A Valens Siliqua With A Little History.

Hello!
After my most recent purchase of a pre-reform Siliqua of Constantius II, I decided to have a look at my " to get list". Lo and behold I found this Siliqua of Valens that I had somehow missed. Odd
I hope I won't bore anyone to death but I feel like a quick overview of Valens would be good for us to understand him and the times he lived in.
Valens, 364-378 AD. AR Siliqua, 18 mm, 2.21 gm. Treveri mint. Struck 367-375 AD. Obv: Pearl-diademed, draped, and cuirassed bust right. Rev: Roma seated left on throne, holding scepter and crowning victoriola.

So Emperor Flavius Julius Valens Augustus was born in 328 ce in the Roman province of Sirmium. He was the younger brother of Emperor Valentinian I and son of Gratian the Elder. Unlike his brother though he was not a successfull soldier and only joined the legions in time for the bloody Sassanid war of Julian II.
When his brother was acclaimed Emperor after the death of Jovian in 364, Valens was appointed co-Emperor of the Roman Empire. Valens first assignment as Emperor was to snuff out the rebellion of the last scion of the Constantinian Dynasty, Procopius.
After that he prepared to campaign against the Persians. A sort of "cold war" occurred with the Eastern Roman Empire and Persia between 365 and 375. In preparation for his war with Persia, Valens stripped the Danube frontier of many troops. Around this time though a nomadic horseman group called the Huns were putting pressure on tribes living north of the Danube. One tribal group who were fleeing the Huns were the goths. Led by their king Fritigern, they decided to flee from the Huns and asked Valens for asylum. Valens, who needed the extra troops to supplement his Army, gleefully agreed. What happened next can only be described as a disaster. When the goths crossed over the Danube they were not disarmed or dispersed ( as per protocol) and the only Imperial troops in the area were Limitanei (border troops). To top things off a Roman Comes (count) had abused the goths badly and tried to kill their leaders. The goths went berserk in the middle empire and with only border troops to protect them, the Roman civilians were at the mercy of the goths. When Valens received the news of the disaster in the Balkans he probably thought " wait are these the same goths who are suppose to be supplying troops to the army for my Persian campaign? What the h%#}\ happened!?
Needless to say Valens was livid about the whole affair. He soon broke off his campaign against the Persians and was hellbent on bringing the goths back in line.
Unfortunately the ensuing battle at Adrianople was one of the worst Roman defeats since Decius's defeat/ death in 251. The Romans lost two thirds of their army which included many good officers and tribunes. Valens body was never found, and it is likely that he died anonymous in the fray. One Dux( duke) who did survive the battle though was a man named Magnus Maximus
Here is a picture ( by a friend on deviant art) of the last Stand of Emperor Valens





The Romans would have won the battle had it not been for the barbarian's calvary which showed up completely unexpectedly and slammed into the Roman flanks.