Jovianus was commander of the guard under the emperor Julian and accompanied the emperor on his Persian campaign. When Julian charged into the midst of the battle without his cuirass he was mortally wounded by a Sassanid spear. He was brought back into his tent still alive and given treatment by his physicians, who unfortunately could not stop the bleeding from his spleen nor dress the wound effectively. Supposedly, Julian's last words were "Thou hast conquered, Galilean" in reference to his attempt to resume worship of the pagan gods amidst a rising tide of Christianity. By the acclimation of the troops and the necessity to secure a peaceful retreat from Sassanid lands, Jovian was proclaimed emperor. He quickly concluded a peace treaty with the Persians under somewhat unfavorable terms, and began a retreat back to the Roman east. While in the vicinity of Tarsus, as the story goes, Jovian spent the night in a freshly plastered room with insufficient ventilation. Meanwhile, fumes from a charcoal brazier apparently extinguished his life, so one could attribute his death to carbon monoxide poisoning. This coin comes from @John Anthony 's auction of last week and was just received in the mail. I had another Jovian but is in VG/Fine condition and somewhat corroded. So this coin with a black patina is a big step up. Jovian, A.D. 363-364 AE 19, 3.6 grams, 6h, Sirmium mint Obverse: DN IOVIANVS P F AVG Pearl diademed, draped and cuirassed bust right Reverse: VOT V MVLT X in four lines within wreath //BSIRM in exergue Reference: RIC VIII 118, p.394 Feel free to post your coins of this short-lived emperor here
Excellent Write-up indeed. I already posted a coin of Jovianus few months ago. I'll try to find it in my boxes to post it again on this magnificent thread. BTW.. Don't you think that Julian I fits well here. Are his coins so rare? Julian II is more common.
Great coin @ancient coin hunter ! I probly got mine from @John Anthony also... JOVIAN (Right and Left!): RI Jovian AE3 Sirmium mint VOT V RIC 118 RI Jovian 363-364 AE 20mm Folles LEFT Sinister VOT V
Nope, not from me. Is it some sort of obsessive-compulsive disorder that I remember every coin I've sold?
I haven't yet acquired a coin of Jovian, but I do have a pretty nice Julian. Julian II AE follis 360-363 CE Thessalonica mint. "Pagan bull" Obv: DN FL C IVLIANVS PF AVG Rev: SECVRITAS REIPVBLICAE, TESA mintmark, 2 stars above bull, palm branch. Ric 225, 28mm, 8.07 grams.
Thanks @old49er - I try to make things interesting with a bit of a historical backdrop. In this case, a synopsis of Ammianus Marcellinus - and Eusebius in the recitation of Julian's last words.
Nice coins and some tougher mints, particularly the ROMA type. I looked through some of my stuff and I did find two other mints, Thessalonika and Constantinople. Never knew that 13 different mints churned these out.
How'd I miss this thread? Here's my humble contribution from the Heraclea mint: Jovian, AD 363-364 Roman Æ centenionalis, 3.06 g, 19.2 mm, 6 h Heraclea, AD 363-364 Obv: D N IOVIAN-VS P F AVG, pearl-diademed, draped and cuirassed bust, left Rev: VOT / V, legend within wreath; HERACA in exergue Refs: RIC viii, p. 439, 108; RCV 19218; LRBC II 1912; Cohen 32.
