Diocletian and Maximianus Herculius abdicated as emperors after having been in charge of the empire for many years. The following coin was one of a range produced to commemorate this retirement and is a relatively scarce one in the series. It arrived on the doormat this morning. I have a soft spot for these coins as senior Augusti. Diocletian Follis Obv:– D N DIOCLETIANO P F S AVG, Laureate bust right, wearing imperial mantle, holding olive branch in right hand and mappa in left Rev:– QVIES AV-GVSTORVM, Quies standing facing, head left, holding branch in right hand and leaning on scepter in left hand. Minted in Trier (S-C//PTR). c. Summer A.D. 307 Reference:– RIC VI Trier 713 (R) Does anyone else have any Senior Augustus coins to share?
What a awesome coin to find on your doormat. great color and centering, i don't have one, but will be on the lookout...
Hey Martin, I only have one coin from each of these two rulers ... and I doubt that they fit in your category, but I'm gonna post 'em "just in case" ... Diocletian Maximianus
Steve, Your lovely coins are from the period when the emperors were busy with the burdons of rule. My example aludes to them passing on these burdons to their successors and moving on to a more restful period of their lives where Diocletian retired to his purpose build palace and spent his days in the gardens whilst watching the Tetrarchy falling apart around him. Hi died (possibly commited suicide) in December A.D. 311. Martin
Is that what you're wanting to see Martin ? Maximianus, Abdication Follis Serdica mint, 1st officina, AD 305-306 DN MAXIMIANO FELICISSIMO SEN AVG, laureate bust right, wearing imperial mantle, holding mappa and olive branch PROVIDENTIA DEORVM QUIES AVGG, Quies and Providentia, facing each other, S | F in field, .SM.SD. at exergue, officina A 10,70 gr Ref : Cohen #489, RCV # 13408 (220), RIC VI # 15b Q
I must admit when I first read the title I thought it meant rest as in the remaining and was very confused. These coins are really interesting and I must say I am going to have to keep an eye out for them. What are the hallmarks to look for for an abdication follis? Is it generally the S or the SEN in the legend before the AVG?
There are a variety of P F S AVG types out there with the QVIES type being one such example. The Providentia types typically have long legends with BAEATIS or FELICISSIMO and the expanded SEN. The P F S types can be found with Genius types too. The following coin comes from the issue before by Quies from the OP.
What about these non Senior coins? Note the last one shows the obverse legend ending in BAEATISS. acsearch shows a couple of these listed from major houses that leave out the first A even though their perfect coins show the letters clearly.
