The coin originates from the Kursk region and was discovered during the explorations of the Middle Seym expedition of the Institute of Archaeology of the Russian Academy of Sciences in 2008–2009, under the leadership of Oleg Alexandrovich Radyush. In 2010, the coin was transferred to the collections of the Kursk Museum of Archaeology. The antoninianus is the common numismatic name for a Roman silver coin, later made of copper. Its minting began in 214–215 CE by the order of Emperor Caracalla. The coin’s name derives from his full name, Marcus Aurelius Antoninus.

The need to mint antoniniani arose due to the worsening currency crisis caused by the constant devaluation of the denarius. The silver content in the denarius gradually decreased to 50%, while the weight remained the same. Caracalla hoped to strengthen the Roman monetary system by issuing a heavier, fully silver coin valued at two denarii. However, the silver content in one antoninianus was significantly less than that of two denarii, so the value was enforced by decree, compelling merchants to adjust prices to reflect the coin’s true worth. This led to price increases and further contributed to the devaluation of the Roman currency.

Visually, the antoninianus differed from the denarius by its slightly larger size and the fact that the emperor’s portrait was minted not in a laurel wreath but in a radiate crown. By the mid-3rd century, the antoninianus had displaced the denarius from circulation. After the mid-3rd century, the antoninianus was widely used but quickly lost its purchasing power. The silver content in the coin dropped from 50% to less than 30%. Soon, the empire’s financial disorder led to the further debasement of the antoninianus, which under Gallienus began to be minted from much lower-quality silver and eventually became a copper coin (sometimes silver-plated) with a forced exchange rate. The emperors after Caracalla tried to restore the coin’s value but were unsuccessful.

This antoninianus was found within the settlement area of the Chernyakhov culture, whose bearers were the Gothic tribes that spread from the Lower Danube in the west to the Seversky Donets in the east between the 2nd and 4th centuries.