Crispus Caesar, 316 – 326
Solidus, Aquileia circa 319, AV 4.33 g. FL IVL CRI – SPVS NOB C Heroic laureate bust l. with spear pointing forward and shield before chest. Rev. PRINCIPI• I – VVENTVTIS Crispus, in military attire, standing r., holding globe in l. hand and transverse spear in r.; in exergue, AQ. C 90 var. (different obverse legend). RIC 29 var. (different obverse). Depeyrot 11/3. Paolucci-Zub 280.
Extremely rare for the mint of Aquileia, apparently only the second specimen known.
A superb portrait of great beauty struck on a full flan. Good extremely fine

Ex Heritage sale 3033, 2014, 23098. From the Lexington Collection of Jonathan K. Kern.

Graded AU Strike 5/5 Surface 4/5 fine style, NGC certification.

The execution of Crispus in 326 was a watershed moment in the reign of Constantine the Great: not only did he lose his eldest son (at the time his only realistic heir as his other three sons were merely boys), but in the aftermath he also executed his wife Fausta for what he thought to be her leading role in a grand deception. However, if we dig deeper into the historical record, another possibility for Crispus’ execution emerges. In 326 Constantine was at, or was approaching, his 20th anniversary, depending on whether he counted 306 or 307 as his starting point as Augustus. There is reason to believe that, like Diocletian, Constantine had promised to abdicate after two decades of rule. His natural heir would have been Crispus, a popular young man approaching 30 years old and of proven ability. Some historians believe Constantine may have allowed the trial and execution of Crispus out of a desire – actual or subliminal – to remove him from contention for the throne. After all, his other sons were only 10 years old or younger, and if they were the only options as a replacement, Constantine would have to rule for at least another decade. Though the truth may never be known, it seems hard to believe that Crispus would have tried to seduce his stepmother, who was at least ten years his senior and was his father’s wife. Indeed, the seduction story reads more like a fictional, revisionist account, and the truth may lie in the more practical explanation.