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Vexillum

The vexillum or pre Christian Roman battle standard was used on coins that commemorated or honored the military. FIDES, the personification of Loyalty, is often shown holding a standard or two. The legend usually associated with such coins is FIDES MILITVM (Loyalty of the army) or CONCORDIA MILITVM (Cooperation of the army or agreement between army and emperor). The reverse of a denarius of Maximinus the Thracian is depicted above. The coin clearly shows two vexilla tipped with eagles.

The image on the left is the reverse of a small AE4 of Constantine II probably dating from the A. D. 330's, judging by its 15 mm size. Here, the round plaques so commonly seen on the classic Roman standard can be seen clearly. The square near the top is either a pennant or a signboard telling the name and number of the legion (for example, LEG II AVGVSTA). The obverse of this particularly cherry specimen of a two soldiers, one standard AE4 can be seen on the portraits of the emperor and family page.


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