The Wonderful World of Ancient Coin Collecting
Coinage of the Roman Empire


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Coin Details

  

Set Details
Coin Description:
Grade: NGC Ch XF Surface: 4/5 Surface: 4/5
Owner: RAM-VT
 
Set Category: Ancients
Set Name: The Wonderful World of Ancient Coin Collecting
Slot Name: Coinage of the Roman Empire
Research: Currently not available

Owner's Description

Roman Provincial Coinage – Syria: Seleucis and Pieria. Antioch Trajan Decius. 249-251 AD AR Tetradrachm Prieur 521, Sear #4209 Grade Ch XF - Strike 4/5 - Surface 4/5 Census - NGC does not provide census info on ancient coins :>( The Obv. AVT K G ME KY DEKIOC TPAIANOC CEB, laureate, draped and cuirassed bust right, seen from behind The Rev. DHMAPX EZOYCIAC, eagle standing right on palm branch, wings spread, wreath in beak; S C in exergue Gaius Messius Quintus Traianus Decius was Roman Emperor from 249 to 251. In the last year of his reign, he co-ruled with his son Herennius Etruscus until both of them were killed in the Battle of Abrittus. Around 245, Emperor Philip entrusted Decius with an important command on the Danube. By the end of 248 or 249, Decius was sent to quell the revolt of Pacatianus and to rid the region of the Goths, Germans and Dacian Carpi who had flooded in during the crisis and his troops in Moesia and Pannonia; the soldiers were enraged because of the peace treaty signed between Philip and the Sassanids. Once arrived, the troops forced Decius to assume the imperial dignity himself instead. Decius still protested his loyalty to Philip, but the latter advanced against him and was killed near Verona, Italy. The Senate then recognized Decius as Emperor, giving him the attribute Traianus as a reference to the good emperor Trajan. The siege of Philippopolis had so exhausted the numbers and resources of the Goths that they offered to surrender their treasure and prisoners, on condition of being allowed to retire. Decius, who had succeeded in surrounding them and hoped to cut off their retreat, refused to entertain their proposals. The final engagement, the battle of Abrittus, in which the Goths fought with the courage of despair, under the command of Cniva. Jordanes records that Decius' son Herennius Etruscus was killed by an arrow early in the battle, and to cheer his men Decius exclaimed, "Let no one mourn; the death of one soldier is not a great loss to the republic." Nevertheless, Decius' army was entangled in the swamp and annihilated in this battle, while he himself was killed on the field of battle 238. Decius was the first Roman emperor to die in battle against a foreign enemy. My cost for this coin was $130

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