RIC V 20 IMP C DIOCLETIANVS AVG PAX AVGGG S/P//C 4.36g, 23mm Purchased from finder, found in Malton, Yorkshire 2021 After a rather lean few months on the coin front, with the recent general increase in costs for coins at auction now seemingly being felt on ebay, my regular hunting ground, I was pleased to spot this coin. It was erroneously listed as being barbarous by the seller and I think as a result passed under the radar. Thankfully for me, I got it for less than half of what I was prepared to pay for it. These coins featuring AVGGG on the reverse are part of the series of coins produced by Carausius after his 'accord' with Maximian, or rather after Maximian's failure to defeat Carausius and bring Britannia back into the empire. The holy grail is a coin with Carausius, Maximian and Diocletian all in jugate on the obverse, but with even utterly rotten examples selling for many hundreds and often thousands of pounds, I have been trying to pick up any examples I can find due to their historical interest. This Diocletian example, with the most common Pax reverse, is still very uncommon, and even more uncommon in such a good state. As usual, there are surface issues, with the patina flaking in some spots and severely chipped along the edges, but the strike and design is excellent and I am very pleased to add it to my collection. Apologies for the watermark, but my health is playing up and I can't get a steady hand, so some blur removal was necessary. Please share anything you feel relevant!
here's my example Diocletian A.D. 291 21x24mm 4.4gm IMP C DIOCLETIANVS P F AVG; radiate and cuirassed bust right PAX AVGGG; Pax stg. l., holding olive branch and transverse sceptre; S-P across fields. In ex. MLXXI RIC Vii London 9
Nice find! I spotted one in a Roma large lot a couple years back. Don't recall the cost but I was very pleased to win it.
I don't have the C mint for Diocletian or Maximianus but an particularly fond of my Carausius GGG from C. These coins often require compromises. This Diocletian has great surfaces but poor centering while the Maximianus has a bold GGG and poor surfaces. Obviously I do not that the triple portrait or I would have shown it first.
Nice coins everyone, Doug that Carausius coin is a stunner. I have two Maximian GGGs, both from the London mint, one which is OK condition and the expected Pax, and the other which is an incredibly rare COMES AVGGG type, but is in so poor a condition that it requires some imagination. My pictures are so poor for those that they aren't worth sharing, and I'll revisit them soon. I have a few nice Carausius coins so far, but no GGG types. The hunt continues.
