VALENTINIAN I
AD 364-375
AE3. 2.61g, 19.2mm
MINTED: Siscia mint, AD 364-367
REF: RIC IX Siscia 5a, type ii-c
OBVERSE: D N VALENTINI-ANVS P F AVG, pearl-diademed, draped and cuirassed bust right.
REVERSE: GLORIA RO-MANORVM, emperor dragging captive with right, standard inscribed with chi-rho in left; •ΓSISC in exergue.
 
Grade/Notes:
Almost Very Fine. Dark green patina with green hoard encrustations.
 
Historical Notes:
Founder of the Valentinian Dynasty, he was the last of the great soldier emperors of the Roman Empire. He campaigned with great success against the Alamanni, Quadi and Sarmatian tribes and was the last emperor to send his legions across the Rhine and Danube rivers. He was known to have had a violent temper, and according to Ammianus, "he hated the well-dressed and educated and wealthy and well-born". Being unable to control his temper did not work out so well for Valentinian, and he died when he burst a blood vessel yelling in anger at a group of Quadi envoys.