RCC/Christianity on Coins

Christianity on Coins

by David Perry

Christianity on coins - How a startling decision by Constantine I, the fall of the Roman Empire, the rise of Byzantium at Constantinople, and a bold move by John I put the face of Jesus on bronze coins.

BEGINNINGS: The Roman Empire, which in the first century took the lives of Peter and Paul and sacked Jerusalem a few years later, was slow to embrace Christianity. A number of emperors launched campaigns of persecution against the rapidly spreading new religion. The first Christian emperor did not emerge until the fourth century, when a joint emperor, Flavius Valerius Constantinus, said he saw a cross of light in the sky on the eve of a major battle. Constantinus, better known to us as Constantine I or Constantine The Great, ordered the monogram of Christ painted on his soldiers' shields. Then his outnumbered army won a smashing victory over a pagan rival. Constantine went on to Christianize the empire, opening the doors for tremendous growth in the church. He also founded the city of Constantinople.

Constantine, whose earlier coinage played homage to various pagan gods, including the sun god Sol favored by many Romans, placed the Chi-Rho (the first two letters of Christ1s name in Greek) on some of his coins in the years after his conversion experience. But the cautious Constantine did not display Christian symbols prominently on his coins.

A NEW EMPIRE: The fall of the Roman Empire was followed by the rise of the Byzantine Empire, based in the city named after Constantine: Constantinople. This Christian-based empire was the first to strike coins hearing the likeness of Jesus. During the reign of Justinian II (AD 685-695), the portrait of Christ made its first coin appearance, on a gold solidus. It was not until the I oth century - a millennium after the birth of Christ - that Jesus appeared on bronze coins, one of which you now own. These remarkable coins are known as "anonymous Byzantine folles" (folles is the plural of follis, the denomination of the coins). For a period of about 100 years, the emperors abandoned the usual practice of putting their own portraits on coins. That tradition, which Julius Caesar established, at the cost of his own life, was observed by all the Roman leaders who followed, including Constantine I.

JESUS HALOED: Beginning with John I, who ruled from AD 969-976, the emperor's portrait gave way to a portrait of Christ on the front (obverse) of the bronze coinage. Approximately sixteen different versions of these coins were struck, all designed to honor Christ and all acknowledging the subservient role of the emperor. Virtually all of them feature a bearded bust of Christ that emerges from a cross surrounded by a halo. The backs (reverses) of these coins display various designs and legends. The most common reverses are the four-line legend "Jesus Christ King of Kings" (IHSUS XRISTUS BASILEU BASILE) and the two-line legend "May Jesus Christ Conquer" (IC XC on the top left and top right sides of a cross, and NI KA on the bottom left and right sides of a cross).

These bronze coins were the ''coin of the realm" and circulated widely in the ancient world for hundreds of years. The examples that survive today are usually heavily worn. The highest point on the coins, the face of Christ, was the first to show wear. Coins with clear features of Christ's face are rare; those coins, for some reason, escaped the general circulation that is the usual mark of a successful coin.

MILLENNIUM COINS: Many of these anonymous Byzantine folles, recently described as "Jesus coins in the popular press, survived. Some were buried in hoards, the ancient version of safety deposit boxes. Others fell to the earth individually and were lost for a millennium. The invention of sophisticated metal detectors in the 2Oth century has led to the recovery of millions of ancient coins, minted by rulers as diverse as Julius Caesar, Constantine I, and John I, who initiated the anonymous Byzantine series.

David Perry is an avid collector of Constantinian coinage and a scholar in church history. As a member of the NC_ANCIENTS coin club, he regularly contributes wisdom, sagacity and clarity. (and great munchies)

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