A New Find of a Solidus of Constantine I from the Vicinity of Jakuszowice / Nowe odkrycie solida Konstantyna I z okolic Jakuszowic

Jacek Pikulski, Independent Researcher

ORCID: 0009-0000-8152-6124

Kyrylo Myzgin, University of Warsaw, Faculty of Archaeology

ORCID: 0000-0002-5881-3376

Jarosław Bodzek, Jagiellonian University in Krakow, Institute of Archaeology

ORCID: 0000-0002-4272-4117

A New Find of a Solidus of Constantine I from the Vicinity of Jakuszowice

Abstract: In 2025, during systematic archaeological investigations conducted within the framework of the Terra Incognita Archaeological Expedition in the vicinity of the village of Jakuszowice, Kazimierza Wielka County, a solidus of Constantine I was discovered. The coin was struck at the Thessalonica mint in AD 332–333 and was subsequently adapted for use as a pendant by the soldering of a suspension loop. XRF analyses of the chemical composition revealed a high gold content in the coin itself, as well as a distinct alloy composition of the loop, suggesting the use of a non-monetary goldsmith’s material for its manufacture. This find represents the sixth known solidus bearing the portrait of Constantine I discovered within the territory of present-day Poland and fits into the concentration of solidi of the Constantinian dynasty recorded in the area associated with the Przeworsk culture in the south-western part of the country. The overall body of archaeological evidence from the Jakuszowice region confirms the existence in this microregion of a center of elevated socio-political status during the Late Roman period and the early phase of the Migration Period.

Key words: solidus, Constantine I, Jakuszowice Microregion, Przeworsk culture, barbarian tribal elites

DOI: https://doi.org/10.52800/ajst.1.20.a7

Pikulski, J., Myzgin, K. and Bodzek, J. 2025. “A New Find of a Solidus of Constantine I from the Vicinity of Jakuszowice”, Notae Numismaticae – Zapiski Numizmatyczne 20: 125–145. DOI: https://doi.org/10.52800/ajst.1.20.a7