Every coin on this page was held by a Roman hand before it ever reached yours. RIC-catalogued, examined by Jakob before listing, and shipped with a lifetime authenticity guarantee. From Nero through Severus Alexander, with a small group of later silvered antoniniani.
This is not a metaphor about history. This is the coin itself.
Aurora Antiqua sells authenticated ancient Roman silver coins from the early Imperial period to the late third century. The current catalogue runs from Nero (AD 66) through Severus Alexander (AD 235), with a small group of later silvered antoniniani under Philip I, Gordian III, and Probus. Before a coin is listed, Jakob examines it himself: flan and edge, surface and patina, the strike, the legend, the portrait style and the weight against the standard for the issue (see how to authenticate an ancient Roman coin).
Every coin listing gives its entry in Roman Imperial Coinage (RIC). Every order ships with a lifetime authenticity guarantee. If a piece you buy from Aurora is ever shown to be inauthentic, we refund it. Forever.
What you are actually buying
A Roman denarius weighs roughly 3.0 to 3.5 grams of silver, struck by hand between two iron dies on a slightly irregular flan. The portrait wears the radiate or laureate crown of the reigning emperor. The reverse usually carries a personification (Aequitas, Fides, Pax, Securitas) or a commemorative type. The legend is in Latin abbreviation, which you can learn to read on the obverse with about ten minutes of practice.
Each coin in this collection has been struck, not cast. Cast forgeries are the single most common fake on the market, and they fail the manufacturing technique check before they reach our table. The genuine coins on this page show rolled edges, three-dimensional patina that follows the relief, and the die alignment characteristic of Imperial Roman mint output.
Eras represented in this catalogue
The first group, struck under Nero, Vespasian, Trajan, and Antoninus Pius, is the high silver standard of the first and second centuries. These are the coins that financed the Empire at its physical maximum, from Britain to the Euphrates. The portraits are crisp, the legends sharp, the silver content above 90 percent.
The second group is Severan. Septimius Severus, Julia Maesa, Julia Mamaea, and Severus Alexander, struck between AD 193 and 235. The dynasty's coinage runs heavy with female imperial portraiture, and surviving examples in collectible condition are scarcer than the male equivalents from the same years.
The third group is the third-century antoniniani, the post-denarius coinage that signalled the slow debasement of the Roman silver standard. Philip I, Gordian III, Probus, Philip II. Lower silver content, larger flans, distinctive radiate crown.
Why this catalogue, not Etsy or an as-is auction lot
An as-is auction lot, by definition, is sold without warranty. A coin from an estate sale may be perfectly genuine, but you will not know until you commission a numismatist to look at it.
Aurora's price reflects that work already being done. Each coin examined before listing. RIC reference confirmed. Provenance line published where we have it, stated honestly where we do not. Lifetime authenticity guarantee. Free insured EU shipping. The coins on this page are legal to own and ship under EU and most international law, with provenance documentation supplied at delivery.
When a piece sells, it stays visible with a Sold marker, because the catalogue is also a record. Browse below.