With well over two billion adherents, is the world’s most popular religion. This collection of coins, which spans 20 centuries, celebrates six of the most influential Christian figures.

Many martyrs followed their Savior to death in the early years of Christianity, most notably the Apostle Paul, who was executed in the imperial capital of Rome after the provincial governor sent him there for trial. Other than Christ Himself, no other individual has had a more profound impact on Christianity than Paul. After his famous conversion on the road to Damascus, Paul became a roving missionary of Jesus Christ, preaching the Good News throughout Asia Minor. His active conversion of Gentiles turned Christianity from an obscure Jewish cult into what is now the world’s largest religion.

Constantine the Great, the first Christian Emperor of Rome, established the shape of Christianity. He legalized the religion in the Empire, and worked with the Bishop of Rome to establish the Papacy in that city. He convened the early church fathers at Nicaea to codify the Christian belief system; the resulting Nicene Creed is still a part of Catholic liturgy. Constantine decided to celebrate the Sabbath on Sunday rather than Saturday, to honor the day when Jesus rose from the dead. The Catholic Easter falls on the first Sunday after the first full moon after the vernal equinox, because that’s when Constantine decided it should be celebrated. Constantine popularized the use of the cross as a symbol for Jesus, a stylized version of the chi-rho symbol he saw in his vision before the Battle of Milvian bridge. And it was Constantine who banned the use of crucifixion in the Roman Empire, in deference to Jesus.

In the fourth century, Helena, mother of the Emperor Constantine, took a to the , which was still in a state of ruin. Her journey to the Holy Places in Palestine in A.D. 326-8, when she was in her late seventies, led to the discovery of numerous relics, including the legendary True Cross of Jesus Christ and the nails of the Crucifixion. She engineered the construction of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in and the renovation of the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem and the Church on the Mount of Olives, as well as the chapel at Saint Catherine’s Monastery. Helena is revered as a saint by the Roman Catholic, the Eastern Orthodox, and the Anglican Church—the Patron Saint of New Discoveries.

After a century of incredible success expanding the Caliphate by Mohammad, the Rightly Guided Caliphs, and the subsequent Umayyads, the spread of into Europe was thwarted by Charles “The Hammer” Martel at the Battle of Tours in the south of France in A.D. 732. The Franks won the battle despite not having cavalry. Historians describe Tours as “the turning point of one of the most important epochs in the history of the world.” Were it not for Charles’ unlikely victory, Western Europe might have converted to Islam.

At the Council of Clermont in 1096, Pope Urban II called upon to repulse the infidels from the Holy Land. The Franks heeded the call, retaking important Middle Eastern cities from Muslim forces, and establishing a Latin Kingdom in Jerusalem, in what was subsequently known as the First Crusade. The Latin knights would hold Jerusalem for almost 200 years, and would also, in later , re-take former Byzantine possessions, collectively called Frankish Greece. The subsequent conflict between the Patriarch of Constantinople and the Pope of Rome would exacerbate schism between the Christian church in the East and the West.

The Protestant Reformation began on the morning of October 31, 1517, when a German friar named Martin Luther nailed a copy of his radical tract The Ninety-Five Theses on the door of Wittenberg Cathedral. Eight years later, Albert of Prussia, the last Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights and an early adopter of Luther’s teachings, established the Duchy of Prussia as the first Lutheran state in Europe—a landmark moment in the spread of Protestantism. Almost half of the world’s Christians today are Protestants.

This collection features six genuine authentic coins struck by or relating to the Christian notables described above.

1. Porcius Festus (Under Nero), bronze prutah

Country Yr. of issue Judaea AD 60-62

│ 1.8-2.6│ g 14.5-17.5 mm Weight Diameter

│ │ Obverse: Palm branch This bronze coin was issued by the Roman procurator of , who held the post from AD 59-62. Reverse: Legend within wreath According to Acts of the Apostles, Festus declared Paul insane and sent Coin image for illustration purpose only him to Rome for trial.

2. Roman Emperor Constantine I the Great, bronze AE

Country Yr. of issue Rome AD 337-340

│ Weight │Diameter 1.3-1.7 g 13.5-17 mm

│ │ Obverse: Veiled head of Constantine A bronze coin issued posthumously of the first Christian Emperor of Rome featuring the Manus Dei Reverse: Driving quadriga, hand of god reaching out "Hand of God".

Coin image for illustration purpose only

3. Roman bronze coin of Saint Helena

Country Yr. of issue Rome AD 317-324

Weight │Diameter 1-2.5 │g 13.5-18 mm

│ Obverse:│ Diademed, mantled bust of Helena Rare bronze coin featuring the portrait of the mother of Reverse: Contemporary political, military, & religious Constantine, whose pilgrimage to themes

the Holy Places was a pivotal moment in the annals of Coin image for illustration purpose only Christianity.

4. Umayyad, copper fals

Country Yr. of issue Western Asia AD 661-750

Weight │Diameter 1.3-4.4 g 16│-19 mm

Obverse:│ script,│ names, family titles Copper coin issued of the first major Islamic dynasty after the Reverse: Arabic script, dates and declaration of faith time of the Prophet. It was the Umayyads who lost to Charles Martel at Tours. Coin image for illustration purpose only

5. Frankish Greece, billon denier-tournois

Country Yr. of issue Western Europe 13th Century

Weight │Diameter 0.6-1 g 18.5-19│ mm

Obverse:│ Cross patt│ ée These billon coins were issued by the Frankish Crusaders who Reverse: Castile tournois occupied the former Byzantine possessions known as Frankish Greece. Coin image for illustration purpose only

6. Duchy of Prussia, silver groschen

Country Yr. of issue Prussia AD 1534-45

Weight │Diameter 1.7-2 g │22.5-24 mm

Obverse:│ Bust of │Albert facing right This silver coin features a portrait of Albert of Prussia, the first Reverse: Eagle with S on breast European ruler to adopt Lutheranism as a state religion. Coin image for illustration purpose only

Box measures: 7.25” x 5.5” Order code: 6MONUMENTALFIGURESBOX All coins in each set are protected in an archival capsule and beautifully displayed in a mahogany-like box. The box set is accompanied with a story card, certificate of authenticity, and a black gift box.