The third century AD marked one of the most unstable periods in Roman history—a time modern historians call the Crisis of the Third Century. Rapid successions of emperors, civil war, foreign invasions, and economic breakdown pushed the Empire to the brink of collapse. Authority at the top was fragile, and the consequences were felt most clearly in Rome’s coinage.
This collection brings together genuine Roman silver coins struck under six emperors who ruled during this age of uncertainty: Maximinus Thrax, Gordian III, Philip I, Philip II, Trajan Decius, and Trebonianus Gallus.
As emperors rose and fell, the Roman economy spiraled downward. Hyperinflation and repeated debasement of silver coinage reflected a government struggling to fund armies, secure loyalty, and maintain control. These coins bear the physical evidence of that crisis—lighter weights, reduced purity, and hurried production—each piece a witness to an empire under extreme stress.
Together, this six-coin set offers a tangible record of Rome’s fight for survival, when power was fleeting, silver was stretched thin, and the fate of the Empire hung in the balance.
The third century AD marked one of the most unstable periods in Roman history—a time modern historians call the Crisis of the Third Century. Rapid successions of emperors, civil war, foreign invasions, and economic breakdown pushed the Empire to the brink of collapse. Authority at the top was fragile, and the consequences were felt most clearly in Rome’s coinage.
This collection brings together genuine Roman silver coins struck under six emperors who ruled during this age of uncertainty: Maximinus Thrax, Gordian III, Philip I, Philip II, Trajan Decius, and Trebonianus Gallus.
As emperors rose and fell, the Roman economy spiraled downward. Hyperinflation and repeated debasement of silver coinage reflected a government struggling to fund armies, secure loyalty, and maintain control. These coins bear the physical evidence of that crisis—lighter weights, reduced purity, and hurried production—each piece a witness to an empire under extreme stress.
Together, this six-coin set offers a tangible record of Rome’s fight for survival, when power was fleeting, silver was stretched thin, and the fate of the Empire hung in the balance.
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