Most genuine ancient Roman coins are worth approximately $5-30, because the coin people usually have is a small late Roman bronze from the 300s AD, struck by the million for everyday use and still dug up by the thousand every year. Silver denarii and antoniniani from the empire usually sell for $20-300 depending on the emperor and how much detail is left, and gold coins start around $1,500 and run far higher. The value of any Roman coin comes down to four things you can read from a photo: the metal, the emperor named in the legend, the reverse type with its mint mark, and how much of the design and lettering is still sharp. A surprising share of Roman coins bought on holiday are modern copies, so authenticity matters as much as rarity.
Quick answer
- A worn small bronze of Constantine or his family is worth $5-30. Uncleaned lots sell for $2-10 per coin.
- Look for: the emperor's name around the portrait, the letters under the reverse design (the mint mark), the metal and the weight.
- It is worth more when it is silver or gold, when the emperor is short-lived or famous (Julius Caesar, Otho, Pertinax), or when portrait and legend are fully legible on a good flan.
How to check yours, step by step
- Weigh it and measure it. Use a kitchen scale that reads to 0.1 g and a ruler. A late Roman bronze (called AE3 or AE4) is usually 15-20 mm and 1.5-3.5 g. A denarius is about 18-20 mm and 3-3.5 g. An antoninianus is 20-24 mm and 3-5 g. A large bronze sestertius is 30-35 mm and 20-30 g. A coin far outside these bands for its type is a warning.
- Look at the head on the front. A laurel wreath is the standard. A spiky radiate crown on a silver or billon coin usually means an antoninianus, the "double denarius" introduced around 215 AD. A pearl diadem and a long name starting with "D N" (Dominus Noster, "our lord") points to the 300s or later.
- Read the legend around the portrait. Start at the most readable part and find the name. CONSTANTINVS, CONSTANTIVS, CONSTANS, VALENS, THEODOSIVS and LICINIVS are the common late names. Titles such as IMP (Imperator), CAES (Caesar), AVG (Augustus) and P F AVG (Pius Felix Augustus) surround it. The name is what you search on.
- Read the reverse legend. Common late slogans include GLORIA EXERCITVS (two soldiers with standards), VRBS ROMA (wolf and twins), FEL TEMP REPARATIO (soldier spearing a fallen horseman) and VIRTVS EXERCIT. These types are common, which is why the coins are cheap.
- Look in the exergue, the strip under the reverse design. That is the mint mark. Letters such as TR (Trier), PLG or LVG (Lyon), ARL or CONST (Arles), AQ (Aquileia), R (Rome), SIS (Siscia), TS (Thessalonica), CONS (Constantinople), SMN (Nicomedia), SMK (Cyzicus), ANT (Antioch) and ALE (Alexandria) appear, often with a P, S, T or other letter for the workshop. Mint mark plus emperor plus reverse type lets you find the exact catalogue entry.
- Check the edges and surface. Genuine struck coins have a slightly irregular round flan, sometimes with small edge splits, and design detail that sits crisp in the metal. Cast fakes show a seam on the edge, tiny bubbles or pits, and soft, mushy lettering.
- Compare against sold examples. Search the emperor and reverse legend on auction archives such as CNG, acsearch or the sold listings of established ancient coin dealers, and match by condition.
What Roman coins are worth by type
Values below are for genuine coins with the main features visible. Exceptional portraits and full legends sell above the range; corroded, flat or holed coins below it.
| Coin type | Period | Typical size and metal | Worn but identifiable | Fine to Very Fine |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Late Roman small bronze (AE3, AE4) | 300s to 400s AD | 13-20 mm, bronze | $5-15 | $15-50 |
| Follis (early 300s) | Diocletian to Constantine | 20-28 mm, bronze, sometimes silvered | $10-30 | $30-100 |
| Antoninianus, late base metal | 250s to 290s AD | 20-24 mm, billon | $10-25 | $25-60 |
| Antoninianus, good silver | 215 to about 250 AD | 20-24 mm, silver | $25-50 | $50-120 |
| Denarius, common emperor | 1st to early 3rd century | 18-20 mm, silver | $30-80 | $80-300 |
| Sestertius, large bronze | 1st to 3rd century | 30-35 mm, bronze | $30-100 | $100-600 |
| Republican denarius | before 27 BC | 17-20 mm, silver | $40-100 | $100-400 |
| Solidus, gold | 300s to 400s AD | 20-22 mm, gold, about 4.5 g | $1,000-2,000 | $2,000-4,000 |
| Aureus, gold | 1st to 3rd century | 18-20 mm, gold, 6.5-8 g | $3,000-8,000 | $8,000 and far up |
Which names and types lift the price
| Feature | Effect on value |
|---|---|
| Constantine I, Constantius II, Constans, Licinius on a small bronze | Common, the base price |
| Tetricus, Gallienus, Claudius II antoniniani | Common, $10-40 for most |
| Trajan, Hadrian, Antoninus Pius, Marcus Aurelius denarii | Common for silver, $60-250 in Fine |
| Short reigns (Otho, Pertinax, Didius Julianus) | Hundreds to thousands even worn |
| Julius Caesar portrait denarius | Thousands, and among the most faked |
| Brutus EID MAR denarius | Six figures and up, almost every example offered casually is a copy |
| Rare mint for the type, or a scarce reverse | Can double or triple the price |
| Desirable green or desert patina, full legends | 50 to 200 percent above a plain example |
| Harsh cleaning, pitting, holes, mount marks | Down to half or less |
The pattern is simple. The empire struck huge numbers of small change for paying soldiers, and those coins went into the ground in hoards that are still being found. Emperors who ruled for decades are common. Emperors who ruled for weeks are not.
Denarii, antoniniani, silver and gold
The denarius was the silver workhorse of Rome for about four centuries. Early imperial denarii are close to pure silver; by the reign of Septimius Severus around 200 AD they were roughly half silver. The antoninianus, with its radiate crown, replaced it in the 200s and collapsed in silver content, so a coin from the 260s or 270s is mostly copper with a thin silvery wash that wears off to brown. That is why late antoniniani sell like bronzes even though they began as silver.
If a coin looks silver, the silver tests help, with one caution: ancient silver is often slightly crystallized and brittle, so never scratch, bend or acid test it. Weight and a look at worn high points do most of the work.
Gold is a different market. A solidus of Theodosius or Honorius is the most common Roman gold coin and still sells in the low thousands. Gold is also faked in quantity, so any Roman gold coin needs a specialist's eye before it is sold.
Tourist fakes and the uncleaned lot market
Two kinds of copy show up in inherited boxes.
Souvenir copies sold at ancient sites and markets in Italy, Turkey, Greece, Bulgaria, Israel and Jordan. Many are cast in base metal, artificially patinated and sold as "found nearby." Typical signs: a soapy or greasy look, a dull uniform patina, a casting seam on the edge, wrong weight, and portraits of the most famous figures (Caesar, Augustus, Nero, Cleopatra) in suspiciously good condition. Some are also struck from modern dies, which makes them harder to spot. A Twelve Caesars set on a card, or a silver "aureus," is almost always modern.
Uncleaned lots are bulk late Roman bronzes sold encrusted, straight from hoards or metal detecting. They are mostly genuine, mostly common, and sold at $2-10 per coin in bulk. Cleaned coins out of them rarely beat $5-15 each. A jar of crusty green coins is usually one of these lots, bought as a hobby, not a hoard.
Patina and cleaning
Patina is the stable crust that bronze forms in the ground, from deep green to brown and the sandy desert patina of coins from the Middle East. Collectors value an even, stable patina. Do not scrub, polish, dip or put a coin in vinegar. A cleaned bronze with bright pink metal showing sells for far less than the same coin left alone. The exception is bronze disease: light green powdery spots that keep growing. That needs a conservator or specialist, not household cleaning.
Common mistakes
- Assuming any Roman coin is valuable because it is two thousand years old. Late bronzes are the most common ancient coins there are.
- Cleaning coins before showing them. Polishing or acid permanently lowers value.
- Trusting a story of "found at the site" from a market stall. Souvenir copies are sold with that story every day.
- Reading the portrait instead of the legend. Roman portraits look alike to most people; the name settles it.
- Pricing from a single eBay listing. Ancient coins are better priced from dealer and auction archives with photos.
- Ignoring weight. A wrong weight is the quickest sign of a cast copy.
- Forgetting the law. Many countries restrict the export of excavated coins, so provenance (where and when the coin was acquired) can matter for selling.
What to photograph
- The front and back, straight on, each filling the frame, in light from one side so the relief shows.
- A close-up of the legend around the portrait, tilted until the letters read.
- A close-up of the exergue under the reverse design, for the mint mark.
- The edge, at an angle, to show any casting seam or splits.
- The coin on a scale, with the weight readable, and beside a ruler.
- Any old envelope, ticket or dealer label that came with it. Provenance from an old collection adds value.
For a mixed box with modern coins in it as well, are foreign coins worth anything and are inherited coins worth anything cover the sorting first.
When to get it looked at in person
Most Roman bronzes are not worth paying anyone to examine. Get an in-person opinion when the coin is gold, a silver denarius of a scarce or famous ruler, a large sestertius in good condition, or part of a collection with old provenance.
NGC grades and encapsulates ancient coins through its NGC Ancients service, with fees roughly $30-100 per coin for most coins and more for gold and high values; PCGS has a far smaller role in ancients. For buying, selling or a second opinion, a specialist dealer who is a member of the IAPN (International Association of Professional Numismatists) or the PNG is the most useful step, and many will look at photos before you send anything. Auction houses that specialize in ancients take consignments for better coins, usually from about $200 per lot upward, with seller fees in the 10 to 20 percent range.