Sold
$5,500
Place Bid
Lot 788
Magnentius. AD 350-353. AV Solidus (21.5mm, 4.63 g, 6h). Treveri (Trier) mint. 1st emission, 18 January-27 February AD 350. Good VF.
Estimate:
$3,000
Starting Bid: $1,800
Sold
$5,500
Enter Max Bid
(Min. $6,000)
The system will automatically bid for you.
Est.
$3,000
Starting Bid: $1,800
Live Auction
Triton XXVIII
Live bidding began Jan 14, 2025 at 9:00 AM EST
Category
Description
Magnentius. AD 350-353. AV Solidus (21.5mm, 4.63 g, 6h). Treveri (Trier) mint. 1st emission, 18 January-27 February AD 350. IM CAE MAGN ENTIVS AVG, bareheaded, draped, and cuirassed bust right / VICTORIA ‘ AVG ‘ LIB ‘ ROMANOR, Victory, draped, cradling palm frond in left arm, standing right, and Libertas, draped, holding transverse vindicta in left hand, standing left, both draped and together holding a trophy set on long staff between them with their right hands; TR. RIC VIII 247; Bastien 7; Depeyrot 8/1; Biaggi 2197; Mazzini 46v. Toned, with some luster, minor scratches and marks. Good VF.
From the Ramrodivs Collection. Ex Berk BBS 185 (9 July 2013), lot 32.
Born around A.D. 303 to a British father and Frankish mother, Flavius Magnus Magnentius showed enough talent to rise high in the Roman army. In the 340s, the western emperor Constans appointed Magnentius as commander in his personal guard. Whatever Magnentius’ merits, gratitude was not among them, for in January AD 350, he staged a successful coup deposing his benefactor. Constans, who had made himself unpopular with the army, attempted to flee to his brother Constantius II, emperor of the East, but was captured and executed. After securing control of Italy, Magnentius attempted to negotiate with Constantius, but the eastern emperor would hear none of it. Taking a year to marshal his forces, Constantius struck in the summer of AD 351, but Magnentius defeated his initial thrust into Italy and went on the offensive, seizing the strategic town of Siscia and forcing a major engagement in the Balkans. The clash at Mursa on September 28, AD 351 proved one of the costliest battles in Roman history, leaving the ground strewn with 55,000 dead. Magnentius fared much the worse and retreated into Gaul. Constantius took his time in pursuit, invading Italy the following year and methodically tightening the noose around Magentius, who was forced to take refuge in the city of Lugdunum. Rather than surrender, Magnentius fell on his sword in August of AD 353. Although a usurper, Magentius had a long-lasting impact on the Roman Empire through the agency of his young widow, Justina, who later married Valentinian I and became a lynchpin in future dynastic politics.
The final winners of all Triton XXVIII lots will be determined at the live public sale that will be held on 14-15 January 2025.
Triton XXVIII – Session Three – Lot 558–829 will be held Wednesday morning, 15 January 2025 beginning at 9:00 AM ET.
Winning bids are subject to a 22.5% buyer's fee for bids placed on this website and 25% for all others.
We recognize that our users may have various Internet Browsers and Operating Systems. We like our visitors to have the best possible experience when using our bidding platform. However, we do recognize that it is impossible to develop applications that work identically, efficiently and effectively on all web browsers. The CNG bidding platform supports the latest stable major version and stable previous version of Chrome and Firefox.
From the Ramrodivs Collection. Ex Berk BBS 185 (9 July 2013), lot 32.
Born around A.D. 303 to a British father and Frankish mother, Flavius Magnus Magnentius showed enough talent to rise high in the Roman army. In the 340s, the western emperor Constans appointed Magnentius as commander in his personal guard. Whatever Magnentius’ merits, gratitude was not among them, for in January AD 350, he staged a successful coup deposing his benefactor. Constans, who had made himself unpopular with the army, attempted to flee to his brother Constantius II, emperor of the East, but was captured and executed. After securing control of Italy, Magnentius attempted to negotiate with Constantius, but the eastern emperor would hear none of it. Taking a year to marshal his forces, Constantius struck in the summer of AD 351, but Magnentius defeated his initial thrust into Italy and went on the offensive, seizing the strategic town of Siscia and forcing a major engagement in the Balkans. The clash at Mursa on September 28, AD 351 proved one of the costliest battles in Roman history, leaving the ground strewn with 55,000 dead. Magnentius fared much the worse and retreated into Gaul. Constantius took his time in pursuit, invading Italy the following year and methodically tightening the noose around Magentius, who was forced to take refuge in the city of Lugdunum. Rather than surrender, Magnentius fell on his sword in August of AD 353. Although a usurper, Magentius had a long-lasting impact on the Roman Empire through the agency of his young widow, Justina, who later married Valentinian I and became a lynchpin in future dynastic politics.
The final winners of all Triton XXVIII lots will be determined at the live public sale that will be held on 14-15 January 2025.
Triton XXVIII – Session Three – Lot 558–829 will be held Wednesday morning, 15 January 2025 beginning at 9:00 AM ET.
Winning bids are subject to a 22.5% buyer's fee for bids placed on this website and 25% for all others.
We recognize that our users may have various Internet Browsers and Operating Systems. We like our visitors to have the best possible experience when using our bidding platform. However, we do recognize that it is impossible to develop applications that work identically, efficiently and effectively on all web browsers. The CNG bidding platform supports the latest stable major version and stable previous version of Chrome and Firefox.
