Magnentius was a Roman military commander who seized power during one of the Empire’s frequent 4th-century civil conflicts.
In 350 AD, he overthrew Emperor Constans (one of Constantine the Great’s sons) in the Western Roman Empire. Constans was killed during the coup, and Magnentius quickly declared himself emperor.
But legitimacy was everything in Rome—and he didn’t have it. The eastern emperor, Constantius II, refused to recognize him, leading to a brutal civil war. After a few years of fighting, Magnentius was defeated in 353 AD and took his own life. Magnentius didn’t just fight battles—he fought propaganda wars, and coins were his main tool.
Roman coins were basically “mass media” at the time. Magnentius used them to show himself as the legitimate emperor, to link himself to divine approval and to compete with Constantius II’s propaganda machine.
His coins often show a strong, idealized bust to project authority, often with Chi-Rho symbol ☧, one of the earliest Christian symbols on Roman coins—used to signal divine legitimacy and appeal to Christian soldiers.
The large bronze issues (AE2/AE3) are mass-produced for wide circulation during the civil war period.
Furthermore propaganda inscriptions with titles like DN MAGNENTIVS PF AVG (“Our Lord Magnentius, Dutiful and August”) were standard legitimacy claims.
Magnentius is one of the clearest examples of how unstable the late Roman Empire had become:
– Emperors could rise by military backing alone
– Coinage became a propaganda battlefield
– Christianity was now deeply tied into imperial legitimacy
His coins are especially valuable to historians because they capture a moment when power, religion, and civil war all collided in metal form.
Magnentius did not last long, but his coins are a nice snapshot of a ruler trying to sell himself as the rightful emperor through religion, symbols, and imperial portraiture.
Solidus 350-351 Arles Magnentius, Very rare, Gold MS(60-62)
21,125.00 US$
Material: Gold
Weight: 4.34 g – Diameter: 23.00 mm
Mint mark: Arles
Catalog: RIC.132
Obv: Bust of Magnentius, bareheaded, draped, cuirassed, right
Rev: Victory, winged, draped, standing right, holding palm over left shoulder, and Libertas, draped, standing left, holding transverse sceptre in left hand; between them, the support a plain shaft carrying a trophy.
Splendid specimen of a Solidus of Magnentius, emperor with a very short reign (350-353). This coin, struck in Arles, in the south of France, depicts the allegories of Victory and Liberty, thus highlighting the emperor’s position as liberator of the Roman people, an element also emphasised by the legend.
The association of Magnentius’s portrait with the observe legend is also extremely rare for coins from this period: beginning with “IM” and the emperor’s name here, it stands in complete contrast to the other captions, which almost always begin with “D N” followed by the emperor’s name at this period.
This reminds the Roman coins of earlier periods beginning exclusively with “IMP”, to be translated as “Imperator”.
This is a highly exceptional case for an extremely well-preserved specimen, which still shows some traces of the mint lustre around the reliefs. Several die breaks can be seen in the letters of the captions, in the fields on the obverse and on the reverse, and on the portrait, showing that this coin was struck with very worn dies., IM CAE MAGN-ENTIVS AVG, VICTORIA AVG LIB ROMANOR // PAR
Roman Empire AV Solidus MAGNENTIUS, 350-353 – Augusta Treverorum cf. Triton XVI, lot 1171 in unc-
10,385.00 US$
Catalog: Cohen 46 | RIC 247 | Bastien 5-7 | Depeyrot 8/1 | Sear 18736
Weight 4,51gr. – Gold Ø 22mm.
Obv: Bareheaded, draped and cuirassed bust of Magnentius right, seen from front, surrounded by the legend IM CAE MAGNENTIVS AVG
Rev: Victory, on left, standing right with palm over shoulder, facing Libertas, standing left, holding between them a military trophy on a jeweled staff, surrounded by the legend VICTORIA • AVG • LIB • ROMANOR, TR in exergue.
Trier was originally a settlement of the Gallic tribe of the Treveri. When General Agrippa had a road built from Lugdunum (Lyon) to Colonia (Cologne) and a bridge built near Trier, the settlement grew rapidly.
Soon a city of size developed here, which the Romans gave the name Augusta Treverorum. The city is incorrectly referred to by many as Treveri the treveri is a people, Treverorum is the city of the treveri.
Trier was a thriving city during Roman times. At the time of the Gallic Empire (260-274) it was even the capital where the emperor resided. As the capital of Gaul, it also enjoyed a great heyday in the 4th century, where Emperor Constantine the Great also frequently stayed. The city suffered worse when the imperial court was moved to Arles in 394 | one year later, the mint was closed.
cf. Triton XVI, lot 1171 in unc- (USD 15.000 + 20%)
Some minor scratches, otherwise attractive specimen. Rare.
Roman Empire AV Solidus Magnentius, Trier AD 353 S
4,520.00 US$
Diameter: 21 mm – Weight: 3.81 g.
Catalog: RIC 296
Obv: Bust of Magnentius, right
Rev: Victoria and Libertas hold trophy between them, fine.
Rom Double Maiorina Magnentius (350-353) SALUS DD NN AVG ET CAES VF
705.00 US$
Diameter: 26 mm – Weight: 7,5 g
Obv: Bust of Magnentius, right
Rev: Large Chi-Rho
Rome 353 AD. Magnentius, double maiorina, Arles, very rare ! VF+
530.00 US$
Catalog: RIC 188 – Ferrando 1286 (R3)
Material: Copper
Weight: 7.56 g – Diameter: 27.00 mm
Very nice coin with on superb green patina.
Ancient Roman Centenionalis 351 AD Magnentius
510.00 US$
Material: Bronze
Weight: 6.11 g
Magnentius; 350-353 AD, Trier, 351 AD, Centenionalis,
Catalog: RIC-271 (C2), Bastien-32 (31 spec.).
Obv: D N MAGNEN – TIVS P F AVG Bare-headed, draped, cuirassed bust r., seen from front, A behind portrait.
Rev: GLORIA ROMANORVM Emperor in military dress, shield on l. arm, on horse charging r., spearing barbarian with outstretched arms kneeling l. beneath horse; below horse, shield and broken spear; mintmark TRP followed by crescent in exergue. The crescent after the mintmark in exergue is unclear, perhaps because of slight doublestriking in that area of the coin.Some doublestriking on portrait. Mint State
ROMAN IMPERIAL Æ-Maiorina 351-352, Ambianum (Amiens) – AMB Magnentius, 350-353. EF
330.00 US$
Catalog: RIC 23
Material: Base metal
Weight: 3.96 g
D N MAGNEN-TIVS P F AVG, draped and cuirassed bust facing right // VICTORIAE DD NN AVG ET CAE / AMB (crescent moon in exergue); two Victories standing facing one another, jointly holding a wreath containing the inscription VOT / V / MVLT / X; Christogram above the wreath.
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