Archives: Artworks

Tremissis

The tremis (tremissis) was a gold coin created by Emperor Magnus Maximus in the year 385, valued at a third of a solidus. With the decline of the Western Roman Empire and difficulties in acquiring gold, the Germanic rulers of Western Europe stopped minting the solidus and began producing the tremis instead.

Read more

Aureus

This coin was minted in 193, just after Septimius Severus defeated one of the rivals for the imperial throne, Didius Julianus, in order to reward the loyalty of his soldiers. Hence the allusion to the emperor’s liberality (Liberalitas Augusti) mentioned in the legend on the reverse.

Read more