Claudii, Constantia, and Constantine: Coin Clues from Christian Chronology
Deep into my research about revised chronology, I find something quite surprising about the ancient coins of Claudius Caesar and Constantine the Great. Supposedly, Claudius ruled from 41-54 AD, although his reign is remarkably nebulous since Tertullian, one of the oldest Christian chronographers, skips the reign of Claudius completely, whereas Theophilus, the next Christian chronicler, states Claudius’ reign as 23 years (10 years longer than the official interval). Moreover, Claudius and Constantine share a strange alignment on competing timelines.
According to Theophilus and most other Christian chronographers, Claudius ruled in the century beginning 5500 Anno Mundi (AM), several years after the death of Christ. But when Eusebius redefined Christian chronology on behalf of Constantine the Great, he moved the first century AD back to 5200 AM so that Constantine’s dynasty could occupy the coveted century of 5500. Now here’s what’s weird: Claudius’ coins are the only Roman coins that feature the the name of goddess (or personification) of Constantia, and they say CONSTANTIA AUGUSTI. Meanwhile Eusebius gives the name of Constantine as “Constantinus Victor Augustus”. These emperors were ~300 years apart, yet competing sources place them in the same Anno Mundi century.
Now let’s compare this lovely coin, with a realistic depiction of Claudius, beautiful Roman lettering with serifs, and a complex representation of Constantia, with a coin of Constantine the Great supposedly made almost 300 years later:
This coin is in all respects lesser than the comparative coin of Claudius: less legible, less realistic and humanistic. Should we really believe this coin of Constantine was minted in Rome 260 years after the coins of Claudius and Constantia? Just check out what the Romans were minting a few decades earlier, during the supposed reign of “Marcus Aurelius Claudius II Gothicus”, a likely fictional emperor:
The supposedly oldest coin is still the most aesthetically refined.
