I saw this coin at the estate area in a jewelry store. Can anyone identify it? Is it worth picking up?
Looks like a follis of Maximianus or Galerius. I always confuse the two because the names can be so similar. If the bezel is gold and it's cheap it might be worth it. The coin is not very rare. EDIT: posted at the same time as Randy
It's a follis of Galerius as Augustus, most likely from the Serdica mint and with the GENIO AVGVSTI reverse. I'm thinking RIC vi, p. 499, 35:
It was $250 (yes, gold bezel). I assumed they did their homework, but since I know nothing about ancient coins I though I'd better check. Thanks for your help!
In a 14K gold bezel of that size, it's unlikely that there's more than $40 worth of gold. It's a piece of jewelry, not a collectible coin. As jewelry, it may be worth $250 to you, but if you're interested in ancient coins, look elsewhere.
From a numismatic standpoint, similar coins of this emperor are commonplace. This was less than $40: Galerius. A.D. 305-311 Roman Æ 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; *| //HTЄ Refs: RIC 48a; RCV 14514; Cohen 48.
