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Index Of All Titles


BEST OF

AEQVITI
Aes Formatum
Aes Rude
The Age of Gallienus
Alexander Tetradrachms
Ancient Coin Collecting 101
Ancient Coin Prices 101
Ancient Coin Dates
Ancient Coin Lesson Plans
Ancient Coins & Modern Fakes
Ancient Counterfeits
Ancient Glass
Ancient Metal Arrowheads
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Anonymous Follis
Anonymous Class A Folles
Antioch Officinae
Aphlaston
Armenian Numismatics Page
Augustus - Facing Portrait
Brockage
Bronze Disease
Byzantine
Byzantine Denominations
A Cabinet of Greek Coins
Caesarean and Actian Eras
Campgates of Constantine
Carausius
A Case of Counterfeits
Byzantine Christian Themes
Clashed Dies
Codewords
Coins of Pontius Pilate
Conditions of Manufacture
Corinth Coins and Cults
Countermarked in Late Antiquity
Danubian Celts
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Diameter 101
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Dictionary of Roman Coins
Doug Smith's Ancient Coins
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Edict on Prices
ERIC
ERIC - Rarity Tables
Etruscan Alphabet
The Evolving Ancient Coin Market
EQVITI
Fel Temp Reparatio
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Parthian Coins
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People in the Bible Who Issued Coins
Imperial Mints of Philip the Arab
Phoenician Alphabet
Pi-Style Athens Tetradrachms
Pricing and Grading Roman Coins
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romancoin.info
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Star of Bethlehem Coins
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Tyrian Shekels
Uncleaned Ancient Coins 101
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What I Like About Ancient Coins
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Widow's Mite
XXI

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ERIC Table of Contents


Title Page

Introduction

About Roman Coins

Denominations

Coins of Other Ancient Cultures

Identifying Roman Coins

How To Use This Book

Mintmarks

Mint Map

Pricing And Grading

Bibliography

Reference Catalogs Cited

Coin Terms Used

Glossary

Rarity Tables

Index of Rulers

Photography Credits

Additional Web Resources

Imperial Catalog:

AUGUSTUS
LIVA
AGRIPPA
NERO CLAUDIUS DRUSUS
GERMANICUS
AGRIPPINA I
TIBERIUS
DRUSUS
ANTONIA
CALIGULA
CLAUDIUS I
BRITANNICUS
AGRIPPINA II
NERO
GALBA
CLODIUS MACER
OTHO
VITELLIUS
VESPASIAN
DOMITILLA
TITUS
DOMITIAN
DOMITIA
JULIA TITI
NERVA
TRAJAN
PLOTINA
MARCIANA
MATIDIA
HADRIAN
SABINA
AELIUS
ANTONINUS PIUS
FAUSTINA I
MARCUS AURELIUS
FAUSTINA II
LUCIUS VERUS
LUCILLA
COMMODUS
CRISPINA
PERTINAX
DIDIUS JULIANUS
MANLIA SCANTILLA
DIDIA CLARA
PESCENNIUS NIGER
CLODIUS ALBINUS
SEPTIMIUS SEVERUS
JULIA DOMNA
CARACALLA
PLAUTILLA
GETA
MACRINUS
DIADUMENIAN
ELAGABALUS
JULIA MAESA
JULIA SOAEMIAS
JULIA PAULA
AQUILIA SEVERA
ANNIA FAUSTINA
SEVERUS ALEXANDER
JULIA MAMAEA
ORBIANA
MAXIMINUS I
PAULINA
MAXIMUS
GORDIAN I
GORDIAN II
BALBINUS
PUPIENUS
GORDIAN III
TRANQUILLINA
PHILIP I
OTACILIA SEVERA
PHILIP II
PACATIAN
JOTAPIAN
TRAJAN DECIUS
HERENNIA ETRUSCILLA
HERENNIUS ETRUSCUS
HOSTILIAN
TREBONIANUS GALLUS
VOLUSIAN
AEMILIAN
CORNELIA SUPERA
SILBANNACUS
URANIUS ANTONINUS
VALERIAN I
MARINIANA
VALERIAN II
GALLIENUS
SALONINA
SALONINUS
REGALIANUS
DRYANTILLA
POSTUMUS
LAELIANUS
MARIUS
VICTORINUS
DOMITIAN II
TETRICUS I
TETRICUS II
QUIETUS
MACRIANUS
CLAUDIUS II
QUINTILLUS
AURELIAN
SEVERINA
ZENOBIA
VABALATHUS
TACITUS
FLORIAN
PROBUS
SATURNINUS
CARUS
CARINUS
MAGNIA URBICA
NIGRIAN
NUMERIAN
JULIAN I
DIOCLETIAN
MAXIMIAN
CARAUSIUS
ALLECTUS
DOMITIUS DOMITIANUS
CONSTANTIUS I
THEODORA
GALERIUS
GALERIA VALERIA
SEVERUS II
MAXENTIUS
ROMULUS
CONSTANTINE I
HELENA
FAUSTA
ALEXANDER
LICINIUS I
CONSTANTIA
MAXIMINUS II
LICINIUS II
CRISPUS
VALERIUS VALENS
MARTINIAN
CONSTANTINE II
DELMATIUS
HANNIBALLIANUS
CONSTANS
CONSTANTIUS II
MAGNENTIUS
DECENTIUS
NEPOTIAN
VETRANO
CONSTANTIUS GALLUS
JULIAN II
JOVIAN
VALENTINIAN I
VALENS
PROCOPIUS
GRATIAN
VALENTINIAN II
THEODOSIUS I
AELIA FLACCILLA
MAGNUS MAXIMINUS
FLAVIUS VICTOR
EUGENIUS
HONORIUS
CONSTANTINE III
CONSTANS II
MAXIMINUS
PRISCUS ATTALUS
JOVINUS
SABASTIANUS
CONSTANTIUS III
GALLA PLACIDIA
JOHANNES
VALENTINIAN III
LICINIA EUDOXIA
HONORIA
PETRONIUS MAXIMINUS
AVITUS
MAJORIAN
LIBIUS SEVERUS
ANTHEMIUS
EUPHEMIA
ANICIUS OLYBRIUS
GLYCERIUS
JULIUS NEPOS
ROMULUS AUGUSTUS
ARCADIUS
EUDOXIA
PULCHERIA
THEODOSIUS II
EUDOCIA
MARCIAN
LEO I
VERINA
LEO II
ZENO
ARIADNE
BASILISCUS
ZENONIS
LEONTIUS I
ANASTASIUS I
ANONYMOUS COINAGE

ERIC The Encyclopedia of Roman Imperial Coins
by Rasiel Suarez



Magnentius

Augustus 350-353

Magnentius was one of the generals under the command of Constans. Early in the year 350 he gathered that the tide of wars was turning against the dominion of the Constantines and declared himself emperor. On hearing of the news Constans was dispossessed and took flight. He found temporary shelter in a temple he hoped would be his sanctuary. Magnentius sent a few of his men for him, tracked him down then breached the temple and murdered him. The rule of the whole western empire was now under his control. Constantius II was thousands of miles away embroiled in a difficult war with the Parthians in Syria and it took several months to hear of what happened out west. He had the difficult choice of following through with this war or take care of the dangerous usurpation of Magnentius. He decided to sign a hasty peace treaty with the Parthians which ceded vast sections of territory and zoomed westwards to deal with Magnentius. For his part, Magnentius tried in vain to seek a diplomatic solution to the problem with Constantius as he wanted to avoid an open armed conflict with his army at all costs. This not only did not pan out but he also had to deal with a revolt launched by a relative of Constantius within Rome itself. This strained Magnentius 's resources while the main arm of Constantius 's army inexorably approached. The revolt was eventually crushed but his forces were weakened. In the end he was unable to avoid the inevitable and faced several losing battles against Constantius. As he retreated farther into his heartland he realized it was a lost cause and committed suicide.

For the average collector coins of Magnentius will be restricted to the relatively scarce bronzes which come in the bigger AE1, 2 and 3 size classes. These are typically fairly low grade but not very expensive. Many will have the telltale crude styling associated with non-official strikes by Celtic tribes living within or near Roman towns. These semi-autonomous people closely copied the themes of Roman coins but with their own distinct style. Because they were typically illiterate the legends are often blundered or completely nonsensical. All in all these coins are neither rare nor especially valuable. Due to their very wide variance in styling they defy cataloguing and so are often simply sold as "barbarous imitations".
 
Of those bronzes that can be classified as having come from a regular mint, most of the available ones are in rather poor shape but they carry correspondingly palatable price tags, perhaps only a few dollars each. The top grade bronzes are rare and can cost up to two or three hundred dollars each. 
 
The collector with a more generous budget may expect to acquire a silver or gold piece but by and large these are extremely rare

 

Busts:


 
1) Bare-headed, draped and cuirassed bust right
2) Diademed (pearls), draped and cuirassed bust right
3) Diademed (laurels and rosettes), draped and cuirassed bust right

 

Obverses:

 
1) DN MAG MAGNENTIVS PF AVG
2) DN MAGNENTIO PERPETVO AVG
3) DN MAGNENTIVS AVG
4) DN MAGNENTIVS PF AG
5) DN MAGNENTIVS PF AVG
6) FL MAGNENTIVS PF AVG
7) IM CAE MAGNENTIVS AVG
8) IMP CAE MAGNENTIVS AVG
9) IMP CAES MAGNENTIVS AVG
10) MAG MAGNENTIVS AVG
11) MAGNENTIVS AVG

 

Reverses:

 
1) BEATITVDO PVBLICA
2) BIS RESTITVTA LIBERTAS
3) FEL TEMP REPARATIO
4) FELICITAS PERPETVA
5) FELICITAS REIPVBLICE
6) GLORIA ET REPARATIO TEMPORVM
7) GLORIA ROMANORVM
8) LIBERATOR REIPVBLICAE
9) PRINCIPI IVVENTVTIS
10) RESTITVTOR LIBERTATIS
11) SALVS DD NN AVG ET CAES
12) SECVRITAS REIPVBLICAE
13) TRIVMFATOR GENTIVM BARBARVM
14) VICT AVG LIB ROM ORB
15) VICT CAES LIB ROM ORB
16) VICT DD NN AVG ET CAES
17) VICTORIA AVG ET CAES
18) VICTORIA AVG LIB ROMANOR
19) VICTORIA DD NN AVGG
20) VICTORIAE DD NN AVG ET CAE
21) VICTORIAE DD NN AVG ET CAES
22) VICTORIAE DD NN AVGG
23) VIRTVS AVG NOSTRI
24) VIRTVS AVGVSTI NOSTRI
25) VIRTVS EXERCITI
26) VRBS ROMA

 

Types:

 
1) Aequitas standing left, holding scale and cornucopia
2) Chi-Rho, A and ω across fields
3) Magnentius advancing right, dragging captive and holding bow with spear.
4) Magnentius advancing right, dragging captive and holding spear with shield
5) Magnentius riding horse right, facing bowing Aquileia, holding scroll and cornucopia
6) Magnentius riding horse right, spearing barbarian; shield and broken spear under horse.
7) Magnentius riding horse right, spearing two kneeling barbarians.
8) Magnentius standing left on galley, holding Victory on globe and labarum; Victory seated to right, steering galley.
9) Magnentius standing left with foot on kneeling captive, holding Victory on globe and labarum
10) Magnentius standing left, holding globe and scepter
11) Magnentius standing left, holding globe and scepter; kneeling captive to left.
12) Magnentius standing left, holding labarum and resting hand on shield; two captives to left.
13) Magnentius standing left, holding labarum and spear
14) Magnentius standing left, holding standard and labarum
15) Magnentius standing left, holding Victory on globe and labarum
16) Magnentius standing left, holding Victory on globe and standard
17) Magnentius standing left, raising hand and holding branch; labarum to left and kneeling captive to right
18) Magnentius standing left, stepping on seated captive, holding eagle on globe and spear.
19) Magnentius standing right, stepping on captive, holding labarum and branch.
20) Magnentius standing, facing, resting hand on kneeling captive and holding labarum
21) Securitas standing, facing, with legs crossed and leaning on column with elbow, resting head on hand.
22) Soldier standing left, spearing falling horseman.
23) Victories (2) standing, facing each other, holding wreath reading VOT / V / MVL / X on column
24) Victories (2) standing, facing each other, holding wreath reading VOT / V / MVLT / X
25) Victories (2) standing, facing each other, holding wreath reading VOT / V / MVLT / X on column
26) Victories (2) standing, facing each other, holding wreath reading VOT / X
27) Victory advancing left, holding wreath and palm
28) Victory advancing left, holding wreath and trophy
29) Victory seated right, holding shield reading VOT / V / MVL / X
30) Victory seated right, holding wreath reading VOT / V / MVLT / X
31) Victory standing right on left, holding palm, facing Libertas to right, holding scepter, together holding trophy
32) Virtus standing, facing, holding spear and resting hand on shield.
33) Wreath, Chi-Rho with A to left and ω to right within
34) Wreath, VOT / V / MVLT / X within

 

Mints:

 
1) Ambianum
2) Aquileia
3) Arelate
4) Lugdunum
5) Roma
6) Siscia
7) Treveri

 
AU Medallion Reference(s)

 
1) B1, O9, R08, T05, M02 Exe: SMAQ     Three Solidi weight RIC 122 (VIII, Aquileia)

 
AU Solidus

 
2) B1, O5, R18, T31, M7 Exe: TR RIC 276 (VIII, Trier)
3) B1, O8, R18, T31, M7 Exe: TR     RIC 247 (VIII, Trier)

 
AR Miliarense

 
4) B1, O7, R23, T11, M7 Exe: TR RIC 257 (VIII, Aquileia)

 
AR Siliqua

 
5) B1, O5, R04, T28, M2 Exe: AQ• RIC 146 (VIII, Aquileia)
6) B1, O7, R25, T32, M7 Exe: TR RIC 256 (VIII, Trier)

 
AE1

 
7) B1, O5, R11, T02, M1 Exe: AMB RIC 122 (VIII, Aquileia)

 
AE2

 
8) B1, O5, R11, T02, M3 Exe: S`AR RIC 198 (VIII, Arles)
9) B1, O5, R20, T24, M1 Exe: AMB* "A" behind bust RIC 14 (VIII, Amiens), L 10
10) B1, O5, R20, T24, M7 Exe: TR` "A" behind bust RIC 307 (VIII, Trier)
11) B1, O5, R20, T25, M1 Exe: AMB "A" behind bust RIC 5 (VIII, Amiens)
12) B1, O9, R18, T19, M5 Exe: A/•R•F•` RIC 179 (VIII, Rome), L 635

 
AE3

 
13) B1, O5, R07, T06, M2 Exe: B/*/`AQ`¯ "A" behind bust RIC 160 (VIII, Aquileia), L 906
14) B1, O5, R07, T06, M3 Exe: */`AR RIC 150 (VIII, Arles), L 421
15) B1, O5, R07, T06, M4 Exe: R`LG RIC 115 (VIII, Lyons), L 214
16) B1, O5, R11, T02, M4 Exe: L`LG RIC 154 (VIII, Lyons),  L 238
17) B1, O5, R11, T02, M7 Exe: TR` RIC 320 (VIII, Trier), L 62
18) B1, O5, R21, T24, M4 Exe: * over SV/R`LG "A" behind bust RIC 123 (VIII, Lyons)
19) B1, O5, R21, T24, M7 Exe: TR` "A" behind bust RIC 312 (VIII, Trier), L 60

 

Magnentius Bust

Magnentius Types

 
 




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