Roman Bronze Coins

Bust of Aelius facing right / Pannonia Standing

Brass Sestertius of Antoninus Pius struck in Rome in AD 142. About Very Fine

Bronze Sestertius of the Emperor Antoninus Pius.

Caracalla. A.D. 198-217. Rome - A.D. 213-215. Æ Dupondius. Radiate, draped & cuir. bust R. / 'PROVIDENTIAE DEORVM' with 'S-C' either side of Providentia stg. L. holding a sceptre & a wand over a globe. Very Fine & Scarce.

Before the Crisis of the Third Century most cities in the Roman Empire did not have walls, dried fruit from Syria could be bought in Britain and copper from Cornwall was traded in Egypt! Carinus was in his early thirties when he was made Caesar by Carus, his father, in A.D. 282. More competent than his brother, Numerian, he quelled disturbances in Gaul & Germania. He returned to Rome in charge of the West while his father and brother went to war in the East in A.D. 283. Bias sources have him marrying then divorcing nine women, forcing others into affairs and murdering people he deemed disrespectful. Regardless, he never saw Carus or Numerian again but in their place returned Diocletian at the head of the victorious eastern army. In July A.D. 285 they met at the Battle of the Margus River (the modern Morava River) in Moesia. Legends state Carinus was winning when he was betrayed and stabbed in the back for forcing himself on that person’s wife. Some name them as his Praetorian Prefect and joint Consul, Aristobulus, which appears to have some truth as Diocletian kept Aristobulus in service and later made him governor of multiple provinces. So maybe some of those rumours were right! But judging by the two year run of coins for his wife, Magnia Urbica, the marrying rumour isn’t. This ended what we call ‘The Crisis of the Third Century’ as Diocletian stabilised the Roman Empire with the Tetrarchy system. We offer you Antoninianus of Carinus, the last emperor of the Crisis, in Very Fine Condition with a variety of reverses. After his death what we call a ‘Damnatio Memoriae’ was enacted, Diocletian destroyed his inscriptions and coins, trying to wipe him from the record. This means he is Scarce and a difficult coin to find. Don’t miss out on your chance to get one of these coins!

Billon Antoninianus of Maximian (286-306 A.D.) in Extremely Fine condition showing his radiate bust on the obverse and with various reverses.

Probus became emperor in AD 276 after overthrowing the emperor Florianus. A native of the city of Sirmium in what is now Serbia, he rose to prominence and proved himself a capable administrator and commander and is recognised as an emperor who contributed to the revival of the Roman Empire at a time of severe turmoil and crisis. In AD 277/8 his armies defeated the Goths, Alamanni, Longiones, Franks, and Burgundians. He realised that the best way to keep his soldiers out of trouble was to keep them busy so, with the frontiers of the empire stabilised, he set his men to the task of rebuilding the shattered infrastructure of key provinces that had crumbled under previous emperors by building roads, bridges and fortifications, draining marshes, digging canals and, interestingly, planting extensive vineyards. New plantations sprang up across Europe and there is mention in some records of Probus authorising the planting of vineyards in Britain too so we may still be enjoying the fruits of his labours today! These Antoninianus, or ‘Ants’ as we call them, are as good as they come, virtually as struck and with original lustre. There are a variety of reverse types most with standing figures but a limited number available in this grade.

Constantine the Great 307-337 AD - treasure trove roman bronze coin with London Mint Mark.

Licinius 308-324 AD - treasure trove roman bronze coin with London Mint Mark

Constans. A.D. 337-350. Billion Maiorina

Constantine I 'the Great'. A.D. 307-337. Heraclea - A.D. 312. Æ Follis. 'IMP C FL VAL CONSTANTINVS P F INV AVG' Laureate head right / 'IOVI CONSERVATORI AVGG' Jupiter standing left wearing chlamys, holding globe & sceptre; wreath in left field, 'A' in right. As Struck & Very Scarce. 'INV' on obverse is Very Scarce & stands for 'Invictus' meaning unconquered. An exemplary coin of Constantine the Great.

Constantine I 'the Great'. A.D. 307-337. Rome - A.D. 326. Æ 3. Laureate head right / 'PROVIDENTIAE AVGG' Two turreted military camp gateway; above, star. Extremely Fine & Scarce in this grade. This was made the year Constantine founded Constantinople.

This is one of a handful of very interesting commemorative issues struck by Constantine the Great. The type offered here is one of the two more affordable types and was made for the founding of Constantinople in A.D. 330. They are made from bronze and show the Goddess of the city, ‘Constantinopolis’, in a helmet and war gear on the obverse. The reverse shows the goddess of Victory on the prow of a ship holding a sceptre and shield. This is to symbolise the port being captured using ships by Constantine’s son, Crispus. On a small amount of these reverses, the prow will be facing towards Victory, this is because the engravers making the designs didn’t realise the goddess was meant to be on the ship! There are enough variations in mintmarks and the styles of the designs on these to form a collection of these types alone. But the most interesting about these coins is how well they have survived! At this time bronze coins would circulate so heavily that it is very hard to find them in a good grade. We have a small collection of this commemorative from 1600 years ago in this exceptional almost Extremely Fine grade.

This is a very interesting Ancient Roman commemorative coin of Constantine the Great. It was issued to commemorate the founding of Constantinople. You have the bust of Constantine the Great on one side and a standing goddess with wings on the other. Roman commemorative coins tend to be scarce and expensive. This is one of only two commemoratives that is both reasonable and available. They are struck in copper and we have them in Fine, they represent a very important historic event.

Bronze As of the Emperor Domitian who was the younger brother of Titus and the son of Vespasian.

Gallienus ruled as sole emperor from A.D. 260-268 during one of the most difficult times in the history of the empire. Not only was the empire facing natural disasters and invasions on all sides but he had to face at least eight rebellions from his own governors and generals! He issued a fantastic group of bronze Antoninianus coins to honour the Gods, asking for their protection against these troubles. Though made in Europe, these coins were used in Britain and are a large part of the Mildenhall Hoard in the British Museum. Depicted on these coins are a variety of animals, some real and some mythical, each linked to one of the Roman deities. This series is known as the 'Gallienus Zoo Coins' and make a great set to try to complete. From this series, we offer here the Gazelle, identified as different to the antelope by the numbers ‘XI’ or ‘XII’ underneath and the straight horns. These are designed to honour Diana, the sister of Apollo and the goddess of the hunt. This is likely to bring luck to hunting and like her brother, for plagues and disease. The coins are at least Very Fine but because of the chaos at the time remember they may be a little weakly struck. As always the first to order will get the best. This is the last to complete the set we have available!

Gordian III. A.D. 238-244. Moesia Superior, Viminacium. Æ 30. Laur. bust R. / Moesia stg. L. between bull & lion. Good Fine.

Gordian III. A.D. 238-244. Rome - A.D. 241-243. Æ Sestertius. Laur. bust R. / 'AETERNITATI AVG' Sol stg. L. holding globe & saluting. Good Fine.

Hadrian. A.D. 117-138. Rome - A.D. 127. Æ Sestertius. Laureate bust right, slight drapery on far shoulder / ‘COS III’ Roma seated left on cuirass, foot on helmet, holding Victory & cornucopiae; shield at side to right; ‘SC’ below. About Very Fine with a solid portrait & Scarce. Roma is the personification of the city of Rome!

Kingdom of Thrace. Rhoemetalces I. 11 B.C. - A.D. 12. Æ 19. Jugate heads of Rhoemetalces & Queen Pythodoris to R. / Bare head of Augustus R. About Very Fine

Lucilla, Wife of Lucius Verus, AD164-169, Ӕ Dupondius. Rev. VENUS, Venus standing left holding apple and sceptre, SC in field. [S. 5524] Good very fine+ condition.

About Extremely Fine and scarce.

Maxentius. A.D. 307-312. Ostia - A.D. 309. Æ Follis. Laureate head right / 'AETERNITAS AVG N' Castor & Pollux, The Dioscuri, standing facing each other holding bridle of horse & sceptre; Romulus & Remus feeding from she-wolf in the middle. About Extremely Fine & Scarce type with Romulus & Remus. This is the year Spain declares for Constantine against Maxentius, they are on the way to the Milvian Bridge

Nerva. A.D. 96-98. Rome - Sept-Dec A.D. 97. Æ Sestertius. Laureate head right / 'FORTVNA AVGVST' Fortuna standing left, holding rudder and cornucopiae; 'S-C' across fields. Very Fine & Rare. This coin asks for fortune for the emperor. An impressive portrait of Nerva this highlights his aquiline nose.

Bronze AE25 minted at Perge, the capital of Pamphylia (modern day Antalya, Turkey) in the reign of Maximinus I.