The ancient Romans developed a coin making technique which is still used today, known as minting. The blacksmiths would either use cold or hot sheets of metal to create the coin and then heavy bronze or iron stamps to impress the details of the coin onto the metal body. It was thought to be a two or three person job. The images typically shown on the coin would be the profile of the emperor or someone from his family, or a notable leader. The profile image of their head would also be surrounded with letters usually detailing the name of the person on the coin and the date that the coin was made. On the obverse side the scene shown was typically showing a significant battle or religious scene.
This particular coin depicts the profile of Crispus, deciphered from the legend on the obverse. He was the eldest son of the Roman emperor Constantine I with his first wife Minervina and received his education from the Christian writer Lactantius. He was made Caesar while still young, in AD 317, along with his brother and Licinius II. Crispus had greatly aided his father in the wars against Licinius I, and as a reward Constantine gave him control of the western provinces. In AD 326, Crispus’ life came to a sudden end when Constantine ordered his execution for adultery however, the story remains unclear.
