Just added another beautiful coin to my collection. Makes me wonder... how many times was this coin actually used for buying stuff? What could it have bought? Did any of its previous owners look at it as lovingly as I am today? Anyway, my writeup: Constans, the eldest of Constantine's sons, was a pleasure loving type who preferred living the high life to roughing it on troubled frontier towns along with his soldiers. That may have been good while it lasted but cost him the loss of confidence among his subordinates and it was only a matter of time until one of the high ranked generals stood up and said enough. Magnentius was the name of one such general. As he secured the allegiance of his officers, he crossed the Rubicon, so to speak, and declared Constans an enemy of the people. For his part, Constans managed to escape with barely a minute to spare and rode his horse at breakneck speed in search of safe quarters. A church seemed a good place but Magnentius's soldiers weren't about to let a little thing like a hallowed building get in the way of their mission. He was dragged out of there and then, well you know... they weren't so nice to him. Magnentius is successful in swiftly taking over a number of western provinces but is stopped by the counter-resurrections of Nepotian and Vetranio. He is successful in defeating the former but the rebellion has lost its steam by the time he prepares for battle with the latter. Taking stock of insurmountable odds he committed suicide rather than trust for leniency at the hands of his captors. Although technically not a usurper in the sense that he (briefly) held control of Rome, and thus nominally the blessing of the Senate, Magnentius's rise to power through murder, and subsequent failure to defeat his rivals, typically finds him listed with other usurpers. His coinage is not very difficult to find as there are thousands of coins left bearing his name and effigy today. Most of these were minted from his palace in Trier near the northern limits of the Roman world during the three years or so in which he controlled the city. Precious metal coinage, on the other hand, is unquestionably rare. While Magnentius appropriated the title and office of emperor, pictorially, at least, this beautiful gold solidus features him with a bare head. It is an explicit act of humility that acknowledges he has not earned the laurel crown bestowed on a leader universally recognized. The reverse can be interpreted as the urgent appeal that equates the victorious putsch with the very liberty of the Roman people. Part of my Roman Emperors collection
Nice coin ! A correction to note though, Constans was the youngest son of Constantine, not the eldest
Great pick-up. My Magnentius in bronze. Magnentius, A.D. 350-353 AE Majorina, 22mm, 7.2 grams, 6H Trier mint Obverse: IM CAE MAGNENTIVS AVG Bare-headed, draped, and cuirassed bust right Reverse: FELICITAS REIPVBLICAE Magnentius standing slightly left, head left, Victory on globe in right hand, labarum in left; A in right field //TRS, crescent in exergue Reference: RIC VIII Trier 264
I think a valuable and beautiful piece such as that would be part of someone's stored wealth and not an 'everyday' sort of coin. Superb in every way!
Thank you David - very true especially in this late time period for the Roman world. But the rich, then as now I'm sure, always figured out ways to piss away their wealth. Decking out a 4th century villa with slaves, a bad-ass mosaic floor to impress the guests and top tier catering would all have gone through a fair number of these in a jiffy
I didn't even know Mag-nificentius made gold coins! I LOVE it!!! I am not a fan of Con-man nor his even crummier sons but am a fan of Mag and his brother (?) Decentius! Here's my best of his and a barbarous beauty... Magnentius Ӕ Nummus. Lyon, AD 351-353. D N MAGNENTIVS P F, bare-headed, draped and cuirassed bust right / GLORIA ROMANORVM, Emperor galloping right, spearing barbarian kneeling left; shield and broken spear below horse, RSLG in exergue. RIC 115.
That is a beauty, @Suarez. I've never seen anything of Magnentius in gold, that's a great pickup (and great write-up too). I just picked up this Magnentius bronze this week...also bareheaded, but I think it's possible they just couldn't find a crown big enough to fit his giant head. Magnentius AE Centenionalis, 352 AD, RIC VIII 307 Treveri DN MAGNEN-TIVS P F AVG; Bare-headed draped cuirassed bust right, A behind/ VICTORIAE DD NN AVG ET CAES; Two Victories holding wreath with inscription VOT / V / MVLT / X; TRP in exergue Ex Marc Breitsprecher
@Suarez an amazing coin. Here are a few more characters that I find interesting, connected to Magentius and two more common coins. When Nepotian took over Rome, Magnentius sent his office manager (magister officiorum), Marcellinus, to suppress the uprising and kill Nepotianus. Decentius, Magnentius' brother, became Caesar, in 351 after his brother took control of Italy. Battles with Constantius II didn't go well and both brothers eventually committed suicide, Magnentius in Lugdunum August 10, 353, and eight days later Decentius in Sens, leaving Constantius II in sole command of the Roman Empire. Justina, Magnentius' very young wife, survived and became the second wife of Valentinian I circa 370 and mother of Valentinian II who reigned 375-392. Magnentius AE2 or Centenionalis, Arles or Lugdunum (?), AD 350-353, 18mm 2.9g Obv: D N MAGNENTIUS P F AVG, draped bust right Rev: VICTORIAE DD NN AVG ET CAESS, two Victories standing, facing each other, resting shield inscribed VOT V MVL X, S V below. Note: different from MVLT on coin shown by @Shea19 (RCV 18815) Votis V Multis X - vows for 5 years of reign and more for 10, excellent information here from @Valentinian Decentius Centenionalis, mint (?), AD 351-352, 21mm 3.2g Obv: D N DECENTIVS NOB CAES, cuirassed bust right, A to left / Rev: VICT DD NN AVG ET CAES, two Victories standing facing each other, holding between them a shield inscribed VOT V MVLT X
Thank you Sulla for the extra historical details. Was this in Ammianus? Anyway, I have a Nepotian too. Very happy to have recently added him to my collection too :- )
That one's hard to find too. You see faked ones here and there, it's nice to see a real one! Nice coin!
Another impressive coin with a great portrait (with only 28 days as emperor, there probably aren't many of those in batches of uncleaned coins ). Multiple sources for my notes - here are a few online: Zosimus, New History 2.42-2.53 https://www.livius.org/sources/content/zosimus/zosimus-new-history-2/zosimus-new-history-2.43/ Epitome De Caesaribus attributed to Sextus Aurelius Victor 42 http://www.roman-emperors.org/epitome.htm Michael DiMaio, Jr., Magnentius (350-353 A.D) and Decentius (351-353 A.D.) http://www.roman-emperors.org/magnent.htm Justina Empress Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Justina_(empress)
Here's a coin a just got delivered today, what I can only assume is barbarous or unofficial. Of what I can see if there obverse legend DN MAGNENT... and reverse legend VICTORI... And I think I see TOV and not VOT in the top of the shield. An imitation of the VICTORIAE DD NN AVG ET CAES type.
Here Magnentius is shown (on the obverse) a bit overweight: Æ Centenionalis 22 mm, 5.27 g Gallia, Lugdunum, 350 - 351 AD Ref.:: RIC VIII Lugdunum 117; Sear 18799; Bastien Magnentius, 164; Obv.: DN MAGNEN-TIVS PF AVG Bust of Magnentius, bareheaded, draped, cuirassed, to right; control mark A behind bust Rev.: GLORIA ROMANORVM, Magnentius, draped, cuirassed, galloping to r., spearing with r. hand kneeling barbarian; below horse, shield and broken spear; barbarian extending arms in front of horse. In ex. (crescent) RPLG
