Severus II (A.D. 305-307), Quater Follis Fine

Hadrian (A.D. 117-138) was one of the most able and conscientious Roman Emperors. He spent his reign visiting the vast majority of his provinces. Consolidating and strengthening the Empire’s defenses 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 kilometers) 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.

This is something you will not see often. These bronze coins from Greek colony city of Olbia in Thrace were cast in the shape of a dolphin! They were made to honour their god Apollo Delphinios. This name is linked to the story of Cretan sailors in a storm who were guided to safety by Apollo shaped as a dolphin, landing at Delphi they became his priests. It also likely that the people were imitating what they saw, there were large numbers of dolphins in the Black Sea and still are today! Playful and intelligent, they would have been as friendly then as they are now. These were cast in bronze in the 5th to 4th centuries B.C., and because of this process do not have a tail. They show the body, the vast majority have the dorsal fin and some will even have eye pellets. As always the first to order will get the best, in this case the shape and features!

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 ‘GLORIAEXERCITVS’ or ‘Glory to the Army'. Here we offer the coin in Fine, very reasonable for a coin almost 2,000 years old. Get it now, so you won't feel jealous later...