Decentius AE2 BI Centenionalis AD 350-353 *die shift* XF

The centenionalis (plural centenionales) is a large bronze coin.  Centenionales were minted under Constantius II and his brother Constans as an attempt to reintroduce bigger bronze coins to the Roman Empire’s currency.  However, these centenionales were not fated to last.  By 395, just 34 years after Constantius’ rule, only small bronze coins were minted by the empire.  This specific centenionalis features a bust of Decentius as caesar.  It was minted in Lugdunum (present-day Lyon, France).

Magnus Decentius was caesar under his brother Magnus Magnentius, who ruled the Western Roman Empire from 350 to 353 AD after overthrowing Constans.  Decentius was also appointed consul in 352.  When Gaul rebelled against Magnentius in 353, Decentius was exiled from Treves (now Trier), the capital of Magnentius’s portion of the empire.  He then unsuccessfully battled Germanic tribes invading Gaul.  He and his troops were under siege in Sens when he received news that Magnentius had committed suicide after being defeated by Constantius II.  This prompted him to take his own life, leading to the end of the civil war and Constantius II becoming the sole emperor of Rome.

This coin was graded XF (extremely fine) by the Numismatic Grading Company, the official grading service of the American Numismatic Association and the Professional Numismatists Guild. Here is a list of grades used by the NGC, as well as information about Strike, Surface, and Style ratings.  This coin has a die shift, meaning the dies were not lined up the exact same way for each strike of the coin.  It can cause the images on the coin to look slightly blurred or doubled.  While it is an imperfection, it's also a reminder that ancient coins were all struck by hand!

Obverse: D N DECENTIVS NOB CAES (Dominus Noster Decentius Nobilis Caesar, translation: Our Lord Decentius, Noble Caesar); bareheaded, cuirassed bust right

Reverse: VICTORIAE DD NN AVG ET CAE ( Victoriae Dominorum Nostrorum Augusti et Caesaris, translation: Victories of our Lords, Emperor and Caesar); Two Victories, winged, draped, standing facing each other, holding between them wreath inscribed VOT V MVLT X (Votis Quinquennalibus Multis Decennalibus, translation: vows/prayers on the fifth anniversary of the emperors rule, more for his hoped for tenth anniversary), S P in lower field; R, officina mark S (2) and mint mark LG (Lugdunum) in exergue

Reference: RCV 18882, RIC VIII Lugdunum 139