Description

• The AE coins of ancient Rome are a fascinating glimpse into the past, particularly around the later Roman empire from around the 3rd century AD. These coins were used for everyday transactions and were made of bronze or copper. They depict a variety of scenes from Roman life, including gods and goddesses, animals, and imperial leaders. The term "AE" is usually associated with AE1-4 in accordance to size, AE1 being the largest. It is actually a modern construction and we have little or no insight of what this coinage was actually called. The terms "Follis" or "Nummus" are also commonly used, though more recently it is becoming accepted that the term Nummus may have been the correct one also used at the time. As the empire's economic fortunes decreased the size of coinage also fell making the AE4 class very predominant until the fall of Rome and the coin reforms of the Eastern Roman Empire (Byzantine Empire).
• The AE3 coin was a bronze coin produced in the Roman Empire in the 3rd to 5th centuries. It includes of size 17-21mm diameter. As the empire's economic fortunes fell so did the size and value of its coinage due to inflation and debasement of the coinage.