Someone in a Facebook coin group ticked me off by insulting my dead cat, so I am cooling myself down by making a nice little writeup (which I find to be really calming). My focus today will be on the Roman history or Trier, since that makes up nearly the entirety of my second visit and coin purchases. As I stated earlier, the Roman history of Trier begins with Julius Ceasar conquering the Gauls in 52 BC and annexing their territory (which included Trier) to the Roman Empire. Not too long after, Augustus founded a Roman city where present-day Trier is located, calling it Augusta Treverorum. It was initially intended to be a fort to protect the Empire against barbaric invasions, but it became one of the most important administration centers along the Rhine. Trier became the crossroads between many major cities, including Rheims, Metz, Strasbourg, and Cologne. The situation next to the Moselle River was also important to the development of Trier as it provided a major commercial link. Under the reign of Tiberius (particularly 17 AD), a bridge spanning the Moselle River was constructed. By 44 AD, Augusta Treverorum was recognized as being a very wealthy city. For the next couple of centuries, the city underwent constant peaceful development, during which time several major construction projects were completed. Among these included the Amphitheater, a large bathhouse today called the Barbara Baths, a new bridge to replace the first one, and a 4-mile wall surrounding the city which had 44 towers and 4 massive gates (one of which being the Porta Nigra and another being the Amphitheater). By this time, Trier had become the seat of the governor of the Province Gallica Belgica. The Roman Bridge (the bases are Roman; the rest is 17th-Century I believe): The ruins of the Barbara Baths: The Amphitheater (I was sadly closed due to ice, so this is the best I’ve got): The Northern Gate (the Porta Nigra): The unadultrated period of development ended with the Crisis of the Third Century. It began with Emperor Valerian being captured by the Sassanid Empire in 260, which left his son, Gallienus, in control in control of the empire. Unfortunately, his control was a very shaky one. Then governors in Pannonia (a province bordered by the Danube) staged local revolts, so he left the Rhine region where he had been a consul for the Danube. As a result, this left Postumus in control of the Rhine provinces. With this power, Postumus revolted against the Roman empire and established his own Gallic Empire, which included the original Gaulish regions plus the loosely-loyal territories of Iberia and Britannia. Gallienus tried to take back the Gallic Empire in 263, but was unsuccessful, and never challenged Postumus again. Postumus was overthrown and killed by his own troops in 268. After Postumus, the Gallic Empire began to quickly decline, falling in 274 to Aurelian at the Battle of Châlons. For a time during the reign of the Gallic Empire, Trier was made its capital, but the stresses of the unstable empire and the 274 conquest took their toll on the city. To make matters worse, just a year later the Rhine region was invaded by the Germanic tribes, the Franks and the Alamanni. The penetrated deep into the Rhine and left much of the region in ruins, but Probus (?) was able to push them back. While the extent of the damage to Trier is not know, it surely would have taken a negative toll. (I sure hope I got all of that right; most of that info was quite new to me.) This period of instability caused by having such a large empire inspired Emperor Diocletian to divide the Empire into 4 sub-empires. Trier became the capital of the Western Empire, which included the area of the Gallic Empire plus the western bit of North Africa. Trier got a large bump in importance in 293 when it became the residence of Constantius Chlorus, the father of Constantine I (the Great). In the early 4th Century, Constantine I moved to Trier. The Franks, upon hearing this, thought it would be a good idea to invade the Rhine yet again. They were handily defeated by Constantine I, and two of their kings and many of their soldiers were captured and fed to beasts in the Trier Amphitheater. After this, he sponsored major building works in Trier, which included an expansion of the imperial palace so that it encompassed the church, the Basilica (which was his throne room), and the Imperial Baths. These constructions were so impressive that Trier was sometimes compared with Rome. All but the Roman baths were completed during Constantine’s reign; when he left to found Constantinople in 316 all work on his residences in Trier came to an abrupt end. Valentinian I would complete the baths, and his son Gratian would finish the Cathedral. Maximus murdered Gratian in 383 and ruled in Trier until he was vanquished and executed by Theodosius in 388. Trier would cease to be an imperial residence after the reign of Valentinian II, primarily because of increased military pressure by the Germanic tribes. The administrative functions of the city were also relocated, thus leading to the city’s decline. After 406, Trier became subject to a slew of Germanic invasions, finally falling into Frankish hands in 485. The Imperial Baths (restoration was going on, so excuse the picture): I got to explore the underground channel system. The Constantine Basilica: Inside the Constantine Basilica:
Bet it was a modern collector arguing that coins should never be cleaned, right? Or believing only museums can afford ancient coins and that all of yours must be fake...
My coin of Aurelian (I had one from Gallienus too, but I do not have a picture of it ): Now my Purchases from Trier A nice little antique shop had some Roman coins in the window. The owner said all were found in Trier, either from the river or under the hospital where a Roman Temple to the god of good health once stood. I overpaid at 5€, but I bought it more for the provenance. Then I just happened upon another antique shop with several really nice coins in the window. He was very helpful in finding a nice budget Roman coin minted in Trier. This one cost 30€, but I am happy. A museum gift shop Julius Caesar aureus.
I went to the antique shop in the part I thread. The quality of the stuff was simply amazing, and the prices did not seem too outlandishly high. The owners were very nice. They had a bin of (very mostly) culls presumably dug in the region. I got these for €2.50 each: An Augustus (?) Dupondius (?): And Antoninus Pius (?) Sestertius: A Gallienus Antoniniaunus, which shows just how poor the strikes got during his reign: And a Constantine (which one?) VOT bronze (denomination?): Overall, very good day.
I've been to Trier, but it was shortly before I got interested in Ancient coins. That should tell you how long ago that was since I've been collecting for close to forty years. I would love to return and see it all from a different perspective. BTW, I'm not a cat person, but I would never insult someone's pet. Both my sons have cats (at the insistence of their perspective spousal units).
No, I told him to not be lazy and research the value of his slabbed coin on his own. This is how this pathetic lowlife scum decides to respond to my post asking for help with my dying cat:
I'm so sorry for you and your cat. Losing a loved pet is hard man. Since my dog died 17 years ago, I just can't make myself go through it again.
So glad you enjoyed it!! It's Marcus Aurelius, like this one. A "victory over the Germans" coin, bought in Trier - cool!! Constantine I, follis (a denomination term meaning "we don't have the first clue what this is.") Great photos! I've been looking forward to this post so I can live vicariously through you.
Nice write up, cool pics, and some nice coins. Great job on getting some good values too! Really enjoyed Trier each time I have been there. Found one side of my family's ancestral hometown (and went on to visit it), in the Trier phone book. LOL, the WHOLE town's phone listing took up ONE and 1/3 COLUMNs in the phone book! LOL. They did have a bar there where I proceeded to get inebriated. And yeah, the guys I was with stated the other folks from the town in the bar even LOOKED like me... (perhaps it was more of the local beer.) LOL, but that was over 30 years ago... To CONSTATIUS CHLORUS making Trier a Big Town! RI Constantius I Chlorus 293-306 CE DIVO AE Quinarius Thesalonika 317-318 Seated RIC VII 25 R5 RARE
That was my second thought. My third thought was Septimius Severus. Very interesting info! I will have to look more into this type. That’s what I was thinking, but I was very unsure. I was hoping it was Constantine I. I’m glad you enjoyed it!
Thanks for the great writeup and pics. So sorry to hear about your cat. It's always awful to lose a pet. Here's a Trier mint issue of Constantine I as Caesar. CONSTANTINE I, as Caesar AE Quarter-Follis. 1.82g, 16.7mm. Trier mint, AD 306-307. RIC VI Trier 750; Mazzini 748 (this coin). O: FL VAL CONSTANTINVS NC, laureate, cuirassed bust right. R: VO/TIS/X in three lines within wreath. Ex Giuseppe Mazzini Collection (1883-1961)
And you thought you wouldn't be buying coins while in Europe! Enjoyed your write up and photos. Only takes a moment to block the jerk, don't let him bother you, just ignore and move on.
Another great write up! Looks like you are having a good trip. Really cool to pick up some local coins. John
Very interesting post - it makes me want to go to Trier and cruise the sites (and buy coins). And I am very sorry about your cat. I just lost one of mine last month (cancer), age 17. It's a heartbreaker.
Many thanks for the great write up and all those pictures of Trier, really enjoy it. Losing a cat or a dog is terrible, happened to me, too many times.
Seems like you are really getting the most out of your european experience, TC. Well done. (I have only been to Trier twice in my whole life, and don't live that far away....). Really sorry to hear about you cat...been through that experience many times...
