New book on Diocletian’s SILVER coinage.

« The Silver Coinage of Diocletian's Reform (294-312 AD) » aims to review one of the main aspects of this major episode in Roman imperial numismatics. The documentation presented considerably enriches our knowledge of an original coinage and, in a way, "restored" by the founder of the Tetrarchy. The detailed catalog of the coins issued in the various mints alone represents, in the varieties described, more than three times the material so far listed (1048 varieties in total). A very abundant illustration finally allows easy consultation of a work primarily designed, by the author's own admission, as a research manual. Nearly 800 pages and over 6 lbs of fantastic and useful informations. The plan of the book is divided into two main parts. The data concerning the silver coinage of the reform constitute the first part (p. 17-83). Then the book studies the material of the 15 different workshops. Then comes a catalog which takes up most of the book (pp. 85-585). Added to this are the 80 good quality black and white plates (perfect for silver coinage) on a beautiful paper which allow you to discover more than 1,800 pieces.




Equally interesting is the table on page 32, devoted to the different hypotheses on the values of the coinage of Diocletian's reform (294 AD) between 1951 and 2017. No less important is the study on the signatures of mints and officinas marks (pp. 52-58). We also find four summaries: the first in French (p. 587-588), then in English (p. 589-590), then in German (p. 591-592), finally in Italian (p. 593- 594) which recall the method set up by Bastien in his works devoted to the Lyon workshop. This book will surely become the “Bible” of silver coinage of the period between the monetary reform of Diocletian and the end of the reign of Maxentius. Do not wait to quickly get this book which should easily find its audience and be sold out very quickly, and at only 50 euros it’s a real bargain !

 

Log in or Sign up to hide this ad.

Is it my imagination, or are there in fact more of these incredibly detailed studies of individual emperors' coinage published (whether in hard copy or online) in French than in English?

 

I recently upgraded my Diocletian coin... sadly, it wasn't in silver. But to show appreciation for the thread:


Argent? I had no idea Diocletian was such a fan of classic rock:

Je n'ai pas remarqué cette tendance

 

oui ...but on a more cereal note, i would like to have a silver of tetrarchy reverse

 

Still need an argenteus of Diocletian

 

That book may have information I should incorporate into my site on argentii:
http://augustuscoins.com/ed/argenteus/



This example is of Diocletian with legend
VICTORIA SARMAT
20-19 mm. 3.31 grams.
The same "four sacrificing" design occurs with legends
VIRTVS MILITVM (See that webpage--the second next below it)
and
PROVIDENTIA AVGG (also on that webpage)
and
VICTORIA AVGG (no example on that page, but it is just like the others except for the legend)
RIC Heraclea 6 "c. 295" (All references to RIC are to volume VI.)
Sear IV 12612.

Here is the webpage again: http://augustuscoins.com/ed/argenteus/

EDIT: I ordered the book.

 

The OP post about a book on argentei describes it well, but I did not expect it to be so massive--slightly over 6 pounds! A4 paper, 1 1/2" thick. It arrived today to Oregon and I am very pleased. Mine arrived in only 15 days. I ordered it here:
https://livre.fnac.com/a16298060/Ge...rgent-de-la-reforme-de-Diocletien-294-312-p-C
My total cost, including shipping, was only $70.

Be aware it is almost all in French with very short summaries in English, German, and Italian. It is organized by mint. Pick a random page and it is likely to be a list of a few types by legends with all the examples of the type cited (e.g the museum collection it is in, or which auction catalog and lot number), so the language hardly matters. Over 8000 coins listed like that give you a good feel for the rarity of each type. 80 page plates illustrate over 1000 examples.

Wow! I'm impressed! If you might want it, buy it now. It is a bargain.

 

On Lech's "Not In RIC" site there are a couple of Victoria Avgg 4-turret "campgate" argenteii from Siscia for Constantius I as augustus (i.e 305-306 AD) and Maximinus II as caesar. I'm curious if these are in Gautier's book? Does he have same type for Galerius as augustus and Severus II as caesar, as would be expected?

 

Dear Donna, It reflects the historical trend of the scholarship of Classical studies in general. I buy for our library ca. 5000 books a year on all areas of Classical antiquity: Greece from the bronze age through the modern period, and Rome, from its beginnings to the fall of the western empire, but continuing to comprehensively collect the eastern empire, till its fall in the 15th century; from there our collection merges into Ottoman and modern Greece. We also collect materials on ancient Egypt and the Near East, though not as comprehensively as we do on Greece, Rome, and Byzantium. But English comprises only ca. 25% of our acquisitions, the remainder being German, French, Italian, modern Greek, Spanish, Bulgarian, Russian, basically any scholarly materials in our field in any language.