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This remarkable collection of genuine coins traces the history of the Empire from the late second
through the fourth centuries, a period of tumult and uncertainty, when emperors came and went,
almost none of them dying of natural causes.
The Roman Empire was the greatest the world had ever known. Its dominions stretched from Britain to Persia, from the Maghreb
to Northern Europe, and encompassed every inch of shoreline along the great Mediterranean Sea. While Rome endured for
centuries, establishing a system of colonization and administration that is still copied today, the Empire was always on the brink
of collapse. Indeed, the definitive history of Rome, Edward Gibbon’s The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire,
covers the period from 98 through 1590 CE. In other words, Rome’s decline and fall lasted for almost 15 centuries!
This remarkable collection of genuine bronze coins traces the history of the Empire from the late second through the fourth
centuries, a period of tumult and uncertainty, when emperors came and went, almost none of them dying of natural causes.
Indeed, the entire history of the Roman Empire is revealed in its coinage. Coins were the newspapers of their day, used not only
to exchange for goods and services, but to share information. The portraits, legends, and reverse iconographies describe the
adoration of the emperors and their heirs and families, and communicate imperial agendas in the realms of politics, religion,
domestic life and the military. All of this history is handed down to us on these ancient coins.
1. Gallienus, the Egalitarian (253-268)
While this hard-nosed emperor, who assumed sole control of the empire after the death of his
father, Valerian I, in 260, believed sincerely that he was a demigod come down to earth, he still
managed to implement important reforms in the military. His decision to bar senators from
serving as military commanders allowed more equestrians to fill those positions, encouraging a
meritocracy that would continue when the seat of the empire moved from Rome to
Constantinople. Before his assassination, Gallienus lost a chunk of the empire, including
Gaul—lands it would never recover. Christianity was first legalized via Gallienus’ Edict of
Toleration—only to be made illegal later. W: 1.8-3.9g │D:18-22.5mm
2. Claudius II, Gothicus (268-270)
Claudius was the commander of the Roman army that resoundingly defeated the Goths at the
Battle of Naissus in 268, giving him the sobriquet Gothicus. His savvy promise to pay a bonus
to his troops for installing him on the throne hastened his rise to power. After Naissus, Claudius
chased the Goths throughout the eastern part of the kingdom in a quest to repulse them from the
Balkans. His death of a plague thought to be smallpox was deeply mourned in the Empire, and
he was declared a god by the Senate. W: 2.3-4.5g │D: 17-21mm
3. Tetricus I, the Well-Bred (271-274)
In 269, during the Age of Chaos, the breakaway Gallic Empire began to crumble with the death
of its founder, Postumus, and his successor, Victorinus, who was killed by one of his officers,
whose wife he’d seduced. The slain emperor’s mother, Victoria, served as de facto empress
after her son was killed, paying vast sums of money in 271 to install a well-bred general,
Tetricus I, as emperor. By then, the tide had turned. Fickle generals abandoned the Gallic
emperors, pledging allegiance to the new Roman Emperor, Aurelian. Tetricus surrendered to
him in 274. After being paraded through Rome as trophies, he was spared death by Aurelian in
exchange for his obeisance. W: 1.8-3.9g │D: 17-21mm
4. Aurelian, the Father of Christmas (270-275)
In the year 274, the winter solstice fell on 25 December. The Emperor Aurelian proclaimed that
fixed date the Natalis Solis Invicti, the festival of the sun. Early Christians, who in those days
worshiped in secret for fear of being fed to the lions, could not celebrate the birth of Jesus in the
open. They appropriated the Natalis Solis Invicti for their own purposes, to avoid detection by
Roman police. Christmas has been observed on 25 December ever since. It was during the fiveyear reign of Aurelian that the Alamanni, Goths, Vandals, Juthungi, Sarmatians, and Carpians
were decisively defeated, and the breakaway empires of Gaul and Palmyra restored, providing
some respite in the Roman Age of Chaos. In 275, the Praetorian Guard honored these impressive
accomplishments by stabbing Aurelian in the back repeatedly. W: 2.7-3.7g │D:21-24mm
5. Probus, the Builder (276-282)
Probus delivered Gaul from the ravages of the Germans, pursued them across the Rhine, and
everywhere defeated them. He also suppressed several insurrections, and employed his soldiers
in various useful works such as planting vineyards, building roads and canals and bridges in
Egypt. The soldiers rebelled against these menial tasks to such an extent that they proclaimed a
new emperor and put Probus to death. W: 3-3.8g │D:21-23.5mm
6. Maximianus I, the Brawny (286-310)
The Age of Chaos, also known as Military Anarchy and the Crisis of the Third Century, was a fifty-year period of
extreme volatility that almost saw the disintegration of the mighty Roman Empire. No fewer than 20 would-be
emperors claimed the throne, a veritable parade of usurpers, most of whom were dead within a year or two. The
empire splintered into three rival states vying for ultimate power, barbarians of every stripe invaded almost constantly,
and the so-called Plague of Cyprian killed off those emperors (and soldiers) who did not meet a violent end. The Age
of Chaos did not end until the reign of Diocletian. His second in command was Maximian, a soldier’s solider, a tough
commander who fought in important battles against the Goths. He also fought extensively in Britain. He declared
himself Augustus in 310, when the emperor Constantine was off on a campaign in the Rhine, but his sole reign did not
last long. When Constantine discovered the betrayal, he gave Maximian the choice between execution or suicide.
Maximian chose the latter. W: 1.9-3g │D:18.5-20mm
7. Constantine I, the Great (293-337)
In 305 CE, Constantine I became emperor. Not since the glory days of the Julio-Augustan dynasty has a Roman
Emperor exerted such profound influence on the world. In 312, while at battle, Constantine had a vision of a flaming
cross in the sky at noon. He interpreted this as a sign that he should engage his legions in a holy war to wrest control
of the entire Roman Empire, and to proclaim Christianity as the state religion. Guided by divine inspiration, he
succeeded, winning territory from the Franks, the Visigoths, and the Sarmatians, and expanding imperial territory.
Constantine the Great’s other accomplishments include issuing the Edict of Milan, which made legal the practice of
Christianity; founding the Byzantine Empire in the city that bore his name, Constantinople (now Istanbul); working
with Pope Sylvester I to establish the Papacy in Rome; and building the Old St. Peter’s Basilica, the Church of the
Holy Sepulchre, and the Arch of Constantine. W: 1.5-3.5g │ D: 15-23mm
8. Licinius I, the Libertarian (308-324)
Ruling alongside Constantine I, Licinius was the co-author of the famed Edict of
Milan, which legalized the Christian religion within the empire once and for all. His
alliance with his co-emperor was never a steady one, however. In time, Rome was
roiled with civil war. Licinius fell to Constantine in 324, and was executed. W: 1.53g │D: 17.5-23.5mm
9. Constantine II
10. Constantius II
11. Constans I
12.Constantius Gallus
9. Constantine II (337-340) | 10. Constantius II (337-361)
11. Constans I (337-350) | 12. Constantius Gallus (351-354)
The Sons & Heirs
Constantine the Great’s sons—Constantine II, Constans I and Constantius II—all ascended to power, establishing the
Constantinian Dynasty, the most significant since the days of Caesar Augustus. After slaughtering all other pretenders to the
throne, the threesome divvied up the empire among them. The balance of power did not last. Constans arranged for the
ambush of his older brother Constantine II, and took possession of the Western half of the empire. When the usurper
Magnentius killed Constans, Constantius II avenged his brother’s death. To help manage the vast empire, he elevated his
cousin Constantius Gallus to the rank of Caesar, only to have him executed three years later.
Constantine II- W: 2-4g │D: 16.8-19.5mm,
Constantius II-W: 1-3g│D:16.5-21mm
Constans I-W: 1-3.5g │D:15-21.5mm,
Constantius Gallus- W: 2-5g │D:14.5-21mm
13. Julian II, the Apostate (361-363)
A cousin of Constantius II, Julian routed the hated Alamanni at the famed Battle of
Argentoratum despite being badly outnumbered. In the provincial city that would one
day be called Paris, he was given the title Augustus by his soldiers, and moved to
depose his cousin. Before blood could be shed, Constantius died, and Julian took the
throne. A man of letters with a bent for history, Julian sought to return Rome to its
traditional value system by ridding it of Christianity. He was the last non-Christian
Roman Emperor. W:1.5-2.5g | D: 14.5-19mm
14. Valentinian I, the Cruel (364-375)
Valentinian was a stout, brave, rough man of limited education but strong faith, a soldier
named emperor. As soon as he reached Constantinople, he divided the empire with his
brother Valens, whom he left to rule the East, while he himself went to govern the West,
chiefly from Milan. Emperors by now were not fond of living at Rome, partly because the
remains of the Senate interfered with their full grandeur, and partly because there were old
customs that were anathema to the Christian faith. When he was angry he could be cruel;
it is said he kept two bears to whom criminals were thrown. W:1.5-2.5g | D: 16.5-18mm
Valens
15. Valens (364-378)
16. Gratian (375-383)
The Last True Romans
Valens became the Eastern Roman Emperor in 364. Although a fine administrator
and a staunch Christian, Valens was not a military man. He led a series of
unsuccessful campaigns against the Goths, culminating in his death at the disastrous
Battle of Hadrianopolis in 378, when he stubbornly refused to wait for
reinforcements. This decisive defeat heralded the disintegration of the Roman
Empire, a moment recognized even by contemporary historians. His nephew Gratian,
the son of Valens’ brother the Emperor Valentinian I, ascended to the throne of the
Western Empire in 375. An able military leader in his youth, Gratian lost the faith of
the army after the massacre at Hadrianopolis. He was killed in a coup in 383.
Valens - W: 2-3.5g | D: 16.5-19.5mm
Gratian - W: 1-4g | D: 11.5-23mm
Gratian
Valentinian II
17. Valentinian II (375-392)
18. Theodosius I (378-395)
Defenders of the Faith
In the West, Valentinian I had been succeeded by his sons Gratian and Valentinian II.
The former was assassinated by a usurper, Maximus, who also deprived Valentinian
II of his province of Italia. Theodosius, who had been appointed by Gratian, defeated
the usurper in 388, restoring the young Emperor to his throne. Frankish insurgents
strangled to death the 21-year-old Valentinian II in 392. Theodosius marched against
the rebels, defeating them in 394, reuniting the empire. He belonged to the orthodox
Christian faith, and sought to suppress Arianism, as well as many other perceived
heresies which had crept into the Christian Church. He was a prudent ruler, and
resisted successfully the inroads of the barbarians. Theodosius the Great, as he is now
known, died of dropsy in Milan in 395.
Valentinian II-W: 0.5-6g | D: 11-23mm
Theodosius I-W: 0.9-2.5g | D: 10.5-16.2mm
Theodosius I
19. Arcadius, the Vain (383-408)
The elder son of Emperor Theodosius I and Aelia Flaccilla, Arcadius, like almost all
the children of the Roman Emperors, was vain and weak, spoiled by growing up in
luxury. Arcadius, who was eighteen, had the East, and was under the charge of a
conniving Roman officer called Rufinus, whose unsound military advice almost cost
the young Emperor his throne to the hated Goths. Arcadius died in 408 in his palace
at Constantinople. W: 0.7-2.5g | D: 11.5-18.5mm
20. Honorius, the Hapless (375-383)
Honorius was the son of Theodosius the Great, the last emperor to rule over both the
Eastern and Western Roman Empires. In the long annals of Rome, the hapless
Honorius was arguably the worst ruler to take the throne. It was under his watch that
the unthinkable happened in the year410—Rome fell to the Visigoths. As St. Jerome
wrote at the time, “The city that had taken the entire world was itself taken.”
W: 0.9-2.5g | D: 13-18mm
Although Roman emperors tended to rule for short periods of time, each new emperor took the throne believing that his reign would
last for decades. Among the first official actions a new emperor would take was to arrange for his portrait to appear on the coinage of
the time. For most citizens of the vast realm, this was the only image of the emperor they would ever see. A bust of the emperor
would be sent to the mint where a skilled artisan would carefully hand sculpt, in incredibly minute detail, a set of iron dies—without
the aid of glasses, magnifiers or other equipment. The reverse side was typically a military or religious theme. To create the coins, a
hot metal coin blank was held between the dies. The upper die would be hit with a heavy hammer to create the impression in the hot,
soft metal.
Coins circulated for long periods of time. Most coins of the era were lost to history—corroded, melted down, or otherwise worn
away. Now and again, collectors come into possession of “hoards” of buried coins. It is from these hoards that these coins were handselected for this remarkable collection.
Order Code: 20ROMBOX-G
Each coin is protected in an archival capsule and beautifully displayed in a deluxe case. Each collection comes with an
informational booklet, certificate of authenticity, and a plaque inscribed with a list of the coins. The deluxe case is packaged
in an attractive black gift box.
Box measures approximately: 13 ¾" X 6 ¾" X 1 ½". Coin images are for illustration purpose only and are not to scale. The
coin grades will vary in the collection.