Philip I, 244 – 249.
Aureus 248, AV 4.08 g. IMP PHILIPPVS AVG Laureate, draped and cuirassed bust r. Rev. SAECVLVM NOVVM Hexastyle temple enclosing statue of Roma. C –. RIC 25.
Of the highest rarity, apparently the second specimen known and the only one
in private hands. A bold portrait and a very interesting reverse type.
Good extremely fine

During the winter of AD 243-244, Gordian III appointed M. Julius Philippus (Philip I), a soldier of Arab descent, to serve as his new Praetorian Prefect after the mysterious death of the previous holder of that rank, his influential father-in-law, Timestheus. The young Gordian II needed a solid commander and advisor to aid him in the ongoing campaign against the Sasanian Persian Empire. Unfortunately, early in AD 244, the Romans suffered a major defeat at Misiche (Fallujah) and Gordian III died soon after, also under mysterious circumstances. It was rumoured that Philip may have poisoned him. Whatever the case, the army without an imperial commander at its head and deep within Sasanian territory immediately recognised Philip as the new Emperor in the hope that he would be able to lead them back home alive. In order to do this, Philip I accepted a humiliating peace settlement that left Armenia under Persian control and imposed a staggering war indemnity of 500,000 aurei for safe passage out of the Persian Empire. Once free of the Persian war, Philip I advanced to Rome to receive confirmation from the Senate and name his son as Caesar (junior co-emperor and designated heir). The heavy indemnity, combined with the need to distribute a substantial donative to the army, created an immediate financial crisis that the Emperor attempted to solve by imposing heavy taxes and sus­pending subsidies to Germanic tribesmen to maintain security on the Danube frontier. As soon as the subsidies ended, in AD 245, the Carpi began to plunder Moesia and Thrace. They were only driven out of Roman territory after Philip I led a campaign against them in AD 246. Much of AD 247 was taken up with preparations for the celebration of the ludi Saeculares, games held to honor the millennium of Rome in April AD 248. This grand event required the outlay of exorbitant sums that the Emperor could hardly spare so that he could produce spectacles in the Colosseum that saw the deaths of 1,000 gladiators and a wide variety of exotic animals, including leopards, lions, giraffes, hippopotamuses, and one rhinoceros, as well as literary works to memorialise the occasion. The present aureus, which is only the second known specimen, was struck for distribution as largesse or as a military donative during the festivities of the ludi Saeculares. This is indicated by the reverse legend, which proclaims the beginning of a new age (saeculum novum) for Rome. The temple depicted on the reverse is that of Venus and Roma on the Velian Hill of Rome. This temple, which is believed to have been the largest in Rome was dedicated to Venus Felix and Roma Aeternae, the personification of Rome and the perpetuation of its power. The temple was designed by Hadrian and erected on the ruins of Nero’s palaces to serve as a focal point for Roman state religion. As Philip’s celebration of the ludi Saeculares, traditionally held roughly every 100 or 110 years, also coincided with the millennium of Rome’s foundation, it was highly appropriate for Roma and her temple to be advertised on the coinage. Despite the grandeur of Philip’s celebrations, the quality of the spectacle could not gloss over his great failure in frontier policy. Late in AD 248 the Danubian legions mutinied while the Germanic Quadi invaded Moesia. The situation became so dangerous that Philip I attempted to abdicate, but when the Senate refused to accept his resignation he dispatched the commander C. Messius Quintus Decius to quell the revolt. Decius was successful in his duty, but then accepted the acclamation of the Danubian legions as a rival Emperor. The hapless Philip was defeated in battle near Verona and died in September AD 249. It is variously reported by the ancient sources that he was killed in the fighting or murdered by his own men, disgusted by his earlier cowardice.