EARLY CHRISTIAN RING Roman period, c. 4th - 5th century AD Bronze ring with oval engraved beazel with the abbreviated christian inscription 'In Hoc Signo Vinces' (IHS), under a cross and above a linear frame with a heart. Cleat decoration on the sides of the bezel. Dimensions: 21 x 11.5 mm. Inner size: 18 mm. Fascinating item, intact and complete. According to the account of Eusebius of Caesarea, Constantine turned towards monotheism when he was still preparing to come to Rome to fight against Maxentius. Turning in prayer to the divinity, shortly after midday he and his army witnessed a prodigious celestial event, the appearance of a crossing of lights above the sun and the writing ἐν τούτῳ νίκα (in Latin, literally 'In Hoc, Vinces').On the following night Christ appeared to him, ordering him to adopt as his banner the sign he had seen in the heaven.