I thought this was V3, but after finding out how rare V3s actually are, and studying Wildwinds more, I'm not sure if I got it correct. My initial diagnosis was RIC 2126 S But I wonder if I'm completely off the mark. It's definitely a Valentinian of some kind. Just not sure which one. Thanks for the help
I don't think Valentinian III is all that rare. After all, he reigned for 30 years. The problem, as Alegandron's coin illustrates, is that by his reign the bronze coins had gotten so small and so poorly struck that it is impossible to distinguish his coins from those of his co-emperors or immediate predecessors/followers. I have a couple hundred AE4s sitting around in a bag on my desk, all of which could be V3s, but none of which can be positively identified as anyone.
From my experience, Valentinian IIIs are at least scarce, although I wouldn't call them rare exactly. Even though he ruled longer than Tiberius, the economy in the West was crumbling by the time he took office, and the mints under his control were only operating sporadically. His gold coins are only a little less common than Honorius or Arcadius, but I think I have only ever handled 3-5 Valentinian III bronzes for certain, compared to hundreds if not thousands of AE4's of his contemporaries. After his death, all semblance of a monetized economy evaporated - I have heard it claimed (and completely agree) that Otho minted more coins in three months than all emperors of Rome's final 25 years combined.
I may have a Val III. I've got tons of unattributed uncleans from the late empire. Most are unattributable and never will be.
That may be true of bronze coins--although the number of unattributed AE4's would make verifying that impossible--but certainly not gold.
I would imagine that it's fair to assume that the majority of Valentinian III coins were probably minted during his earlier years, the 420s and 30s rather than the 40s and 50s. Take him out of the picture, and I don't doubt the claim - most fairly major auctions offer at least one Otho per auction, maybe a couple hundred per year. Of the terminal emperors, I think Majorian, Severus III, and Anthemius are the most common - and you'll see maybe a few per year, barring the sale of a major collection. At any rate, barring a lucky find of a Valentinian III in an uncleaned lot, I have always felt that his gold is really the way to go if you must have a Valentinian III for your collection. I won this one from Leu a couple years ago for CHF 250 or a little under $300 after fees and all. Compare to any certainly identifiable Val III AE4, which will generally run in the $75-150 range.
if you want a bronze of Valentinian III, you can look for some of the types only struck for him, that way if you don't have a complete legend, you still know it's him. two I sold-- CAST VIC VOT PVB
Here's mine: AE 3/4 Rome mint mark, possibly No. African mint, ca. A.D. 440-455 Obv: D N VAL-EN AV Rev: VICTO-RI AVGVS - Victory advancing left with wreath and palm ROMA in exergue; (no cross in field) 11mm, 1.3g
For what it's worth, Val. III bronze isn't all that rare. Scarce maybe. Problem, same as most later Rulers, is their coins weren't collected much until recently; they were thrown away as "floor scrapings". I'm about done with my AE type-set for him, I'll post some pics later. While the earlier VICTOR-IA AVGG/G, Vict. L. W/wr. & Palm, RM/A/- can often be a bit hard to attribute since you're left with just a .....-VSPFAVG or something (they're Honorius with that, even if you can't prove it), most of his bronze can be IDed pretty definitively with very little legend if you learn the little differences between them & other types. And the style & fabric, he ruled long enough for the coinage to go through several changes unique to him. Fun Emperor to get into, if maybe a bit expensive.
Val III AE4s often have that distinctive barbarous look - the rendering of Victory on the reverse of mine is pretty crude. In my opinion yours is a slightly earlier late 4th century coin.
