c. 249-251 A.D. Roman Antioch NGC 5/4

These coins are about the size of a US Quarter and was struck between the years of 249 and 251 AD.  They were used as a major commerce coin for the city of Antioch.  Despite Antioch being the center of Christianity, the Roman Emperor that is on this coin, Emperor Decius, forced the Christians to offer sacrifices in his name.  Those that refused were killed.  Many Christians along with Pope Fabian himself was killed by Decius for refusing to offer a sacrifice!  Crazy huh?

The coolest part of this coin is that on the other side is a standing eagle with its wings spread and a wreath in his beak.  This same exact eagle design was used on coins of the United States in the early 19th Century supporting the belief by many that the tradition of putting Eagles on our coins actually originated from this Ancient Roman coin!

Each of these beauties was certified and graded by NGC and slabbed as Mint State!  This is absolutely incredible as less than 1% of all ancient coins ever grade this high!  The strike was also graded a 5 out of 5, so the best you can possibly get, and the surface was graded 4 out of 5 with only the slightest of wear keeping the surface from being graded perfect.  These are some of the highest graded Antioch coins known to exist!