The coin was minted, probably in Nicomedia, during the reign of the emperor Valens, who is depicted on the obverse. The obverse inscription is D N VALEN-S P F AVG. The reverse is GLORIA RO-MANORVM and shows the emperor, advancing right, head turned left, and dragging a captive. He is probably holding a laborum in his left hand, but this is difficult to see in your photo. I think the mint mark is SMNA (hence, minted in Nicomedia) but I'm not positive about this. The lack of any field marks suggests that it was probably minted between 364-367 A.D.
J.C. I think gsimonel is right on. Attached below is the same type coin from another mint. Your coin is worth about $5.00
Perfectly fine with this. It's value in money does not concern me, but the idea of holding a piece of Roman history fascinates me. That is if it is real. Thanks!
J.C., I think you can feel confident the coin is real & not fake. It isn't profitable for counterfeiters to fake this type of coin. You are experiencing one of the pleasures many ancient coin collectors share by handling an object nearly 1,700 years old. It's like traveling back in a time machine.
