Julian II AE3 — Rome's Last Pagan Emperor

Own a Coin from the Emperor Who Tried to Revive Traditional Greco-Roman Religion

A real late Roman AE3 bronze of Julian II—the philosopher-emperor who rejected the Christianity in which he had been raised and launched an ambitious attempt to renew traditional Greco-Roman religious life.

✓ NGC Certified
✓ Guaranteed Authentic
✓ 30-Day Returns

📷 Coin shown is a representative example. You will receive one authentic NGC-certified bronze of Julian II. Each coin is unique and will vary in grade, strike, centering, preservation, patina, and individual appearance.

🏛 Struck during the reign of Rome's last pagan emperor
📖 Connected to an emperor whose surviving writings provide an unusually direct view of late Roman religion and philosophy
🤲 An NGC-certified bronze from a major turning point in Roman religious history

Own This Piece of History

Why This Coin Matters

Julian II, commonly called Julian the Apostate by later Christian writers, was a nephew of Constantine the Great and one of the most intellectually distinctive Roman emperors.

Raised within the Christian imperial family, Julian became deeply committed to Greek philosophy and traditional religion. After becoming sole emperor in AD 361, he openly rejected Christianity and reversed many privileges that previous Christian emperors had granted to the church.

Julian reopened temples, restored sacrifices, supported traditional cults, and attempted to strengthen pagan religious institutions. His program was not simply an effort to return Rome to an unchanged ancient past. He envisioned a more organized and philosophically informed pagan religious system capable of competing with the increasingly powerful Christian church.

He generally did not attempt to recreate the empire-wide violent persecutions Christians had faced under some earlier emperors, but his policies clearly favored traditional religion and sometimes placed Christians at a disadvantage. His famous education policy restricted Christian teachers from teaching the classical pagan authors unless they accepted the religious values Julian believed those texts represented.

His sole reign was brief. In AD 363, Julian invaded the Sasanian Empire and was mortally wounded during the campaign's retreat. His successor Jovian was Christian, and Julian's religious program quickly unraveled.

Julian is therefore best understood not simply as an emperor who tried to 'save Rome's ancient gods,' but as the last pagan emperor to make a sustained imperial effort to revive and reorganize traditional Greco-Roman religion in a rapidly Christianizing empire.

This bronze coin connects directly to that extraordinary final attempt.

Perfect For

• Collectors of late Roman coinage
• Students of Roman religious history
• Enthusiasts of Julian II and classical philosophy
• Collectors of the Constantinian dynasty
• NGC-certified ancient coin collectors

What You'll Receive

• One authentic NGC-certified late Roman bronze of Julian II
• Ruler: Julian II (AD 360–363; sole Augustus AD 361–363)
• Denomination: AE3 Bronze
• Civilization: Roman Empire
• Presented in an NGC holder
• Representative example of the type (each coin is unique)

Buy with Confidence

• NGC certified for authenticity and preservation
• Carefully sourced and verified
• 30-day return policy
• Secure shipping from the U.S.

Learn More

Continue the story in the Kinzer Coins Journal: Julian II Coins: The Philosopher Emperor and His Bull Reverse.