Gaius Galerius Valerius Maximianus was Diocletian's deputy commander (Caesar), & member of the 1st Tetrarchy. He was a peasant herdsman from a small village on the banks of the Danube. He joined the Roman Army & quickly rose through the ranks to become Diocletian's praetorian prefect. On March 1, 293, Galerius was given the rank of Caesar at the imperial palace of Nicomedia, with his areas of responsibility to be Illyria, the Balkans, & parts of Western Asia Minor. To cement his relationship with Diocletian, he divorced his wife & married Diocletian's daughter Galeria Valeria, & then established his court at Thessalonica. Galerius was a successful military leader but is best remembered for his persecution of Christians & his gruesome death, most likely from Fournier gangrene, that spread from his private parts to the rest of his body's soft tissue. Of the four members of the original Tetrarchy, the coinage of Galerius seems to be the most prolific. Common nummi of Galerius are not expensive & collectors can assemble a representative collection from the many different mints without taking a 2nd mortgage on their home. High grade nummi have gotten very expensive at auction the last few years, & during the Covid-19 pandemic prices have surged again. Collectors are willing to pay a premium for well engraved portraits too. Pictured below are some of the favorite nummi from my collection. Galerius as Caesar, AD 293-305 (struck AD 295-299), Cyzicus Mint, 1st Officina. Reverse: Genius with cornucopia & patera. Billon Nummus: 9.07 gm, 28 mm, 6 h. Sear 14342. NGC MS*, Strike 5/5, Surface 5/5. Galerius as Caesar, AD 293-305 (struck c. AD 304-305), Lugdunum Mint, 1st Officina. Obverse: Military bust facing left with scepter over shoulder. Reverse: Genius sacrificing over fire altar. Billon Nummus: 9.63 gm, 29 mm, 1 h. RIC 167b. Rare. NGC AU, Strike 5/5, Surface 5/5. Galerius as Caesar, AD 293-305 (struck AD 303-305), Londinium Mint. Obverse: Military bust facing right. Billon Nummus: 10.46 gm, 29 mm, 6 h. RIC 33; CT 3.01.031. Galerius as Augustus, AD 305-311 (struck AD 305). Ticinum Mint, 1st Officina. Reverse: Fides seated & holding signum in each hand. Billon Nummus: 11.56 gm, 29 mm, 6 h. RIC VI 55b. Galerius as Caesar, AD 293-305, Trier Mint, 2nd Officina. Billon Nummus: 9.44 gm, 30 mm, 6 h. RIC VI 344b. NGC AU, Strike 5/5, Surface 4/5. Galerius as Caesar, AD 293-305 (struck AD 304-305), Alexandria Mint, 5th Officina. Reverse: Jupiter holding victory on globe in his right hand & scepter in his left hand. Billon Nummus: 11.39 gm, 29 mm, 12 h. Scarce. Sear 14388. NGC Ch AU, Strike 5/5, Surface 5/5. Galerius as Caesar, AD 293-305, Trier Mint, 1st Officina. Billon Nummus: 13.15 gm (this is unusually heavy), 29 mm, 1 h. Sear 14348, RIC VI 508b. NGC MS*, Strike 5/5, Surface 5/5. Galeria Valeria Augustus (wife of Galerius), AD 293-311. Cyzicus Mint, 1st Officina. Reverse: Venus holding apple. Billon Nummus: 5.60 gm, 27 mm, 6h. NGC Ch AU, Strike 5/5, Surface 4/5. References: Coinage and History of the Roman Empire, Volume 1: History. David Vagi, 1999 Roman Coins and Their Values, Volume IV. David R. Sear, 2011 If any CT member would like to share nummi (folles) of Galerius or his wife, you're welcome to post them on this thread .
here's some Galerius from Carthage charting his progression through the ranks of the Tetrarchy. first as junior Caesar Galerius A.D. 298- 303 27x30mm 8.6g MAXIMIANVS NOB CAES; laureate head right. SALVIS AVGG ET CAESS FEL KART; Carthage standing facing, head left, holding fruits in both hands. In ex. Δ RIC VI Carthage 30b/32b second as junior Augustus Galerius A.D. 305- 306 26x31mm 7.9g IMP MAXIMIANVS P F AVG; laureate head right. SALVIS AVGG ET CAESS FEL KART; Carthage standing facing, head left, holding fruits in both hands; I in left field. In ex. B RIC VI Carthage 39b and finally as senior Augustus...for about six months Galerius A.D. 306 26x28mm 8.5g IMP MAXIMIANVS P F AVG; Laureate head right. SALVIS AVGG ET CAESS FEL KART; Carthage standing facing, head left, holding fruits in both hands; I in left field. In ex. A RIC VI Carthage 43a
Victor, Thanks for posting the Carthage coinage . I have only one nummus from Carthage that is heavily encrusted, never the less, the green patina is attractive .
Nice sub-collection, @Al Kowsky! Very attractive examples! Here are a few: Galerius as Caesar, AD 293-305. Roman silvered billon follis, 8.62 g, 27.2 mm, 6 h. Trier, AD 302-3. Obv: MAXIMIANVS NOBIL C, laureate and cuirassed bust, right. Rev: GENIO POPV-LI ROMANI, Genius standing facing, head left, wearing modius, naked but for chlamys over left shoulder, holding patera and cornucopiae; S/F//IITR. Refs: RIC vi, p. 196, 508b; Cohen 65; RCV 14348. Notes: Some numismatists postulate that the S F in the fields of these coins from Trier is an abbreviation for SAECVLI FELICITAS. Galerius as Augustus, A.D. 305-311. Roman AE follis, 26.0 mm, 7.73 g, 12 h. Heraclea mint, AD 310-311. Obv: IMP C GAL VAL MAXIMIANVS P F AVG, laureate head right. Rev: GENIO IMPERATORIS, Genius standing left, holding patera and cornucopia; */HTE Refs: RIC 48a; RCV 14514; Cohen 48. Galeria Valeria, AD 293(?)-311. Roman Æ Follis, 26 mm, 6.64 gm. Nicomedia mint, 308-310 CE. Obv: GAL VAL-ERIA AVG, diademed and draped bust right. Rev: VENERI VI-CTRICI CMH, Venus standing facing, head left, holding apple and drapery; in exergue, SMNA.
R.C., Thanks for the S F interpretation, it had me puzzled . Your Trier nummus has the unusual officina mark of II and my example has I. It's not common to see nummi using Roman numerals to identify the different workshops.
Wonderful coins, all! Here's a pair from Cyzicus. The first is my only ex. Dattari Collection coin: Galerius, AE Follis, 305-306 AD, Cyzicus Mint (4th Officina). Obv. Laureate head right, IMP C GAL VAL MAXIMIANVS P F AVG/ Rev. Genius, wearing modius on head, nude, chlamys draped over left shoulder, standing left, holding cornucopiae in left hand and pouring libation from patera in right hand, GENIO POPV-LI ROMANI; mintmark K Δ [K = Cyzicus, Delta = 4th Officina] in exergue. RIC VI Cyzicus 21b & 25a (pp. 582, 584), Sear RCV IV 14546, Cohen 81. 27.8 mm., 9.65 g. 12 h. Ex. Giovanni Dattari Collection (before 1923); Ex. Jesus Vico 2018. Galeria Valeria (wife of Galerius and daughter of Diocletian). AE Follis, 308-310 AD, Cyzicus Mint (4th Officina). Obv. Diademed and draped bust right, GAL VAL-ERIA AVG / Rev. Venus standing facing, head left, right hand holding up apple, left hand raising drapery over left shoulder, VENERI V-ICTRICI; Δ [Delta = 4th Officina] in left field; MKV [Cyzicus] in exergue. RIC VI Cyzicus 46 (p. 586), Sear RCV IV 14597. 24x26 mm., 5.7 g.
Donna, I like your Dattari nummus . Did it come from that large collection of Dattari nummi that was auctioned a year or two ago ?
Andres, I was hoping someone would post a nummus from Thessalonica, thanks for the post . Your nummus from Ticinum is exceptional !
My favorites: Caesar: Aquileia - ex John Quincy Adams collection Siscia with the XXI alloy declaration infrequently used in the post-reform period Augustus: Alexandria Nicomedia with the reverse CMH ligature which I believe most people accept as a denomination statement (?). My Galeria Valeria is from Antioch and adds a small altar at Venus' feet. After the death of Galerius, Valeria refused the marriage proposal of Maximinus and was later executed by Licinius. She was an interesting woman well worth your time to study a bit.
Doug, That's a great group of nummi ! I'm in awe over the nummus from the collection of John Q. Adams , what a glorious provenance . I'm impressed with the nummus of Galeria Valeria too; it's the 1st time I've seen a fire altar added to the reverse .
