Ancient Rome Aemilian Antoninian and Sestertius 253AD

Not many have heard of the Roman Emperor Aemilian. He reigned in 253AD for only 88 days. His coins are considered highly collectible due to their low mintage, and the literal epitomization the phrase 'Live by the sword, die by the sword.' He was declared Emperor by his troops, resulting in the death of the former emperor, Gallus, at the hands of his own army after their realization of defeat. Ironically, after a usurper named Valerian arose, Aemilian was killed by his own troops in an attempt to appease their new emperor.

Inscriptions on this coin are IMP AEMILIANVS PIVS FEL AVG on the portrait side of the coin, and AP OL CONSERVAT on the reverse. The radiate head on one side of the coin is that of Emperor Aemilian, and the Roman deity Apollo appears on the reverse.

As with all ancient coins, values are difficult to estimate accurately, as each coin stands on its own mertis. In general, the small (22 mm, 3 gram) silver antoninian are worth less than the large (33 mm, 15 grams) base-metal sestertius. Checking auctions of recent coins, here are some general guidelines.

ANTONINIAN
worn: $60 US dollars approximate catalog value
average circulated: $200
well preserved: $500

SESTERIUS
worn: $200 US dollars approximate catalog value
average circulated: $800
well preserved: $2500

You can view a comprehensive summary of Aemilian coins over at WildWinds. The coin in our main picture (upper left) comes from The Antique Store in New Zealand, assisted by eBay seller cccoins2014. CoinQuest thanks them for use of their coin photo.
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