Maximian Tetradrachm of Alexandria

This one comes from @John Anthony 's auction of last week. I was able to pick up a tet of Maximian. Great coin in my opinion with a nice patina.

20mm, 8.0 grams

Obverse: AK M OVA MAEIMIANOC CEB
Laureate, draped bust right

Reverse: Eagle standing left, head right with wreath in its beak; star in left field, L-Delta

Date: Year 4 = A.D. 289-290

Reference: Milne 4921, Emmet 4108

I hope you like it and feel free to post any Alexandrian tets!

 

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Nice coin, thought I had him, but it's a Galerius

 

Sorry about the bad attribution Mat, mea culpa. It's Galerius.

Obv.: ΓAΛ MAΞIMIANOC K; Laureate and cuirassed bust right.
Reference: Dattari 6150

 

A mistake that turned out to be real good, who would have thought?

Thanks to Doug for pointing out the mistake and John for making the mistake

 

So my OP coin is Maximian? Or Galerius?

 

Maximianus
AK M OVA MAEIMIANOC CEB
CEB or Sebastos is Greek for Augustus. Mat's coin ended in K for Caesar. Maximianus was always Augustus - never just Caesar. Galerius was both but he did not become Augustus until after the mint at Alexandria was closed or, rather, converted to making Rome style coins (folles etc. rather than tetradrachms) so all his tetradrachms are as Caesar and end in K.

According to Emmett listings there are a lot of Galerius types but most are rare so they must not have made many of them each. I do not have one (envy, envy, envy). Coins of Diocletian and Maximianus are common but there are rare types. They are not in high demand in the general market and tend to be small and hard to read.

One more thing that can be ignored by those allergic to education. Contrary to previous general practice these rulers each dated their coins separately rather than using the dates of the senior ruler. For example, when Caracalla started issuing coins under his father Septimius Severus, his first coins were year four just like those Septimius issued that year. When Septimius died in his 19th year, Caracalla kept on counting so his first 'sole reign' coins were year 20 (LK). Severus Alexander as Caesar issued coins under Elagabalus matching his LE year 5 issues (a few 4's exist) but started over with LA year one when Elagabalus was gone. That means he had two LE years, one as Caesar and a second in his fifth year as Augustus. Diocletian became emperor but did not appoint Maximianus as his colleague until he was into his LB year 2. The first coins of Maximianus started with LA and were always one year behind. How do we know this? There are rare 'appointment' coins of each showing the two together on the reverse. Those with Diocletian on the obverse are dated LB but those with Maximianus are LA. Both stopped minting tetradrachms at Alexandria ate the same time but Diocletian was in LIB year 12 while Maximianus was in LIA year 11. Galerius and Constantius Caesars did not start until 292 but their coins that year were LA so their last issues were year four Ldelta. Let's all remember that these guys were emperors and did things 'their way' not the way 21st century collectors might prefer. If you want a last year of issue set for the tetrarchs you need a 12, an 11 and a pair of fours. Trivia: What did I leave out of the last year set here and why is it LB?

 

Maximian, Billon tetradrachm

Obv:– MAΞIMIANOC CEB, Laureate, cuirassed bust right
Rev:– None, Nike, advancing right holding wreath and palm. Star in right field.
Minted in Alexandria (L | S).
Reference(s) – Curtis -, BMC -, Milne 4985

 

Nice

 

I have Galerius too

Galerius Billon tetradrachm

Obv:– GAL MAXIMIANOC K, Laureate, cuirassed bust right
Rev:– None, Eirene, standing left, holding olive branch and sceptre..
Minted in Alexandria (L| B). A.D. 293
Reference(s) – Curtis -, BMC -, Milne 5106. Emmett 4219 (Year 2) Rated R5



Galerius - Billon Tetradrachm

Obv:– MAXIMIANOC K, Laureate, cuirassed bust right
Rev:– None, Eagle, standing left, head right, holding wreath in beak, Palm in left field..
Minted in Alexandria (L| D). A.D. 295
Reference(s) – Milne 5240

 

Thanks Doug. I guess @Mat lucked out!

 

The only one of the tetrarchs I have as alexandrian tet is Diocletian


Diocletian, Tetradrachm Alexandria mint, year 9 (AD 292/293)
DIOKLETIANOCCEB, Laureate and cuirassed bust right
L - ENATOY, Nike flying right, A in exergue
7.91 gr
Ref : Emmett # 4064 (R3)

Q

 

I've always been fond of L - ENATOY spelling out the unlucky numeral theta. Earlier there had been a few other spelled out dates for whatever reason and they allowed theta with other numerals (like 19 or 29) but solo thetas are rare until Christianity came and made pagan superstitions out of style.
Severus Alexander year five spelled out:


Commodus year 29 L kappa theta:

 

The tet for Domitius Domitianus, who stepped up as augustus in 296. Not sure why he went to year two unless he had pretended to the throne the year before.

 

I love Alexandrian tets. Here is my Gallienus



And my Probus

 

All his were LB suggesting that he counted his first day in power in August but issued no coins until September or after. The way the Alexandrian calendar worked, one day before new year was as good as the whole year. The new year began on 29 August except during the year before a Julian leap year, when it was 30 August instead. If he considered his first day before that, LA could be very short. I have never seen a list of which years were leap years but it would only matter if he was counting from 29 August which would be in one year if it was a leap and another otherwise.

When Diocletian retook Alexandria, he took away their unique coinage. I do not know when they started striking the standard type coinage. RIC discusses the matter but covered it best pointing out that not all scholars agree on the dates. 'I don't know' is a good answer in many cases.

 

Okay, I think I get it. Not years of reign, but the number of the years touched by the reign. The count of the regnal year was not for the number of actual years of rule, but the number of "calendar years" it "overlapped." If he became king in 241, then 241 was his first year, and when it became 242, his second regnal year began. So coronation two weeks before the new year celebration set "year one," and two weeks after the same celebration, would put him in his second regnal year.

Thanks for explaining that, Doug.


Did they count the years of tribunician power and consulship the same way?

 

Cool ACH! I have a year 4 Maximian also! Alexandria and Serapis head instead of eagle reverse.

 

Difficult to pin down with certainty given its state of preservation, but I think it's:
Maximian, 1st reign, AD 286-305
Roman billon tetradrachm, 16.2 mm, 7.29 g
Egypt, Alexandria, AD 289-290
Obv: A K M A OVA MAΞIMIANOC CЄB, laureate, draped and cuirassed bust, right
Rev: Dikaiosyne standing left, holding scales and cornucopiae; L in left field and Є (year 5 = 289/290) in right field
Refs: Dattari 5850; Similar to BMCG 2550 and RCV 13345 (different placement of Є).

 

ALEXANDRIAN TETS:


RProv Valeria Messalina m-Claudius 41-54 CE Alexandria BI Tet yr 42-43 13.1g 25mm RPC I 5131


RI Poppea-Nero BI tetradrachm of Alexandria LI yr10 63-64 CE Milne 217 RPC 5275


RI Carinus 282-285 CE BI Potin Tet Alexandria Egypt 19mm Athena Seated holding Nike


RI Antoninus Pius 138-161 BCE BI Tet Alexandria Egypt Dikaiosyne Scale

 

Sort of, maybe....
Consulships started on January 1 but many emperors had been consul before they became emperor so we see COS in that first fraction of a year. Since not every emperor took a consulship regularly, some do more for us than others. For example Septimius Severus was consul before he was emperor (190), in 194 and in 202. Therefore COS coins are 193 only but COS II can be 194-201 and COS III from 202 to the end. Not everyone served a full year as consul so there could be some years with more than two names. The other odd one is when a ruler announced in advance that he would be consul the next year so we see his dates include COS DESIG followed by the number of the consulship that he would assume in January.

Not all emperors used the same TRP system. As I recall, there was an emperor who counted TRP from his ascension date for a while but changed later to make the dates align with the 10 December date that was standard for most. Finding that one may take some looking. I believe the answer is to research each emperor separately and see how he did TRP.

The single volume Sear Roman books included handy charts for following these titles.