ROMAN EMPIRE Valentinian I 364-375 AD centenionalis
$20.00
ROMAN EMPIRE, Valentinian I, 364-375 AD, centenionalis, no date (365 AD), Siscia mint, officina 4, Obverse: diademed, draped, and cuirassed bust L, D N VALENTINIANVS P F AVG, Reverse: Victory advancing L, SECVRITAS REI PVBLICAE, ΔSISC, bronze, 18mm, 2.39g, SR19505, smooth but patchy green patina, VF+
1 in stock
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.
Ancient Coins includes Greek and Roman coins and those of neighbors and successors, geographically from Morocco and Spain all the way to Afghanistan. Date ranges for these begin with the world’s earliest coins of the 8th century BC to, in an extreme case, the end of Byzantine Empire, 1453 AD.
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