Maximianus. First reign, AD 286-305. AV Aureus (21mm, 5.01 g, 12h). Rome mint. Struck AD 287. V IRTVS MAXIMIANI AVG, laureate, draped, and cuirassed half-length bust right, holding hasta in right hand and two spicula in left; shield on left shoulder; gorgoneion aegis on cuirass / VIRTVS AVGG, Hercules, nude, standing right, strangling the Nemean lion to right with both hands; his club set on ground to left. RIC V 500; Depeyrot 4A/5 corr. (also without rev. legend break); Calicó 4733 (no illustration); Biaggi –; Mazzini –. Toned, marks, a pair of small digs. Good VF. Extremely rare. The fourth known.
This extremely rare early pre-reform aureus featuring a magnificent martial bust of Maximianus is known from precious few specimens. The corpus of which is as follows:
1) BM 1900,1105.3 (same dies) [this coin also illustrated on pl. XII, 2 of Alföldi, Festival and in Ute Schillinger-Häfele, Consules • Augusti • Caesares. Datierung von römischen Inschriften und Münzen, pl. 7, 58].
2) Heritage NYINC Signature Sale 3071 (6 January 2019), lot 32234; Paul Tinchant Collection [“Richard J. Graham”] (J. Schulman, 4 June 1966), lot 2219; Ars Classica XVII (3 October 1934), lot 1834; 1922 Arras – Beaurains Hoard (no. 140).
3) The present specimen. Triton XXVIII, lot 755.
4) RIC V 500 = Cohen 591 = Caylus (1760) no. 1029 (illustrated from a line drawing of the reverse with the VIRTV S AVGG legend break).
The present coin was struck from the same dies as the BM example, though from a later die state. These two coins feature an unbroken reverse legend whereas the Beaurains coin and the presumed Caylus specimen (whereabouts unknown) have a reverse legend break of V - S.
Maximianus’ elaborate suit of armor and weaponry displayed on the obverse portrait of this remarkable aureus illustrate the revolution in Roman arms and tactics that had rescued the empire from destruction in the later third century AD. The Roman army had suffered numerous catastrophic defeats between AD 232 and 268, both to the rampant Sasanian Persians in the east and the Germanic tribes along the Rhine-Danube frontier, that had caused the Empire’s dismemberment and a death-spiral of usurpation and civil war. Starting with the Battle of Naissus in AD 268 or 269 under Gallienus or Claudius II (the historical record is oddly unclear for such an important event), the Roman army swiftly regained the initiative, enabled by a newfound tactical flexibility and a spate of technological innovations in armor and weaponry. On this aureus, Maximian wears a metal cuirass with a scaly adornment evoking the protective aegis of Athena. He carries a thrusting spear or hasta in his right hand; on his left shoulder he sports an oval cavalry shield, and in his left hand he clutches two lightweight javelins with barbed heads. This type of hand-thrown missile was called a spiculum and augmented or replaced the heavier pilum which had been a staple of Roman arms for more than four centuries. Roman soldiers also carried smaller fletched and weighted darts called plumbata clipped to their inside of their shields. Both infantry and cavalry also received archery training. Thus, on command, the Romans could fill the air with deadly missiles, forcing their enemies to duck and cover and softening them up for a decisive charge. Heavy cavalry also began to play a much greater tactical role than in previous centuries, serving as a kind of quick reaction force. The new emphasis was on speed, maneuverability, and striking power at a distance. These innovations are often credited to the era’s “Soldier Emperors” themselves, but they were surely the work of the larger professional officer class, many hailing from the Danubian provinces that had become the Empire’s prime recruiting grounds. The military reform movement gained momentum during the troubled reign of Gallienus (AD 253-268) and came into full fruition under his successors, Claudius II (AD 268-270), Aurelian (AD 270-275), and Probus (AD 276-282). By the early joint reign of Diocletian and Maximian, Rome’s enemies had been pushed back, its breakaway states restored to central rule, the Germanic raiders ejected, and the frontiers mostly secured, gaining the Empire a new centuries-long lease on life.
Description