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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Fugio1, post: 6597464, member: 89970&quot;]I recently acquired a IOVI CONS CAES follis of Diocletion from Alexandria.&nbsp; A couple of years ago, I acquired a HERCVLI VICTORI follis of Constantius also from the Alexandrian mint.&nbsp; Reverse images are below:</p><p>[ATTACH=full]1265926[/ATTACH] </p><p>[ATTACH=full]1265941[/ATTACH] </p><p>I’m finally getting around to researching this interesting religious aspect of the first and second Tetrarchy, and I&#039;ve observed some interesting patterns in these types apparently only in the mint of Siscia.&nbsp;&nbsp; </p><p><br /></p><p><b>Historical Summary:</b></p><p>Shortly after Maximian’s promotion in 286 AD, Diocletian called himself Jovius (Jove) and Maximian was named Herculius (Hercules), signifying that they had been chosen by the the gods.&nbsp; Symbolically, Diocletian as Jove was the father of the gods who created imperial policy, and Maximian was the hero who carried out the policy.&nbsp; &nbsp; There are lots of related details about the these dynasties, the coinage and its historical context which have been discussed at great length in other posts including an <a href="https://www.cointalk.com/threads/diocletian-two-interesting-coins-and-a-legacy-of-reform.307405/" class="internalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.cointalk.com/threads/diocletian-two-interesting-coins-and-a-legacy-of-reform.307405/">excellent post</a> by [USER=83845]@Curtisimo[/USER] , but my purpose here is to point out some interesting and unexpected variations in the AE coinage.</p><p><br /></p><p>In the first and second tetrarchy, the western empire was governed by the reigning Augustus and his Caesar of the Herculean dynasty.&nbsp; The Eastern empire was governed by the Jovian Dynasty.&nbsp;&nbsp; Here are the characters of this drama:</p><p>[ATTACH=full]1265944[/ATTACH] </p><p>Prior to the coinage reform of 294 antoninianii exist of Diocletian with HERCVLI reverse types and Maximian with IOVI reverse types, but after the coinage reform, the Jovian and Herculean AE coinage types are generally found only for the emperors in their respective dynasties.&nbsp; This is a convention that seems logical and was carried out throughout the mints of the empire… Except at the mint of Siscia during the 2nd Tetrarchy where exceptions are found.&nbsp;&nbsp; Siscia was in the territory of the Herculean Severus II.</p><p><br /></p><p>[The following coins are not mine]</p><p><br /></p><p>Here is one of two example I have found of this rare follis of Galerius (Jovian) with HERCVLI type from Siscia, RIC 163b, photo credits to Jesus Vico, Sabasta 147, lot 291:</p><p>[ATTACH=full]1265945[/ATTACH] </p><p><br /></p><p>Following is a follis of Constantius as Augustus with IOVI type, RIC (Siscia) 179a, 8.92g.&nbsp; RIC rates this as “Scarce”, but this is the only one I have found that is convincing.&nbsp; The other example was so heavily tooled it could have originally been anything.&nbsp; Photo credit to CGB.fr (web shop).</p><p>[ATTACH=full]1265946[/ATTACH] </p><p>RIC (Siscia) lists a few Folles types of Severus with a reverse IOVI type and Maximinus with HERCVLI type but these are rare and I have not found any documented examples to image.&nbsp; After the 2nd Tetrarchy the emperors from the different dynasties in different mints commonly struck both IOVI and HERCVLI types.</p><p><br /></p><p>It is possible that my research falls short here, but so far, I find no exceptions outside of Siscia and no exceptions during the first tetrarchy (after the monetary reform).&nbsp; The analysis involves only the AE - several exceptions from different mints exist in the post reform gold coinage.&nbsp; Please share your Jovian and Herculean type coins of the first and second Tetrarchy, especially if you have any of these exceptional varieties.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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