votive type – however imprecise – may lend more credibility to Constantius’ anniversary.On balance, the more probable occasion, perhaps, was Constantius’ celebration. As Kent notes, ”...his anticipation of his thirty-fifth anniversary celebrations evoked a considerable coinage of gold, characterised by the mint-mark RSMP, variously embellished...”. In addition to solidi and small issues of presumably ceremonial semisses and nine-siliquae, the Rome mint in this period also struck gold medallions of 4.5-solidi (RIC 285-6) and ‘festaurei’ of the adventus type (RIC 287-8) depicting the emperor on horseback.