Julian II. AD 360-363. AV Solidus (20.5mm, 4.19 g, 6h). Sirmium mint. Struck AD 361-363. pearl-diademed, draped, and cuirassed bust right / VIRTVS EXERCI TVS ROMANORVM, soldier, helmeted and wearing military attire, advancing right, head left, holding trophy over left shoulder in left hand and dragging kneeling captive to left by the hair with right hand; *SIRM(wreath). RIC VIII 96; Depeyrot 21/1; Biaggi 2219; Mazzini 78. Toned, minor spot of die rust on obverse, edge filing. EF. Struck from detailed dies.
Ex Collection of a Perfectionist (Leu 93, 10 May 2005), lot 144; Tkalec (23 October 1992), lot 497.
Julian II, also known as the Apostate, Philosopher, or Hellene, ranks as one of the more controversial Roman emperors, as his attempt to stand against the rising tide of Christianity makes him a villain to some and a hero to others. On the numismatic front, his adoption of a long “philosopher’s beard” on his coin portraits was an innovation that had not been seen for more than a century. It struck his subjects as a quaint affectation and was ridiculed by some, to which Julian responded with a satyrical pamphlet called Misopogon, or “Beard Hater,” while in residence at Antioch.
Descripción