Gratian's siliquae from Trier are among the better-documented issues of his short reign, struck at a mint that had served as an imperial residence since the time of Constantine. The VRBS ROMA reverse type on silver — a deliberate archaism invoking the city's founding mythology — was a political gesture by a court that had never needed to make it: by the 370s, Gratian ruled from the Rhine frontier, not from Rome, and most Romans of rank had not seen the city in years.
Gratian was killed at Lyon in August 383, betrayed to Magnus Maximus. Production at Trier passed immediately to the usurper.
Gratian's siliquae from Trier are among the better-documented issues of his short reign, struck at a mint that had served as an imperial residence since the time of Constantine. The VRBS ROMA reverse type on silver — a deliberate archaism invoking the city's founding mythology — was a political gesture by a court that had never needed to make it: by the 370s, Gratian ruled from the Rhine frontier, not from Rome, and most Romans of rank had not seen the city in years.
Gratian was killed at Lyon in August 383, betrayed to Magnus Maximus. Production at Trier passed immediately to the usurper.