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This Remarkable Collection of Genuine Coins 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 five- year 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: 1.5- 3g │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.
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