1. Nina Schreiner Roman City Dig 2010 Session #3 Bronze Coins of the Late Roman Empire

3. Obscured motifs

4. Doesn’t always register on the metal detector, due to its small size (low concentration of metal)

6. Brief History of Rome 300A.D.-500 A.D By the late 3rd century AD, the Roman Empire was disintegrating. During the crisis of 234-284, 25 different emperors ruled Rome. Two driving factors for this disintegration were: Ruralization of the economy and society Invasion and encroachment of various barbarian groups The Empire had become too large to be effectively ruled by one central administration so Emperor Diocletian divided it into two halves. Public investments stopped during this period and cities declined as centers of society and production. Inflation of currency was an additional problem. Due to the above, the state lacked precious metals and its treasury ran low. Though Diocletian attempted to fix prices and the values of coinage, changes were made again under the reign of Constantine in the 3rd century AD. In 476 AD, Emperor Romulus Augustus was deposed as the last Roman Emperor.

7. 300 A.D. 500 A.D. Maps of the Roman Empire

9. 365-366 Procopius

10. 366 Marcellus

11. 367-383 Gratian

12. 375-392 Valentinian II

13. 378-395 Theodosius I the Great

14. 383-388 Magnus Maximus

15. 384-388 Flavius Victor

16. 392-394 Eugenius

17. 393-423 Honorius

18. 406-407 Marcus

19. 407 Gratian

20. 407-411 Constantine III

21. 409/10-411 Constans II

22. 409-411 Maximus

23. 409-410, 414-415 Priscus Attalus

24. 411-413 Jovinus

25. 412-413 Sebastianus

26. 421 Constantius III

27. 423-425 Johannes

28. 425-455 Valentinian III

29. 455 Petronius Maximus

30. 455-456 Avitus

31. 457-461 Majorian

32. 461-465 Libius Severus

33. 467-472 Anthemius

34. 468 Arvandus

35. 470 Romanus

36. 472 Olybrius

37. 473-474 Glycerius

38. 474-475 Julius Nepos

40. 314(316?)Valens

41. 324 Martinianus

42. 306-337 Constantine I

43. 333/334 Calocaerus

44. 337-340 Constantine II

45. 337-350 Constans I

46. 337-361 Constantius II

47. 350-353 Magnentius

48. 350 Nepotian

49. 350Vetranio

50. 355Silvanus

51. 361-363 Julian

52. 363-364 Jovian

53. 364-375 Valentinian I

55. Theodosius Romulus Augustus Main accomplishments were keeping the barbarian groups at bay Born in Spain Most famous for being the last Roman emperor Deposed after only ten years of rule Important Emperors

56. What does all this mean for coins? Scarcity of gold, silver and bronze and decreasing wealth in the imperial treasury led to a necessary downsizing of coinage. Coins were made smaller in response to the Late Empire economic crises. Large quantities of small bronze coins were minted, without any silver or gold content. Bronze coins from earlier periods were reused. Most expressive of crisis, Romans cut old coins into halves to be reused.

57. Roman Coins During the early Empire, a stable coin system existed, with pieces valued as follows: 1 aureus = 25 denarii 1 quinarius (gold) = 12 1/2 denarii 1 denarius = 16 asses 1 quinarius (silver) = 8 asses 1 sestertius = 4 asses 1 dupondius = 2 asses 1 as = 4 quadrantes 1 semis = 2 quadrantes 1 quadrans = 1/4 as

58. Before Decline During Late Empire Crisis Comparison of coins minted before and during decline: New types of bronze coins were introduced from the mid-3rd century on and in silver-based coins the percentage of bronze to silver increased. Variety of sizes and metal contents characterize earlier Roman Empire coins.

59. Attempts to Halt Coin Devaluation As part of his reforms Diocletian introduced the follis, a silver-washed bronze coin. Over the years this coin also decreased in silver content and size. Constans and Constantius II attempted to reintroduce a large bronze coin to counteract the shrinking follis and called it the Centenionalis, but it too was short-lived. Follis Centenionalis

60. Back to Our Coins! These are some examples of the coins found at Sanisera, in the room excavated by the Cristina and the Session 3 students. Of the coins found in this room, only three were large size. The rest appear to be Late Empire period small bronze coins. Example of a larger coin, minted prior to the Late Empire crisis. Examples of small Late Empire coins. It isn’t broken; this coin was intentionally cut in half before deposition.

61. Bibliography “A Guide to the Coins of the Roman Empire.” The Portable Antiquities Scheme. The British Museum. 2010. [Retrieved online] 27 May 2010. http://www.finds.org.uk/romancoins/mints. Ermatinger, James William. The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 2004. Greene, Kevin. The Archaeology of the Roman Economy. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1990. Kelly, Christopher. The Roman Empire: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006. Mathisen, Ralph W. and Michael DiMaio, Jr. “The Imperial Index: The Rulers of the Roman Empire.” De ImperatoribusRomanis. 2006. [Retrieved online] 27 May 2010. http://www.roman-emperors.org/impindex.htm Nelson, Lynn H. PhD. “The Later Roman Empire.” Lectures in Medieval History. University of Kansas. 2001. [Retrieved online] 27 May 2010. http://www.vlib.us/medieval/lectures/late_roman_empire.html “Roman Coins.” UNRV History: Roman Empire. 2010. [Retrieved online] 27 May 2010. http://www.unrv.com/economy/roman-coins.php Smith, Wm. Bradford. Chapter 4: The Later Roman Empire: Crisis, Restoration, Transformation. Atlanta, GA: Oglethorpe University. [Retrieved online] 27 May 2010. http://www.oglethorpe.edu/faculty/~b_smith/ou/bs_foundations_chapter4.htm