Coins of the Roman Empire

Roman Coins can be broken down into such categories as Roman Republic (about 250 B.C to 49 B.C), the Julius Caesar/Civil War Era (roughly 49 B.C to 28 B.C), the Twelve Caesars Period (27 B.C to 98 A.D), Golden Age of Good Emperors (98 A.D to 180 A.D), Decline Of Rome (180 A.D to 307 A.D), Constantine Period (307-60 A.D), Late Roman (roughly 360 A.D to 476 A.D– though most purists consider “late roman” as about 420 A.D to 476 A.D). Oh yes, and besides coins of the Roman Empire, there are “Roman Provencial” coins – coins struck in the outlying countries and city-states with the Roman emperor on the obverse, but local themes on the reverse (these date roughly 50 A.D to 300 A.D).

There are also various denominations of Roman coins one can collect. The most well known denominations would be as follows:


 * Quadran- bronze coin about the size of a US penny in diameter, and struck about 27 B.C through 180 A.D As– bronze coin much larger than a US quarter in diameter, but much smaller than a US half dollar. Usually survives as a dark brown, red or black-colored piece. These generally are from the period of 27 B.C to 200 A.D Dupondious– brass or brassy-bronze coin just a tad larger than the As. Usually comes down to us as a yellow-ish or orange-ish piece.  Struck about the same period as the As.  Sestertius- very popular with Roman coin collectors because it’s the largest coin of the Roman Empire.  At least US half dollar size, some much bigger. Struck about 14 A.D to 270 A.D Denarius - also very popular with Roman coin collectors.  Dime-sized silver coins, usually quite well-struck, so the portrait of the emperor is easy to see. Struck all the way back from around 200 B.C to around 238 A.D Antoninianus - US quarter size coin that replace the denarius as the standard “silver” coin of the empire, though it was actually just a bronze coin covered with a thin silver wash.
 * Follis - large bronze coin of about 295 A.D to 320 A.D, but a good deal smaller than the  sestertius (which was no longer being struck by this time).


 * Siliqua - small silver coin of the late Roman Empire (4th-5th centuries A.D) but not struck in large numbers, as was the earlier denarius.

By the 4th century A.D, most of the coins struck in the Roman Empire were small bronzes ranging from US dime to quarter size. These coins are now classified as Ae2 (largest), Ae3 (most common penny-size ones) and Ae4 (tiniest– dime size or smaller). In the last years of the Roman Empire, the coinage largely consisted of REALLY tiny ae4 bronze coins with horribly amateurish renderings of the emperor and a reverse design featuring crude crosses or stick-figures. Still, many collectors go after these crude, tiny late Roman ae4 coins, as they are fairly scarce and truly represent the end of the Roman Empire as it was being attacked and weakened by barbarian invasions.

If you simply want ANY coin of Ancient Rome, the easiest to go after are the bronze coins of the 3rd to early 5th centuries A.D. Bronze coins from this period are plentiful and prices remain low– in fact, such coins are still being dug up today in large numbers! Why? Simple: the ancient romans didn’t store their coins in a bank– they usually buried their savings of coins in containers. Oftentimes, death overtook the owner of the coin hoard before they could recover it. Only one emperor from this late period truly stands out as somewhat of a household name: Constantine The Great, Rome’s first Christian emperor.

Many collectors like to collect a silver denarius of all the emperors– or at least all the emperors of the denarius era. Other collectors stick strictly with the large, impressive sestertius of each emperor. Still others simply collect ANY coin denomination, as long as they can obtain one coin of each and every emperor. But it truly is difficult to collect a coin of every emperor– some only ruled one year, some only a few months, still others, just a few days! That’s why many a collector of Roman coins tackle only a smaller span of the more famous emperors — generally the “Twelve Caesars, a rogue’s gallery that would include the likes of Caesar Augustus, Caligula, Claudius and Nero!

However you’d like to attack a collection of Roman coins– or even if you’d like to own just one – don’t let the age and aura of these historical pieces intimidate you! They are affordable! They are obtainable! And when you hold one in your hand, it truly is difficult to comprehend the history that coin has witnessed!