The coins in the Trier Museums.

On Friday, I went to Trier, Germany. (There is still more to do there, so I will probably go back in the future.) Trier is a very old city that still retains much of its original Roman architecture. There are several locations where the original walls are still standing or still identifiable, as well as ruins from the Roman baths, amphitheater, and a Bassilica built by Constantine. Of course, there were obviously many other examples of old architecture between Roman times and now. I find it utterly amazing to walk down a street and it looks to me mostly as it did to the same people walking it 200-300 years ago.

(All pictures were taken by me)


The Porta Nigra (“Black Gate”), built 160-180 AD. It used to be white, but centuries of weathering have turned it black, thus the name given during the Middle Ages stuck. It was originally built to be a gate to the city. In the 11th century, it was destined to be dismantled, and the bricks reused in other projects. A guy named Simeon, in an attempt to save the building, took up residence in the building. He was canonized after his death, and the gate was turned into a church, which is why it still exists today.



A section of the original wall that surrounded the city.



Nearby, a Roman structure that would have housed one of the three bathhouses in the city. This one would have been one of the largest in the Empire, attesting to the wealth and prestige of the city. The presence of the amphitheater also supports this. I did not get to explore the ruins because I spent too much time in the museums (more on that later), so I plan on going back.




The first museum I went to was of Roman construction (I think). If not, it was definitely built on the Roman walls. (See below)



There were many coins and mint supplies found around this wall during excavations for the museum, suggesting the Roman Trier mint was nearby. The gift shop had several genuine Roman coins for sale, but they were all low-grade, high-priced, and had no provenance to Trier.



The Constantine Basillica. I did not have time to go inside because I was rushing across town to meet my friends in the other museum.

Now for a bit of history into the town.

The name “Trier” stems from the name “Trevori,” which was the name of the Gallic tribe that was living in the area. The city was annexed by the Roman Empire after the defeat of the Gauls by our friend Julius Caesar. According to legend, the city was founded 1300 years before Rome by a man called Trebeta. This legend is recorded by a medieval inscription on the “Red House”:

“ANTE ROMAM TREVIRIS STETIT ANNIS MILLE TRECENTIS.
PERSTET ET ÆTERNA PACE FRVATVR. AMEN.”



The Red House

During the Middle Ages, the City of Trier tried using this legend (since proven to only be such) to gain autonomy from the Archbishopric of Trier. Alas, they were unsuccessful.

As a part of the Roman Empire, the name was changed by emperor Augustus to “Augusta Treverorum.” He then decided that this city should be one of the regional capitals. The city quickly became of of great importance and size, with upwards of 80000 people. An amphitheater was built in 100 AD, and a major mint was established in the 3rd Century AD, signifying the importance of Trier.



A model showing what Roman Trier would have looked like.

In the 3rd Century, Trier became the seat of an archbishopric, which is basically an area where the archbishop has authority. This early start eventually made it one of the most important states in the Holy Roman Empire (or as my high school history tracher called it, the Not-Holy Not-Roman Not-Empire). Then in the early 5th century the city was captured by the Franks, then by Attila and the Huns in 451, and then firmly held by the Franks again in 475. The city became incorperated into the Kingdom of Lorraine in 843 with the Treaty of Verdun, ruled by one of Charlemange’s three grandsons, Lothair II. When he died in 870, Trier became part of the East Frankish Empire under Henry I, which would later become Germany.

An example of the Archbishop’s power was erected in 958 in the market square, which stated his authority and that God, through him, will protect the city. The original is in the city museum for protection, and a replica was put in its place. As you can see, this amount of power is very likely the reason the city tried to break away from the archbishopric. (More pictures and info coming; I have reached the 10 picture limit.)

 

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Interesting account and a pleasure to read. Thank you!

 

Beautifull photos/ writeup!

 

The front and back of the monumental cross.



I did not get a good picture of the cross in context, but it can be seen over the hut in the center of the picture.

The city of Trier got a boost in the first half of the 14th Century when Archbishop Baldwin of Luxembourg took the position from 1307 to 1354. He was elected into the position at 22 years old, and was very reluctantly recognized by the people of Trier. During his term, he greatly expanded the city’s territory and made it quite prosperous.



Archbishop Baldwin’s grave in the Trier Cathedral (which was INCREDIBLY beautiful and ornate).

As you are probably bored right now, I will end the story with Trier finally getting its autonomy in 1583.

Now you all came here to see coins. In the first museum, there were only a few dozen on display, but they were a selection spanning 2100 years from the Roman Republic to the Euro. The audio tour gave a fascinating tale on how they each related to the history of the region and what events and cultural aspects led to the next coin type. As I am a visual learner, I was disappointed because I don’t think I grasped the info as well as I could have if I had read it.

After finishing up at this museum, it was 3:30. I had become separated from the friends I had come with, and they happened to be on the other side of the city. I meander over there to the museum they are in by 4:00. When I arrive, they had already toured the museum, so I was a bit disappointed. Then they start talking with me excitedly about the coins on display. Since none of them collect coins, I knew the display must have been amazing. Now with only 45 minutes to tour the museum, I buy a ticket and proceed to look at as many artifacts as possible and find this legendary coin display. I soon found that I had the whole museum to myself, and after I was done with each room, a guard would lock it up behind me. The closer it got to 5:00, the more irritated the staff started to look. So I am really rushing through the exhibits trying to feast my eyes and camera on as much as possible as quickly as possible. I soon get to the end with 15 minutes to spare, but I did not see any impressive display of coins. Knowing I could not have simply missed it, I walk up to the security guard (whose face turns to “Aw crap, what does he want?”). I just simply ask “Munzen?”, and the guard brightens and leads me to to glory room. Here is what greets me:



A giant pile of gorgeous Roman aurii, the largest intact hoard of such in the world. I can assure you I had a stupid grin on my face.

 

Munzen indeed! Wow!! Glad you made it to that display. Thanks for the museum reports

 

@panzerman here is more for you to read



Lots of hammered silver



Lots of hammered gold



FDC aurii and denarii



Cool aureus I know nothing about



Drool@inducing piles of Roman coins.



Various Roman medallions.



Minting artifacts likely found near the wall mentioned above.



Molds or dies? I could not tell if they were metal or clay from my quick glance.

And here are some Roman atrifacts attesting to the wealth of the ancient city. Apparently there was a road dedicated to monuments erected for the dead.

 

I think my eyeballs just ran for cover!

 

That gold hoard was breathtaking. Thanks for the write up. My sister visited Trier last year and sent me some photos. I’ve been to Europe six times but never to Germany. It’s on the list. Out of curiosity, @TypeCoin971793 are you European? You mentioned you plan to go back, so I didn’t know how easy it was for you to travel there.

 

I am studying in France right now about 2 hours away from Trier by train. I have a rail pass, so I can just hop on a train and go whenever I want.

 

Wow that pile of gold, would be fun to go through each one.

Great write-up and pics as a whole & thanks for sharing.

 

There was also a contemporary bust of @dougsmit ’s favorite emperor, Septimus Severus.

 

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awesome!

 

Looks like Trier is a great place to find heaps of ancient buildings and artifacts, thanks TypeCoin971793 for some great pics and info, now on my ever expanding list of places to visit.

 

That hoard was found 25 years ago, during the construction of a parking garage. I think the permanent exhibition of the coins still shows the plastic bucket that the finders used to bring some of the 2,650 aurei to the museum ...

As for the Porta Nigra, recent finds suggest that the construction began in spring 170. Oh, and such "cemetery" streets existed in many Roman cities. I just saw the model of one in a museum in Bonn, NW. (Was there for a temporary exhibition about the Cistercians but had a look at some of the ancient exhibits too.) Parts of it were surprisingly colorful.

Christian

 

Great write up TypeCoin971793. If I ever get out of the US, that would be on my list. Amazing pile of gold Aurii.

 

I sometimes have beautifull dreams of finding treasure like that, sadly when I wake up...reality comes back! John, you never won anything so far, you will certainly never find a hoard of gold aurei In the real world, you have to mow a lot of lawns to afford them. Here is my latest coin from Trier/ Leu Numismatik Auction #1

 

Great pics @TypeCoin971793 ! Thanks for sharing your awesome European trip with us!

 

Trier blew me away when I visited a few years ago, especially the museum (that hoard!) and Constantine's basilica. You'll definitely need to go inside... you can really imagine Constantine sitting on a throne and hearing petitions. Most of the structure is original, amazingly enough, and all the later additions have been stripped off. Here's a panorama I shot from inside:


I too was hustled out of the museum at closing time, although that was after many hours! Some of my favourite items included this solid gold fibula, a presentation piece, with votive inscriptions (VOT X) to Constantine and Licinius. It surely must have been worn by a major figure in the Empire at the time.


I also liked the hall of funerary monuments. In your photo, you can just see the front of this one, which apparently symbolizes life and death (c. 200 CE). Not your typical Roman sculpture!


Another monument that struck my fancy:


Then there's this rather impressive wind chime, c. 1st century. A winged phallus with a phallus and a tail that is a phallus. For "good luck." I decided not to get one for my front door.


I also liked this little dude wearing traditional Trier costume, made in the 3rd century:


A truly incredible museum, worth a whole day, for sure! And then if you want some of your own museum pieces, you can cross the (original!) Roman bridge and go to this Antique shop, which was chockablock with cool stuff:



I'm so envious you can just pop over there on the train... have an awesome time!!

 

Better post some more coins from the museum too... here's a mint state Didius Julianus from that hoard :


And a Jovinus solidus :


And a couple medallions I loved, one of Constantine (bottom), and one of Postumus (2nd picture, on the right):