A Constantine the Great gold 9 solidi realised $198,000 in a sale of rare coins at Bonhams Los Angeles on September 14.

The coin dates to around AD 307-337 and would likely have been presented as a diplomatic gift to an ally of Rome.

Constantine the Great was the first Christian emperor of Rome

Bonhams explained in the run-up to the sale: "The present lot appears to be related by subject to small group of gold medallions and coins that was discovered in the village of Helleville, near Cherbourg in Normandy, France in 1780."

Only a handful of pieces from the hoard were ever recovered. The majority are believed to have been melted down for their gold value.

The present lot is one of the largest Constantine medallions to auction in recent years.

An MS62 graded US 1929 $5 also sold well, with a final bid of $42,120.

The auction house comments: "The generous mintage figure of 662,000 pieces does not suggest a rare date, but due to the Gold Reserve Act of 1934 which made private ownership of gold coins illegal (save for coins with numismatic value), many of these then-common half eagles were either never released or turned in to the Treasury and subsequently melted."

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