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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;DonnaML, post: 7979893, member: 110350&quot;]I&#039;ve wanted an Argenteus depicting the four tetrarchs sacrificing for a long time, and finally decided to buy one after losing out badly on the Volteius snake biga denarius -- another coin I&#039;ve very much wanted for quite a while -- in the Soler y Llach auction the other day. So this coin becomes a very nice self-awarded consolation prize. And it cost me less than half of my maximum bid on the Volteius -- a bid that was itself less than half of the hammer price. Just think of all the extra money I now have!</p><p><br /></p><p>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 <a href="http://numismatics.org/ocre/id/ric.6.her.6" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://numismatics.org/ocre/id/ric.6.her.6" rel="nofollow">http://numismatics.org/ocre/id/ric.6.her.6</a>], RSC V Diocletian 488j, Sear RCV IV 12612. <i>Purchased from Kenneth W. Dorney, Oct. 2021. Ex. Ira &amp; Larry Goldberg Auction 90, 2 Feb. 2016, Lot 3274</i>. 19 mm., 2.70 g.</p><p><br /></p><p>Ken Dorney photo:</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1384922[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>Ira &amp; Larry Goldberg photo:</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1384923[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>*See Stephen Williams, <i>Diocletian and the Roman Recovery</i> (Routledge, 2000) at p. 76 (preview at Google Books): “In 294 Diocletian launched 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.”</p><p><br /></p><p>Head on, the coin looks more like the Goldberg photo, but viewed at a slight angle, one can see the rainbow-ish toning visible on the Dorney photo. More importantly, the black spots above Diocletian&#039;s head and by his nose are essentially invisible in hand (after all, the coin is only 19 mm), and are only noticeable under magnification. They appear to be flush with the surface of the coin, rather than being any kind of encrustation. Should I leave them alone, or is there anything I should try to do to get rid of them?</p><p><br /></p><p>Finally, I added an OCRE citation to the RIC citation, so nobody can think I&quot;m being unduly credulous!</p><p><br /></p><p>Please post your own argentei, from any of the tetrarchs, from any of the different mints that issued them, and with any of the various reverse legends and/or types.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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