| Heritage World Coin Auctions > CSNS Signature Sale 3115 | Auction date: 8 May 2024 |
| Lot number: 31098 Price realized: This lot is for sale in an upcoming auction - Bid on this lot  | Show similar lots on CoinArchives Find similar lots in upcoming auctions on  |
| Lot description: Ancients Trajan Decius (AD 249-251). AV aureus (20mm, 4.94 gm, 1h). NGC Choice AU 5/5 - 3/5. Rome. IMP C M Q TRAIANVS DECIVS AVG, laureate, cuirassed bust of Trajan Decius right, seen from behind / PANNONIAE, two Pannoniae standing facing, veiled heads turned outward, each with standard in outer hand, right figure with right hand raised. Calicó 3295. RIC IV.III 21a var. (laureate, draped, and cuirassed). Attractive portrait. Bright flashing surfaces. Born on the Danubian frontier, Gaius Messius Quintus Trajanus Decius came to the throne with a ready-made agenda for the restoration of Rome's fading glory. He tried several innovations on the financial front, including the introduction of a new coin denomination, the double-sestertius. Despite these measures, the gold coinage of Decius shows a sharp acceleration in the debasement witnessed over the previous two decades, which had seen the aureus drop from about 6.5 grams under Severus Alexander (AD 222-235) to about 4.5 grams under Philip I (AD 244-249). Aurei struck near the beginning of his reign average about the same as Philip's, but this plummets by more than a gram over the course of the next 18 months. Perhaps seeking to confiscate their estates and replenish the treasury, he cracked down harshly on those he believed were undermining the ancient traditions of Rome. Christianity was particularly singled out, and thousands of Christians were forced to either make sacrifice to Rome's gods or face torture, execution and seizure of assets. Renewed barbarian invasions late in AD 250 took his attention away from domestic affairs. Seeking a decisive battle, Decius pursued the fleeing Goths into the marshes of Abrittus and straight into an ambush. Decius and about half of his army perished in the debacle, the first time a Roman emperor had fallen to a foreign enemy. The Christians claimed it was God's revenge on an arch-persecutor. In any case, the catastrophe at Abrittus accelerated the Roman Empire's slide into anarchy. https://coins.ha.com/itm/ancients/roman-imperial/ancients-trajan-decius-ad-249-251-av-aureus-20mm-494-gm-1h-ngc-choice-au-5-5-3-5/a/3115-31098.s?type=DA-DMC-CoinArchives-WorldCoins-3115-05082024 HID02906262019 © 2024 Heritage Auctions | All Rights Reserved Estimate: 7500-8500 USD |  |
