Good day, evening or whatever time this post finds you in, I like collecting amongst other things, large follis from the Tetrarchy. Curious what you all think happened to the below coin. It's got an odd patina, perhaps repatinated? RIC 29a Ticinum My lighting is a bit harsh, but it does have a yellowish color. My first impression was it had some sort of deposits, but it looks like patina or maybe even painted? Thanks, and love to see your coins with Diocletian.
Folles are most popular because of their size: ...but, in all honesty, I still prefer the pre-reform antoniniani.
It has a nice and even chocolate patina A great post and coins about Diocletian by @Curtisimo from 2017 is: https://www.cointalk.com/threads/diocletian-two-interesting-coins-and-a-legacy-of-reform.307405/ My favorites Diocletian coins are those with his consular bust. Have one from Lugdunum Antoninianus, Lugdunum, 290 - 291 AD, Mintmark A= 1st officina, emission 7 under the authority of Maximian The imperial mantle was used only in years when the ruler held the consulship. Sear dates this coin to 289 – 290 AD, RIC dates it to 290 – 292 AD 21 x 22.5 mm, 3.587 g RIC V Diocletian 28; Sear 12655; Cohen 153; Ob.: IMP DIOCLETIANVS AVG Radiate bust of Diocletian to l. in imperial mantle: toga picta and toga palmata, holding scipio (scepter) Rev.: IOVI - AVGG Jupiter, standing l., holding Victory on globe in r. and scepter in l. hand; at foot, eagle; A in exergue
Your coin looks good to me - maybe a little porosity. Perhaps it was buried in acidic soil. I can't really see a yellow color, but it certainly does not look painted. Here are two of my Diocletians, as well as a Philip sestertius with a very yellow patination....
I also think the coin was buried in acidic soil. Otherwise, a very pleasant coin with a good portrait. I only have 1 Diocletian coin I recently acquired. Very happy with it. (and my pic, where I couldn't adjust the lightning) Diocletian AD 284-305. Ticinum Follis Æ 26 mm, 9,57 g AD 300 - AD 303 IMP C DIOCLETIANVS P F AVG, head of Diocletian, laureate, right / SACRA MONET AVGG - ET CAESS NOSTER, Moneta, draped, standing left, holding scales in right hand and cornucopiae in left hand MintMark: -/-//PT•; OfficinaMark: T RIC VI Ticinum 45a
Possibly the coin has been stripped of an uneven or otherwise ugly original patina and afterwards been "repatinated" using liver of sulfur or a similar substance. This method seems to be quite common among European metal detectorists.
Here's my Diocletian follis, also from Ticinum. You can see that it too has a slightly yellow underlying hue. It was sold as being from the Giovanni Dattari collection of Roman coins. Many of Dattari's LRBs seemed to have been stripped of their patinas at some point in the past, before later retoning to varying extents. DIOCLETIAN AE Follis. 8.33g, 27.5mm. Ticinum mint, AD 294-295. RIC VI Ticinum 23a (scarce). O: IMP C DIOCLETIANVS P F AVG, laureate head right. R: GENIO POPV-LI ROMANI, Genius standing left, naked but for chlamys over left shoulder, holding patera and cornucopiae; T in exergue. Ex Giovanni Dattari Collection (1853-1923)
I'm glad you were able to acquire this coin for your collection, @IMP Shogun. I have only one GENIO of Diocletian. It has that tanned leather patina we often see on bronze. Diocletian, AD 284-305. Roman billon follis, 8.99 g, 28.3 mm, 6 h. Trier, AD 302-303. Obv: IMP DIOCLETIANVS AVG, Laureate and cuirassed bust, right. Rev: GENIO POPV-LI ROMANI, Genius, turreted, nude but for chlamys draped over left shoulder, standing left, holding patera in right hand and cornucopiae in left hand; S/F//IITR. Refs: RIC vi, p. 196, 524a; RCV --.
Shogun, I agree with the other CT members, your coin looks normal & not altered in any way . Sometimes these nummi will corrode depending on the burial conditions. As Doug pointed out, these coins are popular because of their large size & coins with moderate wear are not expensive . Another reason I like these coins is because they were made in many different styles . Pictured below are a few of my favorite Diocletian nummi. London Mint
Diocletian (A.D. 284-305) AE Follis Weight: 6.90 grams Diameter: 23 mm Mint: Follis struck at Alexandria (ALE Mintmark) between 308 and 310, after his abdication. Obverse: DN DIOCLETIANO BAEATISS, laurel-wreathed bust right wearing mantle, holding olive branch and holding mappa in the other hand. Reverse: PROVIDENTIA DEORVM, Providentia standing right, extending right hand to Quies, standing left, holding branch and sceptre. Reference: Sear 12922, RIC VI Alexandria 80 corr.
The coin in the OP looks OK to me, even if it's a little rough/porous. Here are my four Diocletians, from four different mints. He really did issue a wide variety of coins. Diocletian, silvered AE Follis, 294-295 AD, Nicomedia Mint. Obv. Laureate head right, IMP CC VAL DIOCLETIANVS PF AVG/ Rev. Genius standing left, pouring out patera & holding cornucopiae, GENIO POPVLI ROMANI, mintmark SMN (Nicomedia). RIC VI 27a p. 556), Sear RCV IV 12788, ERIC II 539, Cohen 106. 27.8 mm., 8.6 g. Diocletian, AE Antoninianus, 293-294 AD, Antioch Mint (7th Officina). Obv. Radiate, draped & cuirassed bust right, IMP C C VAL DIOCLETIANVS PF AVG / Rev. Jupiter stdg. left, holding long scepter, presents Victory on globe to Diocletian, CONCORDIA MILITVM; Z in lower middle field (= 7th officina of Antioch mint), XXI in exergue. RIC VI 322 (p. 256), Sear RCV IV 12637, Cohen 34. 20.87 mm., 4.75 g. Diocletian, AR Argenteus, ca. AD 295, Heraclea Mint (1st Officina). Obv. Laureate head right, DIOCLETI-ANVS AVG / Rev. The four tetrarchs [the Augusti Diocletian and Maximian, and the Caesars Constantius Chlorus and Galerius], draped, sacrificing over a tripod altar, two of them on each side, before military camp gate with six turrets (four in front and two in rear), VICTORIA-SARMAT [referring to victories over the Sarmatians*]; in exergue, H A [Heraclea, 1st Officina]. RIC VI Heraclea 6 [see http://numismatics.org/ocre/id/ric.6.her.6], RSC V Diocletian 488j, Sear RCV IV 12612. Purchased from Kenneth W. Dorney, Oct. 2021. Ex. Ira & Larry Goldberg Auction 90, 2 Feb. 2016, Lot 3274. 19 mm., 2.70 g. *See Stephen Williams, Diocletian and the Roman Recovery (Routledge, 2000) at p. 76 (preview at Google Books): “In 294 Diocletian launced a fresh offensive against the main body of the Sarmatians. . . . By the latter half of 294 they [the Sarmatians] had sustained such a defeat that they ceased to be a threat for many more years. Sarmatian warriors were taken into the Roman armies in large numbers, either as mercenaries or under treaty, and later fought well under Galerius against the Persians.” Diocletian, billon abdication Follis, 305-307 AD, Trier Mint. Obv. Laureate bust right in imperial mantle (trabea), holding olive branch and mappa, D N DIOCLETIANO BAEATISSIMO SEN AVG / Rev. Providentia standing right, holding [scroll or short scepter?] and drapery with left hand and extending right hand to Quies standing left, holding branch downward with right hand and leaning on scepter with left hand, S - F across fields, PROVIDENTIA DEORVM QVIES AVGG; PTR in exergue. 27x28 mm., 9.6 gm. RIC VI Trier 673a (p. 208), Sear RCV IV 12927. [Die match to example sold by Numismatik Naumann in 2015; see https://www.acsearch.info/image.html?id=2337893.]
