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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;dougsmit, post: 1868414, member: 19463&quot;]Many people say the coins of the period following Diocletian&#039;s reform are boring because so many of them are just a figure of Genius standing.&nbsp; While I won&#039;t say they are boring, I will say that the real exception to their ordinary status can be found in the coins of Maxentius.&nbsp; Maxentius is most famous for being defeated at the battle of the Milvian Bridge by Constantine the Great but this post will try to show him as a bit of a winner in terms of coin design.&nbsp; </p><p><br /></p><p>Today the postman brought an AE1 (25mm, 5.92g) with a very complex reverse.&nbsp; Standing are the two Dioscuri, Castor and Pollux each with a horse raising one front leg.&nbsp; Between them is the Roman wolf and twins.&nbsp; Actually the wolf is a bit behind the horses which we can see because the skinny foreleg of the left horse overlaps the wolf&#039;s head.&nbsp; Why they did this is beyond me.&nbsp; </p><p>[ATTACH=full]315113[/ATTACH] </p><p>The coin does not have particularly nice surfaces after a rough, amateurish cleaning but can be said to be a bit better in hand since the enlargement of the photo makes the faults stand out.&nbsp; The mintmark MOSTA indicates manufacture at the Ostia mint.&nbsp; Many of Maxentius&#039; coins were from there.&nbsp; The legend is AETERNITAS AVG N (noster=our).&nbsp; </p><p><br /></p><p>I previously have had a similar coin but missing the wolf and twins.&nbsp; Maxentius also has several nice temple types including one with the wolf on the pediment.&nbsp; Best, but not in my collection, is a large wolf and twins alone without the Dioscuri.&nbsp; </p><p>[ATTACH=full]315115[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=full]315114[/ATTACH] </p><p>This last one is from Aquileia mint.</p><p><br /></p><p>I know some of you have Maxentius to show.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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