Roman Bronze - Aurelian (270-275) NGC Certified Very Fine Condition

The 'Father of Christmas' Roman Bronze: NGC Certified Ancient Aurelians in Very Fine Condition

With Christmas almost here, we thought it was a perfect time to bring out a piece of ancient history that is actually tied to the holiday! These stunning Roman bronze pieces feature the iconic Roman ruler Aurelian -- a man many call the 'Original Father of Christmas'!

But that is not all -- not only are these stunning Aurelian bronze coins pieces of ancient and Christmas history, but each of these coins have also been certified by NGC as being in Very Fine condition despite being thousands of years old!

The Ancient Father of Christmas - From Sol Invictus to Santa Claus

When Aurelian rose to power and became emperor of Rome in 270, the massive empire was in ruins and breaking apart. In just 5 years' time he was able to stop the barbarian invasions, stabilize the currency, and reunite the Eastern and Western halves of the Roman Empire. Aurelian credited his massive success to Invictus Sol, the god of the Unconquered Sun from the Roman Pantheon. He rallied public support and worship of Sol Invictus in the hopes that it would reunite the soul of the empire and declared that the Winter Solstice, which fell on December 25th in the year 274, would become a feast day honoring their gods.

The then persecuted Christians living in the Roman Empire chose to gather under the ruse of worshiping the sun god at these festivals, with secretly praying to their Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Many historians agree that this is the root of why Christmas (Christ's Mass) came to be celebrated on December 25th every year.

Thanks to this, Emperor Aurelian is often referred to as the 'Original Father of Christmas' -- making these the perfect ancient coins to grab this holiday season.