Darlington man finds 1700-year-old coin from reign of Constantine the Great

Mark McMullan, an experienced metal detectorist, has described the "buzz" of the discovery and how it stands out from all the other coins he has found.

A Darlington man has found a 1700-year-old coin from the reign of Constantine the Great.

Mark McMullan, an experienced metal detectorist, has described the "buzz" of the discovery and how it stands out from all the other coins he has found.

He has permission from farmers and landowners across the county and North Yorkshire to search their fields and this time he got lucky.

Mark described the find as an "absolute stunner" and explained the history of the coin on his Facebook page The History Hunter.

He said: "I've found some great coins over the years in the fields of County Durham & North Yorkshire and this latest find is an absolute stunner!

"After enjoying the buzz of unearthing it, I now have a few days to marvel at its beauty before returning it to the Landowner at the weekend - and I can't wait to see her face.

"Made of bronze and with an incredible patina, this coin was minted in Lugdunum (modern-day Lyon) in AD 330, nearly 1700 years ago during the reign of Constantine the Great - one of the most important emperors in Roman history."

Constantine the Great reigned from AD 306 to AD 337. Not only was he the first Roman Emperor to profess Christianity, initiating the evolution of the empire into a Christian state, he also consolidated a fragmented Empire culminating in relocating the empire's capital from Rome to Byzantium - now modern-day Istanbul.

On May 11 AD 330 Byzantium was renamed 'Constantinople' in honour of the emperor.

To commemorate this event, two distinct coin types were minted: one celebrating the new capital of Constantinople and the other celebrating old Rome.

This commemorative coin is an example of the former and features a Helmeted bust of Constantinopolis (the personification of Constantinople) on the obverse and a winged Victory standing on the prow of a boat on the reverse.

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This major shift of the Roman Empire toward the east is used by historians as the divide between the "Roman" and "Byzantine" empires and Constantinople would remain the capital of the Byzantine Empire and then the Ottoman Empire for nearly 1100 years until it's fall in 1453.

The city was the capital of Turkey until 1923, when the capital was moved to Ankara.

Constantine passed away on May 22, 337 AD, aged 65 but his legacy lives on through this stunning little coin.