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Message:: [QUOTE="Valentinian, post: 2030176, member: 44316"]Sometimes a coin portrait is so well done you feel you could recognize the person if you saw him. This quality is not usually associated with coins of the tetrarchy which often have portraits remarkable for their lack of personal characteristics. For example, it is hard to say who is who in the famous statue outside St. Mark's in Venice. Art books sometimes say the artists were purposely trying to avoid individual characteristics in order to emphasize the joint rulership. [ATTACH=full]369323[/ATTACH] I like coins of the tetrarchy. They can be big, in nice grade, and still not expensive. But some of them have the "cubist" nature of the indistinguishable statues. But some don't. When I saw this one, the portrait spoke to me: [ATTACH=full]369327[/ATTACH] Maximianus (286-305) struck at London c.303.IMP MAXIMIANVS PF AVGLaureate and curiassed bust right. GENIO POPV-LI ROMANI Maximianus had an upturned nose, unlike almost all other emperors. It makes his coins distinguishable and is sometimes overemphasized so the portrait is almost a caricature. This portrait has the upturned nose, but not too much--it seems realistic. Look hard at it and it is convincing. You can see the image of an individual. The artistry is top quality. If I saw him on the street, I'd recognize him. Show us a coin with an artistic individual portrait, so nicely engraved that you'd recognize the person.[/QUOTE]