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Coin Jewelry :
Bronze Coin Rings : Bronze Coin Empress Helena Mother of Constantine The Great
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Bronze Coin Empress Helena Mother of Constantine The Great - FJ.2365
Origin: Israel (Bethlehem)
Circa: 307
AD
to 337
AD
Collection: Roman Bronze Coin Ring
Medium: Bronze/Diamond/Gold
$4,600.00
Location: United States
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| Description |
This stunning bronze coin of the Roman Empress
Helena mother of the Emperor Constantine the
Great is mounted in an 18-karat gold. The ring
is set with 34 genuine diamonds with a total
weight of 0.34 carats. Even by the standards of
the remarkable age in which she lived, Helena
was a fascinating woman. As a Christian, she
may have influenced her son, the Emperor
Constantine, to adopt those beliefs as the official
religion of the Roman Empire. Late in life, she
led a pilgrimage to Jerusalem in search of the
true cross; the basilica she erected to the house
that relic still stands today. For her faith, the
Roman Catholic Church reveres Helena as a
saint. Set in a frame of dazzling fire, this
gorgeous coin portrait of one extraordinary
woman is meant for the hand of another.
Flavia Iulia Helena, also known as Saint Helena,
Saint Helen, Helena Augusta, and Helena of
Constantinople, (c.248 – c.329) was consort of
(though may have been married to) Constantius
Chlorus, and the mother of Emperor Constantine
I. She is traditionally credited with finding the
relics of the True Cross.
Many legends surround her. She was allegedly
the daughter of an innkeeper. Her son
Constantine renamed the city of Drepanum on
the Gulf of Nicomedia as 'Helenopolis' in her
honour, which led to later interpretations that
Drepanum was her birthplace.
Constantius Chlorus divorced her (c.292) to
marry the step-daughter of Maximian, Flavia
Maximiana Theodora. Helena's son, Constantine,
became emperor of the Roman Empire, and
following his elevation she became a presence at
the imperial court, and received the title
Augusta.
[edit] Sainthood
She is considered by the Orthodox and Catholic
churches as a saint, famed for her piety. Her
feast day as a saint of the Orthodox Christian
Church is celebrated with her son on May 21, the
Feast of the Holy Great Sovereigns Constantine
and Helen, Equal to the Apostles[1]. Her feast day
in the Roman Catholic Church falls on August
18. Eusebius records the details of her
pilgrimage to Palestine and other eastern
provinces (though not her discovery of the True
Cross)). She is the patron saint of archaeologists.
At the age of 80, Helena was said by some
accounts to have been placed in charge of a
mission to gather Christian relics, by her son
Emperor Constantine I, who had recently
declared Rome as a Christian city. Helena
travelled the 1400-plus miles from Rome to
Jerusalem. The city was still rebuilding from the
destruction of Hadrian, a previous emperor, who
had built a Temple to Venus at the site of the
Crucifixion. According to legend, Helena entered
the temple with Bishop Macarius, and chose a
site to begin excavating, which led to the
recovery of three different crosses and the nails
of the crucifixion. To use their miraculous power
to aid her son, Helena allegedly had one placed
in Constantine's helmet, and another in the
bridle of his horse. Helena left Jerusalem in 327
to return to Rome, and shortly after her journey
to the East Helena died in the presence of her
son Constantine (Euseb., VC, 3.46). Some of the
relics which she had located were then stored in
her palace in Rome, which was later converted
into the Abbey of Santa Croce.
- (FJ.2365)
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