Constantine the Great
Have had fun today experimenting with macro photography. Tried a few shots of this tiny Roman coin to get to grips with the lighting. It measures a mere 16mm in diameter but fills most of the frame using a Canon EF 100mm f2.8 macro lens.
The coin isn't in itself particularly valuable, but it's great just to hold a coin so steeped in history. It dates from the start of Constantine I's reign. He was proclaimed Augustus in York in 306AD and went on to become sole emperor of the entire Roman empire. He won a string of major military victories over the Alamanni, Franks, Visigoths and the Sarmatians, rebuilt the city of Byzantium and with it founded a new Eastern-centric Roman empire, and was the first Roman emperor to embrace Christianity. It was much later that historians bestowed upon him the title of "Great", but it was well earned.
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Image #80