Message:

<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Valentinian, post: 3648282, member: 44316&quot;]Folles of the tetrarchy are large, common, and often in pleasing grade. Some collectors and scholars feel the portraits of the four tetrarchs of the first tetrarchy are too much alike to regard them as individualized. I must agree the stark realism seen on the early and mid third-century coins has been replaced with a different artistic convention. Also, after Diocletian&#039;s coin reform there are many mints, not all with the same style, so they cannot all have photo-realism. Long ago the acquisition of this coin made me think it would be interesting to try to find that style on that type for all four tetrarchs from that mint:</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]979792[/ATTACH] </p><p><br /></p><p>Maximian. Look at the small face on the massive, nearly circular (spherical), head which squeezes up against the legend. </p><p>27 mm. 9.82 grams.</p><p>SACRA MONET AVGG ET CAESS NOSTR</p><p>Moneta holding balance and cornucopia</p><p>V in right field</p><p>AQP in exergue.</p><p>RIC VI Aquileia 31b, &quot;c. 301&quot;. Sear IV 13300. </p><p><br /></p><p>The above coin was acquired in 1991 and I didn&#039;t complete the mini-set until last month, so you can see I was in no hurry to get all four. </p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]979791[/ATTACH] </p><p>Constantius I.</p><p>[The photo does not capture the metallic nature of the silvering.]</p><p>28-25 mm. 9.82 grams.</p><p>SACRA MONET AVGG ET CAESS NOSTR</p><p>Moneta holding balance and cornucopia</p><p>V in right field</p><p>AQΓ in exergue.</p><p>RIC VI Aquileia 32a &quot;c. 301&quot;. Sear IV 14094</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]979790[/ATTACH] </p><p><br /></p><p>Galerius, 293-305-311</p><p>26 mm. 9.24 grams.</p><p>SACRA MONET AVGG ET CAESS NOSTR</p><p>Moneta holding balance and cornucopia</p><p>V in right field</p><p>AQΓ in exergue.</p><p>RIC Aquileia 32b &quot;c. 301&quot;. Sear IV 14405</p><p><br /></p><p>And, now for the king of the hill, my recently-acquired Diocletian:</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]979793[/ATTACH] </p><p><span style="font-size: 16px"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: 16px">Diocletian</span></p><p><span style="font-size: 16px">27 mm. 10.04 grams.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: 16px">SACR MONET AVGG ET CAESS NOSTR</span></p><p><span style="font-size: 16px">Moneta holding balance and cornucopia</span></p><p><span style="font-size: 16px">VI in right field</span></p><p><span style="font-size: 16px">AQP in exergue</span></p><p><span style="font-size: 16px">RIC VI Aquileia 35 &quot;c. 302-3&quot;. Sear IV 12820. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: 16px"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: 16px">I can&#039;t say the other three duplicate the style of the Maximian that set me on the quest. Only Maximian&#039;s head is so spherical. I would not be surprised if the other three display realistic individual features. When I look at those profiles, I think I see individuals, not cookie-cutter duplicates (even if they all have beards of the same length).</span></p><p><span style="font-size: 16px"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: 16px">The point of this post is that I regarded this set of four as a mini-theme that stayed in the back of my mind until I was able to complete it without trying too hard and paying too much. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: 16px"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: 16px">Do you have any mini-theme sets you have completed or are working on?</span></p><p><span style="font-size: 16px"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: 16px"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: 16px"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: 16px"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: 16px"></span>[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

Your name or email address:

Do you already have an account?

• No, create an account now.
• Yes, my password is:
• Forgot your password?

Stay logged in