THE hand of God appears on a com-memorative coin struck after the

death of Constantine the Great in 337AD. It was issued by his sons, and it wasthe first time that the hand of God hadappeared on the coins of Christian rulers.On the coin Constantine drives a char-iot drawn by four horses and he reachesup with his right hand to the hand of Godwho reaches down to receive him intoheaven. (Figure 1). As a symbol in relig-ious art the hand of God had appearedearlier in a wall-painting (Figure 2) inthe synagogue at Dura-Europos, whichwas a town in the Syrian desert on thebanks of the Euphrates River. The townwas destroyed by the Sasanians in about257 AD but excavations in 1932 revealedthe wall-painting. In it Abraham standswith a knife in his hand ready to sacri-fice his son, Isaac, as recorded in Gene-sis 22: 1-19. The hand of God appears at

the top of the picture, but exactly what itmeans is unclear: it might signify God’sapproval of Abraham, it might be indi-cating the ram caught in the bush, or itmight simply represent God speaking toAbraham. In any case it shows that thehand of God on Constantine’s coin had aprecedent in Jewish art.A similar hand appears on a Christiansarcophagus. (Figure 3) In the panel theprophet Elijah is being carried up toheaven in a chariot, as recorded in 2Kings 2: 11-13. With his upraised righthand he is giving his cloak to his suc-cessor Elisha. Although the sarcophagusis known as the sarcophagus of Stilicho,who died in 408 AD, it was probably madein about 385 AD. Therefore it could nothave been the prototype for Constan-tine’s ascension coin, although the ideaof Elijah ascending to heaven could wellhave had an influence. Perhaps more

influential was the idea of the sun-goddriving his chariot across the sky. Coinswith this image had appeared previously.(Figure 4) Although Constantine wasbaptized just before his death there isnothing specifically Christian about hiscommemorative coin. His life fitted moreeasily with the Old Testament, whichemphasized war. A chariot drawn byfour horses used to be driven by Romanemperors in the triumphal processionthat occurred when they returned toRome after victory in battle. (Figure 5)Another symbol of victory was a laurelwreath, and many ancient coins showthe emperor wearing a wreath or thegoddess Victory holding a wreath. (Figure6) The hand of God holding a wreath firstappears on a gold medallion issued byConstantine the Great on the occasion ofhis son, Constantius, becoming a Caesarin 323 AD. (Figure 7) The hand comesout of a cloud to put a wreath on Con-stantine’s head while the goddess Victory

Figure 1 – Reverse of a bronze coin issued after the death of Constantine the Greatin 337 AD. It is 16 mms in diameter. Sear 3889.

Figure 2 – Wall-painting in the synagogue atDura-Europos. (Wikimedia Commons)

‘The Creation of Adam’ by Michelangelo. Image courtesy Wikipedia.

crowns Constantius in the old paganway. The hand of God holding a wreathappears regularly on coins of the em-peror Arcadius and his family. (Figure 8)Arcadius ruled at Constantinople from383 to 408 AD, and his son, TheodosiusII, until 450 AD. The wreath is held aboveArcadius’s head, but on other coins God’shand has to reach in from various direc-

tions depending on the design on thecoin. For example, on a coin of Honorius,the brother of Arcadius, the hand reachesin from the side (Figure 9) because ifthe hand came from above, the size ofthe figure would have to be reduced, andemperors did not like to be reduced. Onmany coins of Christian emperors theold pagan image was retained, as onanother coin of Honorius. (Figure 10). When a new dynasty came into powerwith Justin I (518-527 AD) the handholding a wreath does not appear ontheir coins except in rare instances, butduring the reign of Justinian II (685-695 and 705-711 AD) an image of Christappeared on a gold coin. (Figure 11) Hishand and the position of his fingers were

of particular significance, and there wastherefore no need for a separate hand ofGod. On the coin Christ has his indexand middle fingers almost straight, butthe others are bent. This was a gesture ofspeech (Word) and blessing (power), butthe Church also perceived it theologically:the two almost straight fingers symbol-ized the human and divine natures ofChrist while the other three symbolizedthe Trinity (Father, Son and Holy Spirit).In the 7th century a new religion, Islam,rose out of Arabia, and the Muslims didnot tolerate images of any kind. Imageshad also been forbidden in Jewish law.Since the Muslim armies were success-ful in battle the Christian emperors inConstantinople thought that this might

Figure 3 – Cast of the so-called Sarcophagus of Stilicho. The original is in St Ambrogio Basilicain Milan. It was made in the 4th century for a high ranking Christian. (Wikimedia Commons)

Figure 4 – Antoninianus of Probus (276-282AD) showing the sun-god in his chariot. Sear3370. Probus wears a radiate crown, whichidentifies him with the sun-god.

Figure 5 – Denarius of Tiberius (14-37 AD)showing him driving a quadriga. Sear 1762.This year is the two thousandth anniversaryof his accession.

Figure 6 – An antoninianus of Trajan Decius(249-251 AD). On the reverse the goddess Vic-tory holds a wreath. Sear 9387.

Figure 6a – Detail of Figure 6. The skill of thedie-engraver is evident on this coin, which isonly 20 mms in diameter.

Figure 7 – Gold medallion of Constantine theGreat issued on the occasion of his son, Con-stantius II, becoming a Caesar in 323 AD.(This is a coloured photocopy of the image onpage 160 of Rivista Italiana di Numismaticae Scienze Affini, Vol. XCIV, 1992. The imageis reproduced with the permission of the So-cieta Numismatica Italiana. The medallion isin the Vienna Museum.)

have been because the Christians hadso many images, especially of Christ, anda period of iconoclasm ensued. Duringthis period, which lasted (with a fewinterruptions) from 726 to 843 AD, agreat number of religious images weredestroyed, and neither Christ nor thehand of God appeared on the coins. Anexception was a solidus of Constantine V(741-775 AD), which shows a hand abovebusts of Constantine and his co-emperor,Leo IV. (Figure 12) The hand probablyindicates divine approval. Although Con-stantine V was an iconoclast this coin

was minted in Rome where the popesapproved of religious images. Constan-tine himself was, of course, far away inConstantinople.After the period of iconoclasm theimage of Christ reappears on coins, e.g. ona solidus of Michael III (Figure 13), andthe hand of God also reappears. MichaelV is shown on a solidus with the Arch-angel Michael (Figure 14), but he didnot want to be reduced in size and thehand comes up from below. The emperorconsidered himself to be Christ’s repre-sentative on earth and he is wrapped in

Figure 8 – Bronze coin of Arcadius (383-408AD). Notice the sleeve on God’s hand as inFigure 1, and the Christian cross on the re-verse. Sear 4229.

Figure 9 – Solidus of Honorius (393-423 AD). RIC 1310.(Numismatica Ars Classica, Auction 67, lot 396)

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the loros, which symbolized the shroud inwhich Christ’s body was enveloped, andhe would not want to be shown smallerthan a mere angel, albeit the ArchangelMichael. The hand coming from belowmight have been an omen because hewas apparently rather wicked. On a goldhyperpyron of Alexius I (Figure 15) Godhas to stretch out so far that his wholearm is seen. The hand of God without a wreath isprominent on coins minted in Englandfrom 899 to 1016 AD, during the lateAnglo-Saxon period. An open hand ex-tends down out of a cloud as on thesolidus minted at Rome by ConstantineV. Alfred the Great, the Christian kingof Wessex, (871-899 AD) visited Romeand he might have seen Constantine’scoin. But the hand of God does not appearon Alfred’s coins although it does on thoseof his son, Edward (899-924 AD) andespecially on those of his descendantAethelred II (978-1016 AD). Alfred wasa scholar and he founded the PalaceSchool, which his son attended. Accord-ing to William of Malmesbury, a 12th cen-tury historian, Alfred was translatingthe Psalms from Latin into West-Saxonat the time of his death. Surprisinglythere is a manuscript known as the ParisPsalter (Manuscript 8824 in the Biblio-thèque Nationale in Paris) that containsthe Psalms in a West-Saxon version, andmany scholars believe that the first fifty

psalms were actually translated by Alfred.Like King David, the supposed originalcomposer of the Psalms, Alfred was suc-cessful in battle, and the first fifty psalmscontain several passages that stand outin their emphasis on the hand of God asa metaphor for his almighty power. Forexample, Psalm 20:6,7 reads:

Now I know that the Lord saves his anointed,he answers him from his holy heavenwith the saving power of his right hand.Some trust in chariots and some in horses,but we trust in the name of our God. (NIV)

So Alfred could well have provided themotivation behind the symbol of thehand of God that appeared on the coins ofEdward and Aethelred II. Edward, likehis father, was successful in battle, andis ranked with the greatest of England’swarrior kings. In the warrior cultureof Anglo-Saxon England the hand thatappeared on the coins would have rep-resented the power of God that was withthese Christian kings as they defeatedthe Danes and other pagan invaders.Christopher Blunt, Ian Stewart andStewart Lyon, the authors of Coinage inTenth Century England, list six moneyerswho issued ‘hand coins’ during Edward’sreign. The king’s name and title appearin a circular legend on the obverse ofthese coins with a small cross in thecentre. On the reverse there is a handwith the moneyer’s name (Figure 16).

Figure 10 – Solidus of Honorius (393-423AD) showing Honorius being crowned by thegoddess Victory. Sear 4244. (ArtCoins Roma,Auction 6, Lot 1269)

Figure 11 – Solidus of Justinian II (685-685 and 705-711 AD). Sear Byz. Coins 1248. (Gorny& Mosch Giessener Münzhandlung, Auction 207, Lot 815)

Figure 13 – Solidus of Michael III (842-867AD). Sear Byz. Coins 1688. (St James’s Auc-tions, Auction 23, Lot 78)

Figure 12 – Solidus of Constantine V (741-775 AD). Sear Byz. Coins 1573. This is a photocopyof the image in Sear. It is reproduced with the permission of Spink & Son Ltd, London.

Edward’s ‘hand coins’ are rare, but alarge proportion of the coins of AethelredII are ‘hand coins’. Unlike Edward’s coinsAethelred’s coins usually show the handbetween the Greek letters, Alpha andOmega. (Figure 17) These are the firstand last letters in the Greek alphabetand they refer to Jesus saying in theBook of Revelation that he is the Alphaand the Omega (Rev. 1: 8). The additionof these letters to the coins leaves no

doubt that the hand should be seen in aChristian context. The idea of showingthese Greek letters would have comefrom Roman coins issued in about 353AD by Magnentius and Constantius II.(Figure 18) In catalogues and books the hand ofGod on all these coins is often calledmanus Dei,which is simply ‘hand of God’in Latin. As we no longer live in theRoman Empire or in an age when Latinwas spoken, its use should be avoided.Similarly the term, ‘hand of Providence’,which appears frequently, especially inreference to Anglo-Saxon coins, shouldbe avoided. Providence is divine activityin the world, but the more direct term,‘hand of God’, is preferable. The hand ofGod as a Christian symbol on coins hashad a chequered history since it firstappeared in the 4th century.

NOTE: This is an abbreviated version ofa talk given by the author in Brisbane onthe 9th November 2013 at the biennialconference of the Numismatic Associationof Australia. Unless otherwise stated theillustrated coins are from the author’scollection. After researching for and writ-ing the original version of this article anarticle with rather similar content (exceptconcerning Anglo-Saxon coinage) wasfound in the Italian journal, Rivista Ital-iana di Numismatica e Scienze Affini,(Vol. XCIV, 1992, pp. 143-61). The article isin French and is entitled, ‘La main de Dieu:son origine Hébraïque, son symbolismemonétaire durant le bas empire Romain’.The author is Guy Lacam.

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Figure 14 – Solidus of Michael V (1041-1042AD). Sear Byz. Coins 1826. (Classical Numis-matic Group)

Figure 17 – Penny of Aethelred II (978-1016AD). SCBC 1144.

Figure 16 – Reverse of a penny of Edward theElder (899-924 AD). Moneyer: Athulf. (Photo-copy of Coin 17 on Plate 5 in Coinage inTenth-Century England from Edward theElder to Edgar’s Reform [Oxford, 1989] by C.Blunt, B.H.H. Stewart and C.S.S. Lyon. ©The British Academy.)

Figure 18 – Double centenionalis of Magnen-tius (350-353 AD). Sear 4017.

Figure 19 – The hand of God in Michelan-gelo’s painting on the ceiling of the SistineChapel. (Wikimedia Commons)

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(see coupon on page XX)Figure 15 – Gold hyperpyron of Alexius I(1081-1118 AD). Sear Byz. Coins 1912. (Numis-matik Lanz München, Auction 135, Lot 1013)