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In Dorset, England, on March 21, 2010, an earthenware flagon packed with ancient Roman coins was discovered in the parish of Gussage All Saints. Based on the rulers represented within the cache, the burial of the Gussage All Saints Hoard occurred in the early 5th century AD. The hoard contained 662 coins — nearly all of them silver siliquae — including this spectacular specimen.
This very rare coin portrays Flavius Eugenius (died 394 AD), one of the more unlikely characters to ever claim the imperial purple. Scant details exist regarding his early life, but Eugenius was an intellectual, a civil servant, and a teacher of grammar and rhetoric. It is entirely possible he even taught the young Valentinian II, the Augustus of the Western Roman Empire whom Eugenius would eventually, and unexpectedly, succeed. In any case, his scholarly skills landed him a job in the
scrinium memoriale, the office responsible for drafting, publishing, and organizing all imperial documents. Eventually, Eugenius earned the prestigious title of
Magister Scriniorum (Master of Scribes), heading the department and reporting directly to the Augustus.
Eugenius’s military counterpart was the formidable
Magister Militum (Master of Soldiers), Flavius Arbogast. Appointed by the Eastern (and more senior) Augustus, Theodosius I, Arbogast also acted as Valentinian II’s guardian. The battle-hardened Frankish general thoroughly dominated his young Augustus, to the extent that the
Magister Militum held de facto rule over the West. When Valentinian II was found dead under highly suspicious circumstances in 392 AD, it fell to Arbogast to orchestrate the imperial succession. Having no interest in taking the throne himself — he was content wielding the true power, and his Frankish descent technically disqualified him anyway — Arbogast nominated his lettered Roman colleague, Eugenius.
Nobody recorded Arbogast’s exact rationale for the choice. The decision must have seemed highly unusual, if not outright shocking; Eugenius had no imperial blood or military background. Even so, the Master of Scribes accepted the nomination, almost certainly with the understanding that Arbogast would continue to rule from behind the throne.
Whereas his predecessors had chosen their administrators from among the traditional political elite, Eugenius placed engineers and fellow intellectuals into the highest civil offices. Although a Christian himself, Eugenius tolerated polytheism, sparking a brief, final pagan revival in Rome. The new imperial regime also forged successful bonds with local barbarian tribes, such as the Franks and Alemanni. With their ranks bolstered by these new alliances, the Western Roman Empire’s troops were able to pacify the frontier across the Rhine without even fighting a battle.
Despite these local successes, Eugenius and Arbogast never earned the endorsement of their counterpart in the East. Eastern Augustus Theodosius I initially paid lip service to Eugenius’s ambassadors of goodwill; meanwhile, he gathered a formidable army to remove the "pagan" usurper and place a proper, legitimate Christian — namely his own young son, Honorius — on the Western throne. In 394 AD, Theodosius marched west and met the forces of Eugenius and Arbogast at the Battle of the Frigidus. The colossal clash was heavily steeped in religious overtones. The West ultimately lost, at least in part due to a fierce opposing wind (the Bora) that blinded Eugenius's troops — a phenomenon the East immediately interpreted as divine intervention. Arbogast committed suicide, and Eugenius was captured and swiftly executed.
Following the battle, the entire Roman Empire, from West to East, was united for the very last time under a single Augustus: Theodosius I. State-sanctioned polytheism was gone for good. Yet, mere months later, Theodosius died, leaving the Empire to be irrevocably divided between his two young sons, Arcadius and Honorius. Within a decade, peace along the Rhine border completely collapsed, and the Germanic tribes renewed their relentless attacks. In response, the Western Roman Empire was forced to focus entirely on Italy’s defense at the expense of protecting its outer provinces, such as Britannia. Stripped of its legions, the island became increasingly vulnerable to Saxon and Pictish raids — a terrifying reality that undoubtedly prompted the original owner of the Gussage All Saints Hoard to bury this very coin in the Dorset earth.
Coin Details: WESTERN ROMAN EMPIRE, Eugenius. AD 392-394. AR Siliqua (16mm, 1.47 g, 12h). Treveri (Trier) mint. NGC Grade: MS, Strike: 4/5, Surface: 4/5, Obverse:Pearl-diademed, draped, and cuirassed bust right, D N EVGENIVS P F AVG, Reverse: Roma seated left on cuirass, holding Victory on globe and reversed spear, VIRTVS ROMANORVM, TRPS in exergue, References: RIC IX 106d; RSC 14†a; ex-2010 Gussage All Saints Hoard (PAS Ref. DOR-A1CCB1; NC 171 [2011], no. 54).
Image: Sony ɑ 7R Ⅴ camera / Sony FE 90mm f/2.8 Macro G OSS lens.