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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Suarez, post: 3494408, member: 99239&quot;][ATTACH=full]925367[/ATTACH] </p><p>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:</p><p><br /></p><p><i>Constans, the eldest of Constantine&#039;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. </i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>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&#039;s soldiers weren&#039;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&#039;t so nice to him. </i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>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. </i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>Although technically not a usurper in the sense that he (briefly) held control of Rome, and thus nominally the blessing of the Senate, Magnentius&#039;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. </i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>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. </i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>Part of my <a href="http://www.tantaluscoins.com/coins/grid28.php" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://www.tantaluscoins.com/coins/grid28.php" rel="nofollow">Roman Emperors</a> collection </i>[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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