Set Description
Although this set was first created in the NGC Registry in July, 2018, it had been in its construction phase long before that. I pulled inspiration from a few sources and have tweaked the goals a bit, but overall, my basic goals for this set have remained consistent. As hoaky and not historically accurate as my first inspiration was, the HBO show "Rome" revolved around Julius Ceasar and what is known as the Imperatorial Period. The characters in the show were actual characters in real life and became the basis for the starting period of my collection. Important figures that shaped Rome into the Empire it was to become are the first coins featured in my set; figures such as Brutus, Scipio, Marc Antony, Pompey Magnus, Lepidus, and Julius Caesar, among others, begin my collection into my main focus of Emperors of the Roman Empire. My collection does not contain Roman Republic coins, nor have I concentrated on adding females, although a few have been recently added with a significant number yet to be sent off for grading.
My original focus has always been obtaining at least one certified coin from each of the Roman Emperors. Originally, I was not going to include Usurpers or those only obtaining the rank of Caesar and not Augustus, however this focus has changed as my knowledge and history of the Roman Empire has evolved. I have obtained many Usurpers and Caesar's, as well as other key players or rare leaders. My primary focus has not changed, as it is my ultimate goal to obtain a coin from every Emperor.
My original focus was on the Western Roman Empire, but as I built the collection, I found Eastern Emperors were of great importance and played pivotal and key roles in shaping the Empire. This logically led into collecting Byzantine Emperors and now my ultimate goal is to have a coin that represents every Emperor from Octavian Augustus to Constantine XI, with the fall of the Byzantine Empire in 1453.
I am not under any illusions about this set ever being completed. Some Usurpers are so rare that only 1 coin are even known of them. Others are obtainable with unlimited funds, which I do not have. I watched a Jotapian Usurper coin sell for $7,800. I bid up to $6,000 twice for a Julius Nepos coin and lost both times. And I watched a Constantine XI sell at auction for $28,000. I also can't count the number of times that NGC has saved me from being burned by a decent forgery. I have been burned on Caesar, Cato, Cassius, Tiberius, Gordian II, Florian, Balbinus, Pupienus, Pertinax, and Lealianus. Some ancient collectors swear by raw coins only but I honestly wonder how many fakes are unknowingly in their collection. Many of these forgeries were of exceptional quality that only an expert could spot, and thanks to NGC, besides grading fees, I have recovered all costs.
I hope to bring this collection to as close as complete as I can, while also working on upgrading many of my lower grade examples. It is my goal to upgrade coins as well as add coins. My Western Empire is much more complete than my Byzantine, though that collection is making progress.
An important side note, I'd like to stress that, although NGC begins labeling coins as Byzantine after Zeno in 491, it should be noted that the population of Constantinople and the East considered themselves Roman right up until 1453, when the Empire finally fell. The term Byzantine was not used by scholars until the 18th century. I would like to give credit to Wikipedia and Eric Volume II for much of the information provided under each individual in this set.
To speak directly about the set itself, if you follow the rules laid out after 395 that the Senior Emperor was always the Eastern Emperor and any Western Emperor after 395 had to be accepted by the East, then the only legitimate Western Emperor this set is missing is Julius Nepos. Every other emperor would be considered a usurper.
I am proud of what I have accomplished so far. The set includes the rare issues of Alexander of Carthage, Jotapian, Martinian, Jovinus, Domitius Domitianus, Constantine III, Leo II, Majorian, Anthemius, Johannes, Eugenius, Basciliscus, Hanniballianus, and John VIII, just to name a few (so far). There are also 37 Gold coins to date in the collection!
Note: Any coin listed as "Want" that HAS A PHOTO is owned and awaiting encapsulation by NGC.
Set Goals
To obtain a certified example of each Emperor, Caesar, Usurper, and key figure of the Roman Empire, beginning with the Imperatorial period, through the Roman Empire, Western Roman Empire, Eastern Roman Empire, and Byzantine Empire, teaching history to those that explore this collection.