Helena, mother of Constantine and woman of legend

The front, or obverse, of this nummus shows us the head of Helena, mother of Constantine the Great. She was one of the, if not the most, important female figures in the development of Christianity in late antiquity and up to the modern period. Just like this coin, there were two sides to Helena herself. There was the historical Helena, wife of Constantius Chlorus, and mother of Constantine the Great. And there was the legendary Helena, whose tale of the discovery of the True Cross became influential throughout Christianity. While we will not focus on this discovery in detail in this story, we can still take a look at what this coin can tell us about the life and historical context of this extraordinary woman, and what this coin can tell us about Roman coinage in this period.