GRATIAN AD 367-383

AE2. 5.18g, 23.6mm

MINTED: Thessalonica mint, AD 378-383 REF: RIC IX Thessalonica 37a

OBVERSE: DN GRATIA-NVS PF AVG, pearl diademed, draped and cuirassed bust right. REVERSE: REPARATIO-REIPVB, turreted female kneeling right, holding out hand and being raised by emperor standing left; gamma in right field, SMTES in exergue.

Notes:

Green patina, with weak strike in areas. 

Historical Notes:

Gratian was the eldest son of Emperor Valentinian I. When his father died in 375, the 16 year old ruled alongside his younger half-brother Valentinian II and his uncle, Valens.   He was married to Flavia Maxima Constantia, daughter of Constantius II.  After Valens was killed at the disastrous Battle of Adrianople in 378, Gratian invited one of his father's generals, Theodosius, to take over Valens's eastern half of the Empire. Gratian ruled over the West with some success, but in 383, he was overthrown by a usurper, Magnus Maximus, and soon thereafter murdered.