CIRCA EARLY 4TH CENTURY A.D.

Similar rings with identical inscriptions are thought to have been presented by Constantine the Great to military officers of merit. According to Ward (Rings Through the Ages, p. 39), these rings, no doubt, were tokens of appreciation and a reminder of the allegiance and duty owed to the emperor. For an example in the British Museum see no. 70 in Ward, et al., op cit. The weight is 11 grams, which corresponds to two aurei.