My Roman Coins With Early Christian Symbols

Early Christian symbols on coins is no new subject, but I find no recent threads about it here at CCF. The gradual introduction of Christian symbolism on Roman 4th century coins, sometimes with an ambiguous interpretation, makes it an interesting collection subtheme. Coins up to (around) 400 AD that have (something that can be interpreted as) a Christian symbol - such as Chi-Rho, Tau-Rho (see Note at the end), cross, divine hand, heavenly gaze - is what I am thinking of. I give a bit more background to the subject towards the end of this post.

I have a few coins to show from my collection of Roman bronzes. Feel free to add yours! It would be nice to see what our ancients collectors here at CCF have.

My first coin is of a type you have most likely seen if you are into Roman bronzes, and if you collect coins with Christian references, a coin like this is more or less a must have.

Double maiorina, Decentius, 352 AD, Lyon (2nd officina). 6.8 g, 26 mm. RIC 155.



Decentius and his brother Magnentius were usurper caesar and augustus, respectively, revolting against Constantine the Great's sons Constans (who was killed) and Constantius II (who defeated them in the end). Whether Decentius and Magnentius were Christians or merely tolerant towards Christians is unclear. This coin with its huge XP sign (and which was also made with Magnentius's portrait) may have been issued with the intention to gain the support of Christians. Noteworthy is also the α - ω, a reference to the Book of Revelation: "I am the Alpha and the Omega," referring to God and Christ being the beginning and the end. This may have been directed against Constantius II, who was an Arianist, for whom the above statement would not apply to Christ.

Another coin from me soon. Do post yours in the meantime!

A brief background to Christian symbols on coins:
In less than 70 years Christianity went from being severely persecuted to becoming the state religion of Rome, in 380 AD. This remarkable development is reflected in the Roman coinage, where we can see the old gods - Jupiter, Hercules, Mars, and others - leave room for references to Christianity. But it was a slow and gradual change, with the Chi-Rho (XP) symbol being a central element on very few coins before the mid 300s. Still, Chi-Rho, crosses and other symbols showed up here and there, sometimes as mintmarks. Constantine the Great, who ruled as caesar and augustus 306-337, is often considered the first Christian emperor. He is said to have taken the Chi-Rho as a symbol of his faith after the battle at the Milvian Bridge in 312 AD, where he defeated his opponent Maxentius and became sole emperor of the Western part of the empire. The day before the battle, he saw the XP sign in the sky, and was told In hoc signo vinces! - "In this sign you will conquer!" Together with the Eastern emperor Licinius he authored the Edict of Milan in 313 AD, which mandated tolerance towards Christians (but he did not get baptized himself until on his death bed). He marked his standards with the XP sign, but was cautious about using it on his coins (perhaps to not disturb the many pagan soldiers in the army). His sons and followers as augustii from 337 - Constantine II, Constans and Constantius II - used it more liberally on their coins.

Some online resources I have found useful:
Clark: Christian Symbolism.
Clark: Chapter 2, Christian Symbolism on Coins of Constantine, In Constantine The Great: The Coins Speak, Master's Thesis.
Dunning: First Christian Symbols on Roman Imperial Coins, The Celator, Vol. 17, No. 12, Dec. 2003.
Augustus Coins: Christian Symbols on Roman coins.
Bernobich: Early Christian Coins.

Note:
While the cross is today's common Christian symbol, the Greek letters XP (Chi-Rho) overlaid on each other were the most common symbol in the 4th century. It is a short form of the Greek name for Christ, ΧΡΙΣΤΟΣ.
The letters TP (Tau-Rho) similarly overlaid (also called staurogram) can be seen as a visual representation of Christ on the cross.