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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Shea19, post: 7170454, member: 90981&quot;]I recently added this antoninianus of Trajan Decius, which has a interesting reverse type that directly references the army legions that put him into power.&nbsp; The reverse is unique to Decius, and features the Genius (spirit) of the army of Illyricum.</p><p><br /></p><p>Though he&#039;s certainly not the most influential emperor, I really enjoy the coinage of Decius...he issued some very interesting reverse types and some great portraits as well, and I was very happy to add this one.</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1274674[/ATTACH]&nbsp; </p><p>Trajan Decius, 249-251, AR Antoninianus (24 mm, 3.50 g), Rome. IMP C M Q TRAIANVS DECIVS AVG Radiate and cuirassed bust of Trajan Decius to r./ <i>Rev.</i> GENIVS EXERC ILLVRICIANI Genius (of the army of Illyricum) standing front, nude but for chlamys, head to l., holding patera over lighted altar in his r. hand and cornucopia in his l.; to right, signum. RIC 16c.</p><p><br /></p><p>This reverse has the legend GENIVS EXERC ILLVRICIANI, which honors the &quot;Spirit of the Illyrian army.&quot;&nbsp; Decius was born in one of the Danube provinces known generally as Illyricum (near modern-day Serbia).&nbsp; Before he was emperor, he was sent by emperor Philip I to command an army to put down a revolt in the region led by the usurper Pacatianus.&nbsp; After successfully defeating the revolt, his troops proclaimed Decius as the emperor.&nbsp; He then followed the proper mid-3rd Century etiquette: he marched his army to face off against the emperor, won the battle, had Philip I killed, and then took over as emperor himself.&nbsp; </p><p><br /></p><p>This reverse type honors the soldiers who elevated him to emperor.&nbsp; I thought it was interesting to see an emperor directly honor a legion of troops from a specific region.&nbsp; Several future emperors, including Claudius Gothicus, Probus, Aurelian, and Diocletian also came from the same region.&nbsp; Given the outsized role of the military in choosing (and replacing/murdering) the emperor in the 3rd Century, it&#039;s a little surprising to me that more emperors didn&#039;t issue similar kinds of reverse types.&nbsp; </p><p><br /></p><p>The coin also has a great portrait of Decius, and a large and interesting-shaped flan (which I always enjoy)...it&#039;s a beauty in hand.</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1274680[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p><b>Please share your coins of Trajan Decius, any coins which reference a specific province by name, any interesting &quot;Genius&quot; reverses, or anything else relevant!</b>[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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