VALENS
364–378 AD
Valens, younger brother of Valentinian I, ruled the eastern half of the Roman Empire during a period of mounting pressure from Gothic and Persian forces. Though capable and hardworking, he lacked the strategic judgement of his brother and often struggled with internal dissent and frontier instability. His reign is most remembered for the catastrophic Battle of Adrianople in AD 378, where he was killed along with much of the eastern field army, a disaster that shook the empire to its core. Valens’ coinage is varied, with silver issues such as siliquae often prized for their elegant engraving and distinctive mintmarks.
CLICK ON THUMBNAILS TO ENLARGE
WRS 8529 — Siliqua
Ar Siliqua. VOT V MVLT X. Legend in four lines within wreath. Mintmark TEC (Thessalonica). RIC IX, Thessalonica 14. RSC 91g. Toned and ragged flan in places. This coin bears an apparently unrecorded mintmark for Thessalonica, TEC for TES.
£185.00
