Diocletian antoninianus

I wonder what they would think of our clad coins?

 

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I've shown my only Argenteus before, but in case you missed it:

MAXIMIANUS AR Argenteus
OBVERSE: MAXIMIANVS AVG, laureate head right
REVERSE: VIRTVS MILITVM, four tetrarchs sacrificing before walls with 8 turrets
Struck at Ticinum, 295 AD
2.6g, 18mm
RIC VI 18b

 

They would have felt completely at home with clad coins. As the fineness of the antoniniani dropped, they were given a silver wash, so they would at least appear to have more precious metal value. I'm sure Roman minters wouldn't have blinked an eye at 65% silver-clad Kennedy half dollars. Same concept. (Then there are all the silver-clad fourees.)

I hesitate to comment too much on this topic, because Doug is really the expert here, but I'll make a few observations, and if I'm off the mark, he can correct me.

I simply use RIC to tell me which coins are pre-reform, and which come after. The research is extensive and thorough, although even RIC can be confusing at times. But I've noticed that the pre-reform ants are generally larger in diameter than the post-reform radiates, and thinner. It seems with the radiates, the idea was to use approximately the same amount of bronze, but make a thicker coin. Gone is the inscription XXI - they contain no silver at all. Also, the portraits become more stylized on the the radiates - they tend toward thick necks and heads. Compare the Diocletian ant I posted above to a post-reform radiate of Maximian...

 

Nice!!

I must have missed it, obviously.

 

A lot of what we think about the denominations of this period is based on modern tests and theories since we have no records from the day. The reform put out as the main coin the AE1 follis which was silvered and contained silver at the start like the pre reform ants. They also issued two smaller denominations of which one was radiate and the smaller laureate. The theory I like allows these coins as 5, 2 and 1 units which we might call denarii but remember that silver coins the size of denarii from the period are now called argentii. No radiate coin with XXI is pre reform but a few of the folles did bear that silver mark. Some pre reform antoniniani lacked the XXI as well so it is not as simple as that. I wish we knew with more certainty how exchanges between the old and new coins were handled officially and on the black market but a lot of what I've seen on the question strikes me as being based on assumptions I can not accept fully.

 

Interesting. So I bought this coin which was sold as a post reform radiate but called AE Antoninianus. It should have been described as a post reform bronze, correct?

Obviously this photo is from the vendors site.

 

That's RIC VI Heraclea 13, and RIC calls it a radiate fraction. As Doug points out, we don't know what the Romans called these coins, so all the names we call them are fabrications.

Nice coin, btw. Great choice!

 

Picked up this one lately 20 mm..is it afollis or a antonianus?

 

Post-reform radiate, Heraclea.