GLORIA EXERCITVS: An Example Of 3rd Century Propaganda

     by Steve Niederloh

Collectors of ancient Roman era coins who have an interest in the reign of Constantine the Great are presented with a number of choices in developing their collections, and the GLORIA EXERCITVS coins struck by Constantine and his family is one area that deserves consideration, as the coins present several interesting features that make them a fun and challenging addition to any collection.

One of the primary purposes of Roman era coins, other than as a medium of standardized exchange, was to spread official news and/or ideas that the Roman government wished to convey to the mostly illiterate population of Rome and her provinces. Subtle, and sometimes not so subtle messages could be woven into the coins design, which would then be spread throughout the Roman world as the coins were exchanged for goods and services, thereby serving as an early news service. Military campaigns, public donations by the emperor, and the wonderful attributes of the royal families all became subjects for the die carvers (celators) to work into their creations.

During the previous century, a number of emperors met with untimely deaths at the hands of their soldiers who realized that they held the power to make or break a ruler, because without their support, real or perceived, the emperor could not stay on the throne of Rome.

Constantine was one emperor who apparently had a great appreciation for the powerful messages that could be delivered by coins. He began striking a series of coins that would be copied by his sons and distributed widely through the Roman world. These coins, with the reverse legend proclaimed: “GLORIA EXERCITVS”, or “The Glory of the Army”. The reverse design featured two soldiers in military dress facing either one or two legionary standards between them.

These relatively small module coins, measuring around 17-20mm and weighing around 2 grams, were struck by the millions at various mints throughout the Roman empire, and were widely circulated, based on modern day finds.

Though small in size, they carried a powerful message for any citizen or soldier that carried them: the Emperor of all of Rome thought highly enough of his army to proclaim their glorious contribution to the stability and security of Rome to praise them with their own coins. This was ego stroking on a huge scale! Anyone that held one of these coins would know without a doubt that the emperor held his common soldiers in the highest esteem. Wise leader that he was, Constantine knew that it didn’t pay to forget the people that carried the spears.

While the coins were fairly simple in design, they have enough subtle differences in their manufacture to make an interesting topical collecting theme. Variations in the standards, devices, mintmarks, and the uniforms of the soldiers allow a collector of this series of coins an almost unlimited variety of combinations.

Three examples of GLORIA EXERCITVS coins:

Constantine I, Trier mint

Constantius II, Siscia mint

Written and published with permission of Mr. Steve Niederloh, Celator’s Art Ancient Coins and Celatorsart.com
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