Trajan Decuis AR Antoninianus, DACIA, VF, FREE Ship, bonus, RSC 13, RIC 2b, 4g

Description

Greetings and welcome to my auction.
Presented today is a Billon Antoninianus from the time of the Emperor Trajan Decuis
Obverse: IMP TRAIANVS DECIVS AVG, radiate, draped and cuirassed bust right
Reverse: DACIA, Dacia standing left, holding draco standard
Catalogue references: RSC 13, RIC 2b
This coin was minted at Rome
Weight:
4 grams
Condition: VF
I have come to believe grading borders on an art.
Strictness, like taste, varies within rough estimates.
I personally go for a level of detail.
The fact that minting quality could and often did change within the same issue only makes this more variable.
Some strikes are clear enough, others soft or from worn dies.
These pictures were taken with a Yinama digital microscope on a red background.
The coin you receive will likely look at least a little better than you see here.
Simply put, I will offer my estimate expecting that you will use the image to literally see for yourself.
Offers:
When making an offer, realize that these coins were not pulled from pocket change.
If reasonable, I will accept.
I may choose to make a counteroffer.
Consider carefully, as we both want you to have the coin.
AND YOU WILL GET A FREE COIN AT LEAST 80 YEARS OLD WITH THIS PURCHASE
😊
Shipping:
Free in the United States, Canada and Europe.
About the Emperor Trajan Decius:
The man who would become known to history as Emperor Trajan Decius was born Gaius Messius Quintus Decius Valerinus.
He was born sometime in the year 201 in the current area of Serbia.
He would die sometime in the year 251 in the current area of Bulgaria.
Trajan Decius would marry Herenia Etruscilla.
With her he would have two children, Herennius Etruscus and Hostilian.
In 251 he would make Hostilian co Emperor.
Trajan was member of the Roman Senate.
He also served as the Governor in the provinces of Moesia, Germania Inferior and Hispania Tarraconensis.
Also the then Emperor Philip put Trajan Decius in change of an important military command on the Danube.
Decius and these troops would put down a rebellion in the area of Moesia and Pannonia.
Apparently that was on erebellion too many for some of the legions and they hailed Trajan Decius as the new Emperor.
Decuis and his legions marched on his former patron Emperor Philip and his legions.
In September 249 they met at Verona in Italy.
There Philip was defeated and Trajan Decius became the Emperor.
He would then make Hostilian co Emperor.
Together they would reign until they died facing the Goths.
Christianity was persecuted during the reign of the Emperor Trajan Decius.
Uniquely, we actually have the Imperial edict on this: ‘All the inhabitants of the empire were required to sacrifice before the magistrates of their community 'for the safety of the empire' by a certain day (the date would vary from place to place and the order may have been that the sacrifice had to be completed within a specified period after a community received the edict). When they sacrificed they would obtain a certificate (libellus) recording the fact that they had complied with the order. That is, the certificate would testify the sacrificant's loyalty to the ancestral gods and to the consumption of sacrificial food and drink as well as the names of the officials who were overseeing the sacrifice’.
Some suspect that this was not so much a try to insure the superiority of their Roman Gods as an attempt to show his power.
He was the Emperor, thus he could make decrees.
People had to obey his decrees, therefor he must be Emperor.
Those obeying recognized Trajan Decius was Emperor.
The Christians may well just have been sacrificed on the alter of public opinion.
The Goths had started to get too successful at raiding and looting provinces of the Roman Empire.
So the Emperor Decius with his son and co – Emperor Herennius Etruscus assembled a new army to defeat the Goths.
They fought at the Battle of Abritus.
He lost his son early in the battle.in order to prevent the legions from getting too demoralized over losing one of the two Emperors, Decius would shout ‘Let no one mourn; the death of one soldier is not a great loss to the republic’.
One death might have been no loss, then then the rest including the remaining Emperor Trajan Decius would be annihilated in the nearby swamp.
This was the first time an Emperor of the Roman Empire actually died in a battle against a foreign enemy.
I think we should end this description of the Emperor Trajan Decius with a comment that in areas once controlled by Persia, the name Decius remains in popular culture even now.
There the ‘Age of Decius’ referred to ancient times.
When something is old and outdated, people would say "This belongs to the Age of Decius."