ROMAN EMPIRE Valentinian I 364-375 AD centenionalis

Description

Valentinian I was high up in the army when Jovian died, and was chosen by the generals to be Emperor. He immediately appointed his brother Valens to be co-Emperor. Valentinian reigned eleven years, dealt with barbarian invasions and internal rebellions. The coinage was reformed in several ways, the most important of which was that taxes had to be paid with special gold and silver ingots. People weren’t happy with that, but the government was, for a while at least.

In the Imperial Period Roman coinage became an engine for governmental propaganda. All of the themes of the coins are celebratory of some aspect of govermental authority or achievement.

The Roman Republic was founded in response to tyrannical kings. It functioned for several centuries in a kind of balance of rich and poor people (slaves didn’t count). The general idea was that laws would constrain personal power. During the days of Julius Caesar, et al, powerful people became too powerful, and a new system of slightly constrained autocracy, the Empire, developed. The main catalog we use on this web site for Roman coins is Roman Coins and their Values, by David Sear.