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.

Carinus, as Augustus, AD 283-285, AE. Antoninianus. Obverse. Radiate draped and cuirassed bust of Carinus facing to right. Reverse. Aeternitas standing to left holding Phoenix on a globe, KAΓ in exergue. [S.12341] Near mint with good amount of silvering on obverse and almost full silvering on reverse. Scarce in this grade.

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! To finish our series we offer the last emperor of the Crisis from the final and short dynasty, Carinus. 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 this last emperor from our series.

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

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.

Constantius II. A.D. 337-361. Constantinople - A.D. 348-351. Billon heavy Maiorina. Diademed, cuirassed & draped bust right / 'FEL TEMP REPARATIO' Soldier spearing fallen horseman left; 'CONSA*' in Ex. Extremely Fine & Scarce in this grade. Part of the reform in A.D. 348 these only lasted about 6 years before being replaced with a coin with less silver. Very attractive coin.

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. The last we offer from this series is of 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) was one of the most able and conscientious of Roman Emperors. He spent his reign visiting the vast majority of his provinces. Consolidating and strengthening the Empire’s defences after the expansion by his predecessor, Trajan. The most famous example of his work was Hadrian’s Wall! Which spread from the River Tyne in the East, to the River Solway in the West: at 73 miles (117.5 kilometres) it is the largest Roman monument anywhere in the world! Own a Roman bronze coin of Hadrian called an ‘As’. These are well circulated, I.E Very Good grade, and at a very reasonable price. The coins have his portrait visible but please don’t expect a lot more at this price.

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.

Numerian was the younger son of the emperor Carus and was a man of considerable literary talents and remarkably easy going. So at the time of the aggressive Carus’ death in enemy territory, Persia, he probably was not the man you wanted in charge! Luckily Numerian was partially blinded by an eye infection so the campaign was successfully concluded by his generals in late A.D. 283. But Numerian’s bad health continued, and while the army was slowly progressing back home he travelled all the way in a closed litter. Still alive at Emesa (according to an inscription found by archaeologists) he did not reach Nicomedia and in November A.D. 284 was discovered dead in the litter by the soldiers who apparently noticed the smell! More likely he was murdered, whether by his father in law Arrius Aper, the commander of the Praetorian Guard, or by Diocles, the leader of his personal bodyguard. Diocles won the ensuing popularity contest and slew Arrius Aper on stage as he accepted the purple. He changed his Greek name to the Latin Diocletian and the stage was set for the last great showdown of the Crisis of the Third Century....... The coins we offer are Antoninianus of Numerian which grade Good Very Fine and have a variety of reverses. Only in power two years, his coins are fairly Scarce, this means we have a limited number and it will be a gap in most collections, don’t miss out.

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