Gold Solidus - Eastern Roman-Byzantine, Struck c. 654-658 AD.
Ruler: Constans II (641-668 AD).
Obv: Crowned facing busts of Constans with long beard and his son Constantine IV.
Rev: Cross Potent on 3 steps, between Heraclius and Tiberius (the younger sons of Constans II), ''CONOB''. Mint: Constantinople.
Scarce!
(Sear-B964) 19mm, 4.47gm.
Constans II (also called Constantine the Bearded) was Byzantine Emperor from 641 to 668. He also was the last emperor to become consul in 642, becoming the last Roman consul in history.
Constans is a diminutive nickname given to the Emperor, who had been baptized Herakleios and reigned officially as Constantine. The nickname established itself in Byzantine texts, and has become standard in modern historiography. Constans was the son of Heraclius Constantine, and made co-emperor by Heraclonas in 614 AD. Constans proclaimed his son, Constantine IV, co-emperor in 654.
