CONSTANS Crosses Channel to Britain w/ ☧ Chi-Rho Christogram, "Happy" Roman Coin

Description

Constantinian Dynasty
Constantine I
had four sons whom he originally designated as Caesars.
His first wife,
Minervina
, bore him his eldest son named
Crispus
. He was made Caesar while his three half-brothers (whose mother was
Fausta
) were very young.
Constantine
had Crispus killed for reasons that are unclear today, but it is strongly suspected that his second wife, Fausta, had something to do with it so that her sons could move ahead of
Crispus
into the position of Emperor.  Subsequently,
Constantine's
remaining sons,
Constantine II, Constantius II, and Constans
, each became a Roman Emperor after disposing of most of the cousins.
CONSTANS, Emperor, A.D. 337-50
The second child of Constantine's three surviving sons, Constans inherited Italy and the provinces in Africa after the death of his father in 337. Soon after that, Constans and Constantine II began arguing over who got what.  Constantine, Jr wanted to settle the issue with his army; however, luck was with Constans who easily appropriated all of Junior's former territories when died in battle. He thus became the
de facto
ruler of the West. He held on to power for another ten years until his top general, Magnentius, proclaimed himself the emperor. Without an army, Constans had no real power and escaped as best he could. His former soldiers found him hiding in a temple, dragged him out of it and killed him.
FEL TEMP
REPARATIO
FELicium TEMPorum REPARATIO
most likely reads, re-establishment of the happy times”
These coins were introduced as part of the coinage reform of 348 AD by Constantius II and Constans, two of Constantine the Great's sons. All coins of this reform bear the reverse legend
FEL TEMP REPARATIO
('Restoration of Happy Times') or sometimes known as
'Happy Days are Here Again'
.  They are good examples of how the Roman emperors of this time used coins as official propaganda.
These coins represent the emperor's claim that, "These are the good times" or "These are the restoration of happy times".
Propaganda was and is an art form used by rulers of any era!
There were a great many of these coins minted, so they are easily obtained by collectors at any level of expertise.  There are many types of these coins.
FEL TEMP
"Galley Steered by Victory"
Just as Constantius II favored the “Fallen Horseman”, Constans most frequently used the Galley steered by Victory. The scene probably honors Constans' crossing to Britain in 342 AD. The emperor is shown standing in the galley holding either a small figure of Victory or a Phoenix on a globe.
The scene probably honors Constans' crossing to Britain in 342 AD where he oversaw operations along Hadrian's Wall. . The emperor is shown standing in the galley holding either a small figure of Victory or a Phoenix on a globe.  In his role as a Christian emperor, much like his father Constantine, Constans took an active part in trying to promote their "brand" of Christianity. In turn this led him to continue the persecution of the Donatist Christians in Africa, as well as to act against the pagans and the Jews.
The reverse of this coin depicts a
Chi-Rho
emblem. This
christogram
is formed by superimposing the first two letters in the Greek spelling of the word Christ (Greek: "Χριστός" ),
chi
= ch and
rho
= r, in such a way to produce the monogram
☧
.
Another variant was a cross instead of an X superimposed on a P.
Constantine the Great
was said to have seen this symbol in a vision the night before a huge battle just outside of Rome in 312 AD.  The next day he ordered his soldiers to paint the symbol on their shields. Guess who won the battle!  Subsequently, the Chi-Rho banner (called a
labarum
) led Roman troops into battle for centuries and is still used in Christian worship today.
This coin was struck in the ancient Roman city of
Thessalonica.
CONSTANS  AE3 (17-18 mm, 2.23 total gm)
OBV:  D N CONSTANS P F AVG, pearl-diademed, draped, cuirassed bust right
REV:
FEL TEMP REPARATIO, Constans standing left on galley, holding phoenix and labarum, piloted by Victory.
EXE:  TESB     Thessalonica mint    RIC 120   348-350 A.D.
As usual, the pictures really don't do justice. Let me know if you have questions.
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I have collected Roman coins for many years and have always bought coins from trusted, reputable dealers. The coins I sell are ancient currency minted under the authority of the Roman Empire.  The details I describe (emperor, location, legends, etc) are derived from well-known and certified attribution sources.  The descriptions are guaranteed accurate as much as the condition of the coin allows.  This
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