AE Follis AE3, A.D. 322-323, Arles, 19.6mm, 3.28g, 0°, RIC VII 255.
Obv: CONSTANTINVS IVN NOB C. Laureate and cuirassed bust right.
Rev: CAESARVM NOSTRORVM. Wreath enclosing VOT X; Q•AR in ex.
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Constantine II was Roman Emperor from 337 to 340. The eldest, possibly illegitimate, son of Constantine the Great, he was born at Arles in February, 317, and raised as a Christian. On March 1 317, Constantine was made Caesar, and at the age of seven in 323, took part in his father's campaign against the Sarmatians. At the age of ten he became commander of Gaul, after the death of his half-brother Crispus. His military career continued when Constantine I chose his son as field commander during the 332 campaign against the Goths. Following the death of his father in 337, Constantine II initially became emperor jointly with his brothers Constantius II and Constans. This arrangement barely survived Constantine I’s death. The brothers arranged the slaughter of most of their family at the hands of the army and in 337, divided the Roman world between themselves. Constantine II was proclaimed Augustus by the troops and received Gaul, Britannia and Hispania.

At first, he was the guardian of his younger brother Constans, whose portion was Italia, Africa and Illyricum. Constantine soon complained that he had not received the amount of territory that was his due, stemming from his position as the eldest of Constantine’s sons. Annoyed that Constans had received Thrace and Macedonia, Constantine demanded that Constans hand over the African provinces, which, in order to maintain a fragile peace, he agreed to do. Soon however, they began quarrelling over which parts of the African provinces belonged to Carthage, and thus Constantine, and that which belonged to Italy, and therefore Constans. Additional complications also arose when Constans came of age, and Constantine, who had grown used to dominating his younger brother, would not relinquish the guardianship. Therefore in 340 he marched into Italy at the head of his troops. Constans, at that time in Dacia, sent a select and disciplined body of his Illyrian troops, stating that he would follow them in person with the remainder of his forces. Constantine was engaged in military operations around Aquileia where he was killed in an ambush. Constans took control of his deceased brother's realm.