After about a 2-month drought, I finally have a new coin to share. An Æ of Decentius. Despite the heavy patina, it's still a pretty nice coin compared to an old Decentius I had many years ago. Share your coins of this footnote in Roman history, Decentius. Decentius (351 - 353 A.D.) Æ Centenionalis O: D N DECENTIVS NOB CAES, cuirassed bust right. R: VICTORIAE DD NN AVG ET CAE, two Victories standing facing one another, holding between them a wreath inscribed VOT / V / MVLT / X SV/RSLG 4.69g 22mm Lugdunum (Lyons) Mint RIC VIII 137; Bastien 177; LRBC 228
Decentius as Caesar Obv:- DN DECENTIVS NOB CAES; Cuirassed bust facing right. Rev:- SALVS DD NN AVG ET CAES; Large Chi-Rho flanked by A and W Minted in Lugdunum (//?SLG)
Not the most interesting of all for sure. His coins aren't so common though Decentius : And brother Magnentius : Q
There are 3 different types for this reverse: 1) the vota wreath and the shield are supported on a column. 2) there is no column. 3) the vota wreath is surmounted by a Chistogram.
Decentius Caesar Type: Bronze AE2 Weight: 5.39 g Diameter: 24.00 mm Obverse: DN DECENTIVS CAESAR, bareheaded cuirassed bust of Decentius right Reverse: VICTORIAE DD NN AVG ET CAE, two Victories holding shield inscribed VOT / V / MVLT X
I have only this one: Decentius Æ Centenionalis (351-352 A.D.) Lugdunum (Lyons) Mint DN DECENTIVS NO[B CA]ES, bare-headed, cuirassed bust right / VICTORIAE DD NN AVG [ET CAE], two Victories standing with wreath with VOT V MVLT X in four lines; SP//RSLG. RIC Lyons 137; Bastien 177. (4.83 grams / 20 mm)
Coingrats Matt! 2 months is a looooong time. I used to think of them as bad guys. But now, with all I know about Constantine and his sons (the ones he didn't murder), the more I wish they had upset the apple cart. How different would history by if they'd killed the rest of Constantine's line?
Since I only collect the larger Roman bronzes I have only a single Decentius. I found this one listed in some sale (I can't find the catalog) back in the early 1930's, then in a NAC sale in 2007. I bought it from Harlan Berk in 2009 -- a medallion of 17.2gm, 33mm diameter . It's the only medallion I've seen for him. Decentius reigned for 3 years from AD350 to AD353 (ages 45-48) and committed suicide on learning of the death of Magnentius.
...right..i started out getting LRB's of those "Christians"....and learned how ignorant i was on that subject (not that i'm too overly educated even now )...
Decentius is usually pretty expensive for me. I have a Magnentius I got for like $7. I sacrificed the obv for the rev. Was it worth it?
This is the listing picture of my lone Decentius example. I need to take my own photo because the actual color of the patina is nicely chocolate brown. Decentius, Arles mint, 351-352 AD, AE Maiorina Obv.: Draped, cuirassed bust right, A in left field. DN DECENTIVS CAESAR B Rev.: Two Victories, facing each other, holding wreath inscribed VOT/ V/ MVLT/ X, Chi-Rho above shield, I below shield; VICTORIAE DD NN AVG ET CAE, ex.: SAR Diam.: 22 mm. Weight: 4.4 gr. Attrib.: RIC VIII 185
Far as I’m able to find, there’s a single extant bust of Magnentius, and he looks just about what you’d expect based on the coins
My most attractive Decentius is from Arles and has contrast from sand. Unless you prefer the plain brown wrapper Trier..... However by far the most interesting slightly related coin is this barbarous falling horseman. The ID of Decentius rather than Magnentius is very questionable but, counting the bumps, there is one too few letters to be Magnentius. When dealing with barbarous coins we can not allow little things like not being known to exist bother us. Perhaps the intent was MAGENTIUS which is supported by the AVG at the end (assuming that detail after the G is part of the shoulder). Anything goes with these. I suspect the mintmark was intended to be TRS partly because more barbarous coins of this period copied Trier but again any guess is as good as another. It certainly would be nice to find another coin from these dies that might make different letters clear but I have not seen one. They say that there is nothing more common than a rare ancient coin but 'unique' (strict use of the term - only one of its kind) barbarous coins are as common as ones known from multiple examples.
I purchased one that shipped ex Spain ~ one month ago. Apparently being held hostage by USPS. Hope to receive it some day.
