Let's Talk Trajan Decius

I did collect his output for a while some time back. I seem to have done that with a lot of emperors....

Here is an imperial I don't see above...

Trajan Decius Antoninianus

Obv:– IMP CAE TRA DECIVS AVG, Radiate, draped and cuirassed bust right
Rev:– GEN ILLVRICI, Genus of Illyria standing left
Minted in Milan.
Reference:– RIC 38b. RSC 44



And a tet.

Trajan Decius Ar Tetradrachm

Obv:- AYT K G ME KY TPAIANOC DEKIOC CEB. Laureate, draped and cuirassed bust right; three pellets below.
Rev:- DHMAPX EX OYCIAC. Eagle standing right on palm, holding wreath in beak, SC in ex.
Minted in Antioch. A.D. 250-251.
Prieur 581

 

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@maridvnvm I really like that tet! Your reverse eagle reminds me of mine:

Herennius Etruscus, AD 251
Tetradrachm, 27mm, 11.7g; 12h; Antioch, Syria
Obv.: EPENNE TPOY ME KY ΔEKIOC KECAP; bare-headed, draped, cuirassed bust right, three dots beheath bust (=officiana 3)
Rev.: ΔHMAPX EΞOYCIAC; eagle standing right on palm branch, head right, tail left, wreath in beak
In Ex.: SC

Sorry no Trajan Decius here.

 

Trajan Decius brings back a bad memories. I actually won my first Aureus/ CNG Triton 1, a FDC Trajan Decius aureus/ he is riding his horse/ neat coin. Well, i never got this coin, it mysteriously vanished, even though it was sent via reg. mail! Someone in customs/postal system sure covered their butts. End result, I got money put on acct./ used it in Triton 2 to secure an FDC Elagalabus aureus

 

Bummer man

 

It is too bad that the emperors of the late Third century did not have the likes of Livy, Suetonous, Plutarch, or Tacitus to write of their lives and deeds. I have sometimes thought that emperors like Trajan Decius, or Aurelian or Probus might have proven more capable, possibly more admirable, than the earlier emperors of whom we know so much.

 

I have to agree Kevin, especially since 'historians/numismatists refer to this period as "The Recovery of the Empire".

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Augustan_History
There are later biographers but some of them are a bit less than reliable and those are the good ones. Some are fiction. While we need to read everything with a critical eye, studying the history of the later rulers required careful gleaning. 'Alternative Truths' are not an invention of the 21st Century.

 

Wow! That is some fascinating information, Gavin! I can't wait to get home and do some more research about it. Right now I'm sitting in a Starbucks squinting at my cell phone screen and going blind.

 

I like Decius so I'll show some coins not everyone might have seen. Those who only want to see perfect coins should leave now.

Some late coins of Decius used extremely abbreviated legends. There was a time that experts assigned these to a separate mint but current thinking returns them to Rome at the end of the reign. IDK. They are not common. This one reads IMP CAE TRA DEC AVG / GEN ILLYRICI with Genius standing.


Decius is famous for his large double sestertii. Some were huge and gorgeous but others were, like mine, a bit trashy. 32.5g is large but not double a normal sestertius. Doubles are known from under 25g to about 44g. Workmanship in every regard is as varied as you can get.


However, I also have a 'Sestertius' that weighs only 11.2g.


...which might make you think of a large dupondius if it had a radiate crown and the fact that my 'normal' dupondius weighs 7.5g.


...but also there is this 18.1g sestertius. I have seen some at 24g which is awfully close to the lightest double.


I mentioned the need to read the histories of this period carefully. Studying the coins suggests a similar need for care. Decius bronzes are not for people who worship their scales.

 

I think this silver Tet was struck in Rome for Antioch. Prieur 520.

 

I have always been intrigued by the tragic story of Trajan Decius´ short-lived dynasty - the battle of Abritus, the precise dating of events, and the fate of Hostilian.

Here is my family album (please forgive the low quality of Herennia Etruscillas Sestertius - it is just a substitute waiting to be upgraded). I am quite happy with my Decius, Herennius and Hostilian portraits though:

 

Nice to read (and see nice coins) about TD. This dude's coinage is a niche of mine, as I'm on the proccess of completing the Divi series (20 out of 22 main types so far). I won't show them all, but a selection (for those willing to the whole lot is here : http://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/thumbnails.php?album=216 )

Oh ! and yes, I'm back into business after a loong two week holyday visiting Burma which is a fascinating country even though they're not good at roman coinage











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