Roman silver coinage is perhaps the most popular category of
ancient coins. Late Roman silver coins offer rarity and
sometimes intriguing designs.  Collectors delight in the general
availability of these coins, which were issued for nearly seven
centuries. For a surprisingly modest price, one can assemble a
large collection with a wide variety of types from the Roman
Republic through imperial times.  Most Roman silver coins were
struck from about 212 B.C. to the A.D. 350s, after which the
silver content of Roman coins dropped precipitously. An empire-
wide financial and military crisis prevented any true silver
coins from being struck for at least two generations, and what
little remained in circulation was withdrawn and secreted away.
Silver coins of the Late Roman Empire are much scarcer than
their predecessors. They first were struck in about A.D. 294,
when the Emperor Diocletian (A.D. 284 to 305) reintroduced
silver coinage to the Roman economy. These were dime-size coins
of very high purity — the equival