GRATIAN AD 367-383 Gold Solidus 4.47g 21mm Treveri Mint - (Struck 367-375 A.D.) NGC Mint State Star * 5/5 Strike 4/5 Surface 
OBV. DN GRATIA NV SPF AVG, Rosette-diademed, draped, and cuirassed bust right. 
RV. VICTOR IA AVG G, Gratian & Valentinian II seated facing, together holding globe. 
Behind & between them the upper portion of a Victory with outspread wings; 
between them below, a palm branch. 
TROBS in exergue. 
The coin features a portrait of the emperor on the obverse and an ornate scene of the seated figures of the co-emperors (and half-brothers) Gratian and Valentinian II on the reverse. 
Gratian, son of Valentinian I, became the sole ruler of the Western empire in AD 375. After the catastrophic defeat of the Roman forces at Hadrianopolis, the Eastern empire also came under his rule. In a strategic move to help manage the empire. He promoted his trusted General Theodosius to the Eastern throne. Gratian would later make the mistake of not minting enough coins to pay his army after battle. He would be abandoned by his troops during the revolt of Magnus Maximus. His bodyguards would be overtaken during his retreat into the Alps where he would be killed.