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© DUMBARTON OAKS, COINS AND SEALS COLLECTION, WASHINGTON, DC

CONSTANTINE THE GREAT. Although his true religious beliefs remain the subject of much speculation, Emperor Constantine (r. 306–337 CE) was a great patron and defender of Christianity. With the support of his mother, Helena, Constantine built several major churches during his reign commemorating the foundational events in the life of Jesus, including the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, and the Eleona church on the Mount of Olives. This gold coin was struck in 335 in anticipation of Constantine’s tricennalia, or his 30th anniversary on the imperial throne. In the same year, Constantine fittingly dedicated the Holy Sepulchre, a monumental construction that may have been just as much a testament to his greatness as to the power of the resurrected Jesus.