6-343

RIC VI, ANTIOCHIA [after 102], LICINIUS, UNLISTED FOR RULER

  

OBVERSE

LICINNIVS-AVGVSTVS [LICINNIVS AVGVSTVS]; head r., laur.

REVERSE

VIRTVS-MILITVM [VIRTVS MILITVM]; camp-gate, three turrets, no doors. *ANTH* in exergue.

NOT IN RIC

UNLISTED FOR RULER. RIC lists argentei with mintmark *ANTH* only for members of the First Tetrarchy (Diocletian and Maximian Herculius as Augusti and Constantius and Galerius Maximian as Caesari) and dated this issue for c. 298. Also in footnote 1 on p. 623 Sutherland denies the possibility that it could be normally continued after 305: "Vienna has specimen with obv. Maximia-nus Aug, r. laur., and rev. Virtus Militum, three-turreted camp-gate, no doors, *ANTH*, 3.1 gm., rev. axis ↓; the portrait is that of Galerius. This is presumably a coin struck, beyond official instructions, soon after 1 May 305".

However, this very type mentioned by Sutherland was already known to Cohen (Cohen, vol. VI, p. 558, no. 627), but wrongly attributed to Maximian Herculius. Voetter was aware of Cohen's mistake and correctly attributed another specimen to Galerius Maximian (Voetter, p. 39, no. 15). Additionally, the existence of other coins with the same mintmark, minted for Maximinus as Caesar and Licinius as Augustus, shows clearly that this issue was officially continued until around 308, i.e. after the Conference at Carnuntum. See on this subject: Georges Gautier, "La fin du monnayage en argent de la réforme à Antioche: à propos d'un argenteus inédit au nom de Licinius I", Schweizer Münzblätter, no. 243, September 2011, pp. 67-71 [Thanks to Dr. Karsten Dahmen from Staatliche Museen zu Berlin who kindly pointed my attention to Gautier's paper].

Coin should be listed after ANTIOCHIA 102.

See also:
ANTIOCHIA [after 69], GALERIUS MAXIMIAN, UNLISTED FOR RULER
ANTIOCHIA [after 69], MAXIMINUS, UNLISTED FOR RULER

NOTES

Argenteus. Weight 3.16 g. Coin posted on FORVM ANCIENT COINS in January 2009 by freddy (click for picture); sold on Freeman & Sear auction in January 2010 for USD 16,000.


NOT IN RIC © 2004 Lech Stępniewski