Collecting coins of the Tetrarchy can be quite confusng to those who don't take a little bitof time to looks at the history surrounding this period. Some reading leads to a whole host of collecting opporunities for collecting coins as Caesar or Augustus or Sentior Augustus for the same person. The coins of the Tetrarchy are also often considered to be "boring". The coins become stylistically similar with it being very difficult to differentiate between the emperors as a uniform stylised portrait becomes used. Not a great deal is known about Severus II (FLAVIVS VALERIVS SEVERVS). He rose through the ranks of the Roman army to become a senior officier. He was an old friend of Galerius. When Galerius rose to Emperor of the Eastern Empire after the abdication of Maximianus Herculius and Diocletian he appointed Severus as Caesar under Constantius I Chlorus in the west and Maximinus Daia (his nephew) as Caesar in the east. Severus was Caesar from 1st May A.D. 305 through to 26th July A.D. 306 when he was promoted to Augustus by Galerius on the death of Constantius I. This was in opposition to the acclamation of Constantine I (Constantius' son) by his own soldiers. Throw Maxentius (son of the now retired Maximinus Herculius) into the mix and these become interesting times. In order to secure his status Severus marched on Rome from Mediolanum at the head of his army, which had been formerly led by Maximianus. Anticipating Severus' arrival at Rome Maxentius offered Maximian the co-rule of the empire and when Severus arrived his troops defected to their former leader Maximian. More turmoil ensued with Galerius invading Italy to oppose Maxentius and Maximian but it led to Severus surrendering and eventually his death. The location of his death is uncertain but is thought to be either Cisterna di Latina or Ravenna. I don't actively collect these but was offered a Severus II follis as Casear from Lugdunum. The condition was acceptable and the price was too good to pass the offer up. This isn't a scarce coin at all with the 46 examples cited by Bastien confirming the Common rating given by RIC. A brief look on VCoins or MAShops will show that coins of Severus II are readily available. They do for some reason hold a premium (which I didn't pay) when compared to other Tetrarchy folles. There do not appear to be any other Severus II coins from Lugdunum currently at these venues. Severus II - Follis Obv:– SEVERVS NOB C, Laureate, draped and cuirassed bust right Rev:– GENIO POP-VLI ROMANI, Genius standing left, modius on head, naked but for chlamys over left shoulder, left hand holding cornucopiae and right hand holding patera, plain altar beneath Minted in Lugdunum (_ | * //PLG). 1st May A.D. 305 - 26th July A.D. 306 Reference(s) – Cohen 43. RIC VI Lugdunum199a (C). Bastien 377 (46 examples cited) Martin
Bronze 1/4 Nummus Siscia mint, A.D. 305-306 Obv: FL VAL SEVERVS NOB C Rev: GENIO POPV-LI ROMANI - Genius, modius on head, naked but for chlamys hanging from shoulder, holding patera and cornucopiae SIS in exergue RIC 170a 19mm, 2.3g. This coin is part of a small series of 1/4 nummi (or 1/4 folli) from Siscia. I don't kn ow of any examples of 1/4 nummi from any other mints during this time period. Coins of this series are relatively scarce, but they don't appear to command much of a premium. I suspect that part of the reason for this is that the size and texture is similar to the LRBs that quickly followed them, so that they are usually overlooked. I'm not sure what the purpose of these coins was or if they were intended for general circulation. My guess is that they were some sort of donative, but that's just a guess. If anyone knows anything more about this series, I'd be very interested in hearing it.
Severus II (Caesar) Coin: Bronze Follis SEVERVS NOB C - laureate, draped, cuirassed bust right GENIO POP-VLI ROMANI - Genius standing left by altar, modius on head, naked but for chlamys over left shoulder, holding patera and cornucopiae. Star in right field. Exergue: Mint: Lyons (AD 305-306) Wt./Size: 11.16g / 28mm References: RIC VI Lyons 199a Sear 14632
Martin: My goodness, you do possess a deep and profound knowledge of the complex history of the Tetrarchy! I admire you for that and thank you for your contribution here. I had great difficulty finding a decent London mint Severus II follis, but I eventually did find one. Here it is: Produced at the London Mint by Constantius, 305 to autumn 307. Obverse: Severus laureate, cuirassed and draped bust right SEVERVS NOBILISSIMVS NOB CAES Reverse: Genius with modius on head, chlamys over left shoulder, holding patera (rh) cornucopia (l) GENIO POPVLI ROMANI (no mint mark) RIC, Volume VI, Londinium, 59a
Thanks Martin for the write-up. I do not specialize in this area, but enjoy learning from your, Doug's, and other's posts. I have a couple SevII's that appear to be similar to those posted here: RI Severus II 306-307 CE AE18 Quarter Folles Siscia mint (appears closer to @gsimonel 's type) RI Severus II 306-307 CE AE18 Quarter Folles (perhaps the same as I have above...)
Just a little more: Before he died in July of 306, Constantius (Augustus of the west) had conferred Imperium on his son, Constantine. Although his army wanted to proclaim Constantine Augustus, Galerius (Augustus of the East and now the de-facto senior Augustus) instead proclaimed him Caesar of the West and elevated Severus (Caesar of the west) to Augustus of the West (in accordance with the rules for succession) ..........
nice coin & write up! i was really into the tetrachy thing about 10 years ago, but i only ended up with 2 emperors and 2 co-emperors, that i will have to re-find at this point of the game and try jog my memory. i know licinius was one off the bat, so i'll post him..(again) o dang, pushed the wrong button.. o well. i just posted him anyway on another thread
That is the problem with Tetrarchal coins. You really have to get lucky to find things that are really different. All I have are two folles as Caesar: Moneta from Rome Genius from Cyzicus
