Please support our sponsors Log In | Register [83795 Coins (44240 Unverified)]

Search Advanced Search Search By Coin ID     Home ANCIENT/BYZANTINE Ancient Spain (872) Byzantine (753) MEDIEVAL/EARLY WORLD Germany (30) MODERN WORLD COUNTERFEITS AND IMITATIONS   Submit New Coin(s)   Sponsors page Terms of Service Contact Us About Us FAQ Page Coin Detail Click here to see enlarged image. ID:     RIC_027 Type:     Roman Imperial Issuer:     Diocletian Date Ruled:     AD 284-305 Metal:     Gold Denomination:     5 Aurei Struck / Cast:     struck Date Struck:     AD 295-305 Weight:     26.05 g Obverse Legend:     DIOCLETIANVS P F AVG COS VIII Obverse Description:     Laureate bust left, wearing imperial mantle and holding eagle-tipped sceptre in right hand. Reverse Legend:     FELICITAS TEMPORVM Reverse Description:     Two Emperors, togate, sacrificing over altar from paterae; behind, half-figure of Felicitas head left, holding caduceus in right hand and cornucopiae in left. Exergue:     PTR Mint Mark:     PTR Mint:     Trier Primary Reference:     RIC VI 027 Reference2:     Pink p. 35 Reference3:     Lukanc p. 122, 15 (this coin) Reference4:     Sir A. J. Evans, Some Notes on the Arras Hoard etc, NC 1930, pl. XVI, 4 (this coin). Donativa p. 67, j and pl. 3, 3 (this coin). Toynbee pl. 6, 8 (this coin). Depeyrot p. 151. P. Bastien and C. Metzger, Les Trésor de Beaurains, 284 (this coin). Jameson IV Hoard Name:     Arras Hoard Description:     Contained at least 21 gold medallions and 400 aurei, as well as silver plate and jewellery. Hoard Find Site:     Beaurains, France Photograph Credit:     Numismatica Ars Classica NAC AG Source:     http://www.arsclassicacoins.com/ Special Comments:     Numismatica Ars Classica Auction 27: Lot No. 498 Price Sold For:     440000 Swiss Franc Date Sold:     12/5/2004 Notes:     Ex Jameson collection and from the "Arras hoard". Medallions of this calibre must have been just as impressive in their day as they are to modern antiquarians. The identification of this piece as belonging to a donative for Diocletian's vicennalia (20th anniversary) is secured by the fact that Diocletian's eighth consulship (in 303) is named on the obverse and by the reverse type, which Toynbee describes as "an obvious allusion to vicennalia of Diocletian." The medallion was struck by Constantius Chlorus, whose court was at the mint city of Trier. At the time of its striking Diocletian was visiting Galerius in Nicomedia at the other end of the empire. In the second half of 303 Diocletian traveled to Italy to meet Maximian for their much-anticipated vicennalian ceremonies, the first of which was held in Rome on November 20. Later that same year Diocletian attended ceremonies in Milan and Aquileia as he entered his 20th year as the empire's senior Augustus. The importance of this event cannot be underestimated: emperor-survival of this calibre was a rarity even in the best of times. Throughout the nearly 500 years of the empire only ten men reached their vicennalia, and in Diocletian's day the most recent example was Antoninus Pius, some 150 years before. Even more important from an historical perspective is that Diocletian's 20th anniversary was the milestone he desired before he would abdicate. The fact is, he waited until May 1, 305 - well into his twenty-first year - to abdicate so that his co-emperor Maximian could reach the same milestone before he, too, abdicated, however unwillingly. The reverse type of Felicitas sacrificing with the two Augusti is a perfect match for the inscription FELICITAS TEMPORVM ("happy times"). Beyond its association with the vicennalia, the type accurately summarized the "state of the union" at the time, especially in the west. Constantius had won a spectacular victory over the Alemanni at Langres in 302, and the year 303 seems to have been a peaceful one for those under his charge. Constantius struck other gold pieces for the vicennalia, of which 103 aurei and five medallions were part of the celebrated Arras hoard found late in 1922 by workers in a brickfield at Beaurains, near Arras in northern France. Toynbee rightly describes the find as "one of the more sensational numismatic events of modern times" because in total it contained at least 21 gold medallions and 400 aurei, as well as silver plate and jewellery. The Arras medallions are some of the most remarkable to have survived antiquity, and when unadulterated they have a distinctive reddish tone. Of the 21 medallions attributed to the hoard, only four depict Diocletian, with the balance bearing the names of Maximian, Constantius Chlorus, Galerius and Constantine the Great. Historians have long questioned the chronology of Diocletian's reign, including when he was hailed emperor, and when he raised Maximian to the same rank. The historical reporting of these early events is inconsistent, so it is helpful to look to the vicennalia and the abdication for guidance. Diocletain probably was hailed late in 284 because his vicennalia celebration occurred in Rome on November 20, 303; it also seems likely that Maximian was hailed early in 285 because the abdication ceremony occurred on May 1, 305.

Created and Managed by Alfredo De La Fe