Jesus Christ is the central figure of Christianity and, according to Christian belief, represents God, a part of the Holy Trinity, the Messiah, the Savior, and the Redeemer of the world. In his time he bore the name Jesus and was also known as Jesus of Nazareth (Jesus the Nazarene), while the title Christ (Greek: Χριστός, Hristos – the Anointed One) was added later. Due to his significance for Christianity, Jesus Christ has often appeared on the symbols of Christian countries and, accordingly, on their currency.
The Roman Empire was known for a wide range of deities and rulers that graced its coinage. After Emperor Constantine the Great adopted Christianity as the state religion at the beginning of the 4th century, Christian symbols began to appear on the coins as well. Most frequently, these were the Chi-Rho (☧) and the cross.
The Byzantine Empire, as the successor to the eastern part of the Roman Empire, also featured Christian motifs on its coinage, but several centuries had to pass before the image of Jesus Christ appeared on it.
Emperor Justinian II, who ruled at the end of the 7th century, was the first to introduce an image of Jesus Christ on his gold solidus, which was minted between 685 and 695.
The obverse of this 20 mm diameter and 4.40 g gold coin is dominated by the image of Jesus Christ in the characteristic representation known as Christ Pantocrator (Christ Almighty); the Gospel is in His left hand, and His right hand is raised in a sign of blessing.
On the reverse is the figure of Emperor Justinian II holding a cross on steps with his right hand.
Issuing money with the image of Jesus was a radical move for that time, because prior to that, rulers' portraits dominated coins, and likewise, the artistic depiction of Jesus Christ represented a controversial issue for theological reasons. This particularly culminated during the iconoclastic crisis in the 8th and 9th centuries, when religious reformers, the so-called iconoclasts, considered the veneration of images and statues to be idolatry and heresy.
During that period, many paintings, statues, and other religious objects were unfortunately destroyed. However, thanks to preserved coins, we have the opportunity to see what depictions of Jesus Christ from that time looked like. After the end of the Iconoclastic crisis, the image of Jesus begins to appear on Byzantine coins once again.
The first depiction of Jesus Christ on coins is not just a matter of art or money. It is a story of faith, politics, culture, and even the controversies of that time. Numismatists already know that every coin brings with it an interesting historical story, and the coin with the depiction of Christ is certainly one of them.
Author: Zlatko Viščević
Photos: Classical Numismatic Group [www.cngcoins.com]
