Roman Emperor Coins: The Best Emperors to Collect and Where to Start
Roman Emperor Coins: The Best Emperors to Collect and Where to Start
Every Emperor Ranked for Collectors. History, Availability, Price, and Where Your Collection Should Begin.
Which Roman emperor should you collect first? For most beginners, the best choices combine major historical importance with coins that are available, identifiable, and realistically affordable. Constantine the Great is one of the strongest starting points, but Trajan, Vespasian, Septimius Severus, Gordian III, Diocletian, and several others also make excellent foundations for a Roman coin collection.
There is no universally accepted count of Roman emperors because the total changes depending on whether co-emperors, short-lived claimants, usurpers, and eastern rulers are included. For collectors, the more useful question is not how many emperors there were, but which rulers offer the best combination of history, availability, price, artistry, and collecting depth.
How This Roman Emperor Ranking Works
This guide ranks emperors from a collector's perspective rather than trying to decide who was Rome's “greatest” ruler. The main factors are historical importance, availability of authentic coins, affordability, artistic or numismatic interest, and how easy the ruler is for a beginner to understand and collect.
Prices can change significantly with denomination, rarity, condition, style, provenance, certification, and market demand. For that reason, this guide focuses on relative accessibility rather than locking the article to specific prices that can quickly become outdated.
The Best Roman Emperors for Most Collectors
1. Constantine the Great — AD 306–337
Constantine is one of the strongest first choices in Roman collecting. His reign connects civil war, the Battle of the Milvian Bridge, the legalization and imperial favor of Christianity, the defeat of Licinius, the founding of Constantinople, and major monetary change. His bronze coinage was produced in enormous quantities across many mints, giving collectors a wide range of types and price levels.
Especially popular are camp-gate types, Sol issues, military standards, and the commemorative bronzes struck for Constantinople and Rome. A collector can begin with a common bronze and later build a specialized collection by mint, reverse type, family member, or historical event.
Founding of Constantinople Bronze, NGC Certified (AD 330–340)
The #1 pick in action: a genuine Constantinian commemorative bronze struck for Rome's new capital, certified and beginner-friendly.
2. Trajan — AD 98–117
Trajan ruled when the Roman Empire reached its greatest territorial extent, though some eastern conquests proved temporary. His coins connect directly to the Dacian Wars, expansion into Arabia, major building projects, and the political culture of the high empire. His silver denarii are widely collected, and his large bronzes can be spectacular.
Trajan is particularly rewarding because his reverses often refer to real campaigns, provinces, personifications, architectural projects, and imperial programs. He offers both beginner-friendly types and advanced rarities.
3. Hadrian — AD 117–138
Hadrian shifted Roman policy away from Trajan's most ambitious eastern expansion and focused on consolidation, travel, administration, and frontier defense. His famous travel-series coins personify provinces and regions across the empire, making his coinage unusually rich for thematic collectors.
Portrait quality can be exceptional, and his reign offers a natural bridge between military, architectural, provincial, and cultural history.
4. Marcus Aurelius — AD 161–180
Marcus Aurelius attracts collectors because his coins connect one of Rome's best-known philosophical figures with a reign dominated by war, plague, and pressure on the Danube frontier. His Meditations were not written as imperial propaganda, but his coinage was: victories, imperial virtues, religious imagery, and dynastic themes appear throughout the series.
His coins are generally less inexpensive than many third- or fourth-century rulers, but they remain obtainable in several denominations.
5. Augustus — 27 BC–AD 14
Augustus transformed the political system that emerged from the collapse of the Republic into the Principate. His coinage belongs to the foundational generation of imperial Rome and includes some of the most historically important types in the Roman series.
Augustus is less beginner-friendly on price than Constantine or Gordian III, but for many collectors an Augustus coin becomes a major milestone.
6. Vespasian — AD 69–79
Vespasian emerged from the civil wars of AD 69 and founded the Flavian dynasty. His reign connects the First Jewish Revolt, the rebuilding of imperial finances, and construction of the Flavian Amphitheatre later known as the Colosseum. His silver denarii are widely collected, while the IVDAEA CAPTA issues form an important specialized series.
Vespasian Silver Denarius, NGC Certified (AD 69–79)
Founder of the Flavian dynasty and builder of the Colosseum: genuine imperial silver from the emperor who rebuilt Rome's finances.
7. Septimius Severus — AD 193–211
Septimius Severus won the civil wars that followed the murder of Pertinax and founded the Severan dynasty. Born at Leptis Magna in Roman North Africa, he strengthened the army, campaigned widely, and created a dynasty whose family politics would shape the early third century.
His denarii survive in large numbers and offer excellent variety in portraits, mints, reverse types, and historical themes. That makes him one of the best silver emperors for a beginner who wants to move beyond late Roman bronze.
View Septimius Severus denarii
8. Gordian III — AD 238–244
Gordian III became emperor during the turbulent Year of the Six Emperors and ruled for nearly six years. His antoniniani and denarii are abundant by ancient-coin standards, making him one of the easiest ways to own an attractive Roman silver coin from the Crisis of the Third Century.
For beginners, Gordian III is hard to beat on the combination of price, availability, clear portraiture, and historical context.
9. Diocletian — AD 284–305
Diocletian brought greater political stability after the third-century crisis and reorganized imperial rule through the Tetrarchy. His reforms affected administration, taxation, the army, coinage, and the structure of the empire. His reign also included the Great Persecution of Christians.
Collectors can choose between earlier radiate issues and the large reform bronzes commonly called folles or nummi. The latter are especially impressive in hand.
10. Aurelian — AD 270–275
Aurelian reunited an empire fractured by the Palmyrene and Gallic breakaway states, fortified Rome with the Aurelian Walls, and carried the title Restitutor Orbis, “Restorer of the World.” His reign lasted only about five years, but his historical importance is enormous.
His reformed radiate coinage is usually accessible, making Aurelian another excellent choice for collectors of the third-century crisis and recovery.
Other Roman Rulers Worth Collecting
Julius Caesar
Julius Caesar was never a Roman emperor, but his dictatorship and assassination were central to the end of the Republic and the rise of Augustus. His lifetime portrait denarii of 44 BC were a dramatic development in Roman state coinage and remain highly sought after. Earlier issues such as the elephant denarius provide another route into his coinage, though they are still significant purchases.
Tiberius
Tiberius ruled from AD 14 to 37. One of his denarius types has long been associated with the biblical “Tribute Penny,” although the exact coin referenced in the Gospel episode cannot be proven. His coinage therefore appeals to both Roman and biblical-history collectors.
Caligula
Caligula's reign lasted only from AD 37 to 41, and his imperial coins are substantially less common than those of many later rulers. His reputation is heavily shaped by hostile ancient literary sources, so collectors should separate what the coins themselves show from later stories about his behavior.
Nero
Nero ruled from AD 54 to 68. His coinage is famous for strong portraiture and important architectural and religious reverses. His reign also connects the Great Fire of Rome, the outbreak of the First Jewish Revolt, and the end of the Julio-Claudian dynasty.
Galba, Otho, and Vitellius
The short-lived rulers of the civil wars of AD 68–69 are classic “emperor set” challenges. Otho ruled for only about three months, while Galba and Vitellius also had brief reigns. Their coins are far scarcer than those of Vespasian, who ultimately won the struggle.
Pertinax and Didius Julianus
Both ruled briefly in AD 193. Pertinax was killed after fewer than three months, and ancient sources describe Didius Julianus as obtaining the throne after the Praetorian Guard offered imperial power to competing bidders. Their short reigns make their coins much more difficult than common Severan issues.
Constantius II — AD 337–361
Constantius II is one of the best late Roman rulers for beginners. His FEL TEMP REPARATIO “Fallen Horseman” bronzes were struck in enormous quantities and offer a rich field for studying mints, officina marks, legends, and reverse varieties.
View Constantius II Fallen Horseman coins
Julian II — AD 361–363
Julian is remembered for attempting to revive traditional Greco-Roman religious practice after being raised Christian. His distinctive bearded portraits and relatively short sole reign make him an especially recognizable late Roman emperor.
Theodosius I — AD 379–395
Theodosius I was the last emperor to exercise authority over both eastern and western halves of the Roman Empire before his death. His reign also marked a decisive phase in the establishment of Nicene Christianity as the empire's official religious orthodoxy.
Romulus Augustulus — AD 475–476
Romulus Augustulus is traditionally called the last Western Roman emperor, though Julius Nepos continued to be recognized as legitimate emperor by the eastern court until AD 480. Coins of Romulus are genuinely rare and belong near the advanced end of an emperor collection.
Best Roman Emperor Collections to Build
A Five-Coin Beginner Set
A practical beginner group could include Constantine the Great, Constantius II, Gordian III, Diocletian, and Septimius Severus. That gives you late Roman bronze, third-century silver or billon, the Tetrarchy, the Constantinian dynasty, and the Severans without requiring the rarest rulers.
The Five Good Emperors
Nerva, Trajan, Hadrian, Antoninus Pius, and Marcus Aurelius make one of the classic Roman collecting sets. Lucius Verus and Commodus can be added to expand the Nerva-Antonine story.
The Year of the Four Emperors
Galba, Otho, Vitellius, and Vespasian form a compact but challenging historical set from AD 69. Vespasian is straightforward; Otho is usually the difficult and expensive member.
The Severan Dynasty
Septimius Severus, Julia Domna, Caracalla, Geta, Elagabalus, Severus Alexander, and the Severan women make a deep and relatively obtainable dynastic collection.
The Crisis of the Third Century
Maximinus Thrax, Gordian III, Philip I, Trajan Decius, Valerian, Gallienus, Claudius II, Aurelian, Tacitus, Probus, and the Gallic emperors can turn into a large specialized collection full of military history, monetary change, and short reigns.
Which Roman Emperors Are Most Affordable?
Common late Roman bronzes are often the lowest-cost way to start. Constantius II, Constantine-era rulers, and some fourth-century emperors survive in large quantities. Third-century rulers such as Gordian III, Gallienus, Claudius II, Aurelian, and Probus can also be accessible, depending on denomination and grade.
Do not assume that older means rarer or more expensive. A coin's price is driven much more by type, surviving population, demand, condition, portrait quality, metal, and historical appeal.
Which Roman Emperors Are Hardest to Collect?
Short-reigned rulers and rulers with very limited surviving coinage can be difficult. Otho, Pertinax, Didius Julianus, Gordian I, Gordian II, and Romulus Augustulus are among the names that commonly challenge emperor-set collectors. Certain famous issues of otherwise common rulers can also be rare and expensive.
How to Choose Your First Roman Emperor Coin
Start with history you already care about. Then look for a coin with a secure attribution, visible enough legends or devices to understand the type, and a price that lets you enjoy learning without feeling pressured to buy a trophy coin.
A good dealer should explain the ruler, denomination, approximate date, mint when known, obverse and reverse types, and any uncertainty in the attribution. Certification can be useful for some buyers, but a strong authenticity guarantee and competent attribution remain essential.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which Roman emperor is best for a beginner?
Constantine the Great is one of the best overall choices because his coins are historically important, widely available, and diverse. Constantius II, Gordian III, Diocletian, and Septimius Severus are also excellent starting points.
Do I need to collect every Roman emperor?
No. Many collectors focus on one dynasty, one denomination, one century, a historical event, a mint, or simply the rulers whose stories interest them most.
Are Roman emperor coins expensive?
Some are, but many authentic Roman coins remain accessible. Short reigns, rare types, gold, exceptional condition, famous historical associations, and strong provenance can increase prices dramatically.
Was Julius Caesar a Roman emperor?
No. Caesar was dictator of the Roman Republic. His career and assassination helped create the political conditions from which Augustus and the imperial system emerged.
Who was the last Roman emperor?
That depends on what is meant by “Roman.” Romulus Augustulus was deposed in the West in AD 476, while Julius Nepos remained the eastern court's recognized western emperor until AD 480. The Eastern Roman Empire continued at Constantinople until 1453.
Start With the Story, Not the Rarity
The best Roman emperor collection is not the one with the most expensive names. It is the one that makes you want to keep learning. Start with a ruler whose story matters to you, understand why the coin was struck, and build outward from there.
Browse Roman coins or visit the New to Ancient Coins collection for beginner-friendly options.
Start with a ruler whose story matters to you. The coins will teach you the rest.
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