Roman Bronze Coins

Constantine I. A.D. 307-337., LONDON - A.D. 310. Æ Follis. Laureate bust right / 'SOLI INVICTO COMITI' Sol, radiate & draped, stg. left holding globe; '*' in left field with 'PLN' in exergue. About Extremely Fine.

From the series of the famous Constantinian Dynasty, we are now offering Constantine II, the son who thought that he should have ruled alone as the eldest. Probably born in A.D. 316 to Constantine the Great, Constantine Junior was raised to the rank of Caesar very young in A.D. 317, showing some military prowess in the next 20 years. On the death of his father in A.D. 337, he was made Senior Augustus and given Spain, Gaul, and Britain to rule. He thought he deserved more so set out to take from his younger brother, Constans, in Italy. But Constantine was ambushed by his brother’s troops and killed in A.D. 340, lasting only three years. We offer bronze coins struck A.D. 330-337 with the reverse ‘GLORIA EXERCITVS’ or ‘Glory to the Army’. Here we offer the coin in Very Fine, very reasonable for a coin almost 2,000 years old. Get it now, so you won't feel jealous later...

Galerius as Caesar. A.D. 293-305., Rome - A.D. 294-297. Billon Follis. Laureate bust right / 'GENIO POPVLI ROMANI' Genius stg. left holding patera & cornucopiae. Very Fine with silvering.

Maxentius was born around A.D. 283 to the Emperor Maximian who ruled the Roman Empire with Diocletian in the Tetrarchy system. They retired in A.D. 305 and Maxentius was ignored by the new senior emperor, Galerius, in the reshuffle, so in A.D. 306 he seized power in Rome, eventually coaxing his father from retirement for support. He formed an alliance with Constantine (the Great) leaving him in control of Italy and North Africa and Constantine in Britain, France & Spain. Maxentius seized power in A.D. 306 because Galerius tried to disband the Praetorian Guard and tax Rome for the first time in 400 years; Maxentius said he would protect tradition and he was made emperor with an army! We offer his bronze coin in Very Fine which states this directly on the reverse with ‘CONSERV VRB SVAE’ meaning ‘the Preserver / Protector of His City’ around the goddess Roma in a six-column temple. These coins were struck in Rome between A.D. 307-311 and found in Cambridgeshire in the 1970s, museum conserved, and later sold to a dealer who sat on them for years until he sold them to us. It always amazes us that you can buy a coin knowing where and when it was made, who by and why, and a direct link to someone in Britain over 1700 years ago.

Maximian was humbly born around A.D. 250 near Sirmium. He rose rapidly through a military career and was chosen by the emperor Diocletian as his co-emperor in A.D. 286. After a successful reign he reluctantly abdicated with the senior emperor Diocletian in A.D. 305. But Maxentius, his son, rebelled in Rome in A.D. 306 against the current emperor Galerius, luring Maximian out of retirement. In A.D. 308 he tried to usurp Maxentius’ authority so was forced to take refuge in Gaul with his son-in-law Constantine. Trying the same in A.D. 310 Maximian was besieged and defeated by Constantine, dying rather than retire. The coins we offer here are Billon Follis in About Extremely Fine condition showing his laureate bust on the obverse and with various reverses. They are from the same small group as the Diocletian Follis from last issue meaning they are big, beautiful and there are only 22 of them so do not miss out…

Maximianus. A.D. 286-305., Trier - A.D. 297. Æ Follis. Laureate head right / 'GENIO POPVLI ROMANI' Genius stg. left holding cornucopiae & patera. Cracked flan, Very Fine.