This post is intended to be of some value/interest to beginners even though neither of the coins discussed are something I would expect to be a popular choice as one of your first ancients. The postman brought me two packages each containing one coin in some ways very much like and in other ways quite different. The first is the one and only coin I won in last week's CNG electronic sale (409 lot 726). It was listed as having sold previously in CNG sale 204 as lot 182. At both sales it was estimated at $150 but in 2009 it brought $192 while I won it at $130 in 2017. I suspect that the 2009 sale which had a large number of coins of Carausius attracted more specialists while the one last week had a more general audience that saw the coin's faults rather than its good features. Carausius was a British breakaway ruler in the time of Diocletian. His coins might be termed 'sort of' Roman but many of his fans are interested because of his being British. This coin is unusual for its mintmark denoting the 'C' mint which has been attributed to more than one English town starting with C. Relatively fewer C mint coins used the XXI alloy mark than did the London mint so a specialist might want this coin where the rest of us would hold the reverse centering against it. The coin is the most common reverse used by Carausius (Pax) so I was more impressed by the clear mintmark and excellent portrait than turned off by the poor reverse. The point to note here is not everyone is looking for the same thing in a coin. Some would want this coin for the portrait and Carausius coins often have terrible portraits. Some (few) would want it for the scarce mintmark and some would not want it at all because of the faulty reverse centering. The two CNG sales seem to have attracted different groups of Carausius collectors. The second coin is like the first in being an issue of a secessionist ruler - here the Gallic Empire founder Postumus. Coins of Postumus are many times more common than those of Carausius and available in excellent condition for much lower prices than the average Carausius. I have several coins of Postumus that are much better looking than this one which was very fairly priced by a VCoin dealer you may know (Victor of CT) at 1/5 the CNG price. Big dealers usually get more than smaller dealers but I wanted this one for the reverse. Minerva Fautrix (she who gives favor) is a typ unique to Postumus. It is far from the most rare type of Postumus but one I did not have and wanted. The coin suffers from flat striking losing detail on both sides. While billon with a decent amount of silver, the tone is gray and lacking in sharp contrast. I like the coin but one of you quite possibly has a nicer one. For a beginning collector, I consider neither coin to be a great choice. You could get a more common mintmark with a Pax Carausius for the same price. You could get a more common reverse Postumus with more eye appeal for the price. For those of us not limiting our holdings to one coin per ruler, each of these is a reasonably desirable selection. That is the way our hobby works. What do we learn here? Buy from good dealers and find coins that fit your style and interests. Who has that better Minerva Postumus or other special Carausius mintmark variations? Show, please.
I have the Minerva type for Postumus, but I'm pretty sure it cost me close to double what you paid for yours. It was purchased some years ago but I seem to only have sellers' pics for it. I have more Postumus coins than I have photographs I've taken of them... On the other hand, Carausius has been a peculiarly hard box for me to check. Probably a combination of my own mid-level interest in him, and typical examples of his coins not being as cheap or as good-looking as the average Postumus. I have to say, though, that your new one with the mintmark and strong obverse makes me regret not seeing it in the auction .
A very nice and worthy coin. If I had bought it I would have put it on my "unique" page: http://augustuscoins.com/ed/unique/unique.html with reverse types issued by only one emperor (not unique coins, but types unique to a particular emperor). Here is one: If you wonder who issued this type, check out my page.
Great coins Doug! I like them both but that Carausius is the one with more appeal to me...although the Postumus is pretty cool. No Postumus Minerva /Fautrix coins here. I have totally beaten Carausius but no pic. Great info on the coins! Thanks for sharing!!
This is one of the "long neck" Carausian antoniniani produced at the London Mint. I bought this coin several years ago but I can’t remember when and who I purchased it from. In any event, it is one of the nicest Carausian coins I own - not outstanding condition, but with pretty nice surfaces and readable legends. RIC V (2), London, Carausius, Antoninianus, No. 475 IMP C CARAVSIVS PF AVG ........................................ PAX AVG - S (Pax) P Obverse: Bust of Carausius draped Reverse: Personification of Pax standing left, holding olive branch and sceptre The political and military turmoil of the third century spawned numerous external assaults on the Roman Empire. One of these was the incessant seafaring piracy in the waters surrounding the Roman occupied island outpost of Britain. In 286 Maximian Herculius, in his capacity as Dyarch Augustus of the West, designated a highly regarded military commander named Marcus Aurelius Mausaeus Carausius, of Flemish descent, to head a fleet of ships who's mission was to eliminate, or at least severely curtail, this piracy. Carausius had distinguished himself by outstanding leadership and military prowess, especially as a naval "Admiral", in the Gallic campaigns. Carausius established his operational base at the coastal city of Boulogne (Gesoriacum) in Roman occupied northern Gaul. Carausius did indeed accomplish his mission, but reports of corruption and extortion led Maximian Herculius to dispatch a fleet of ships in order to remove Carausius from command. However, Carausius proved too strong and he repulsed the attack. Carausius subsequently used his continental base to launch an invasion force to occupy and subjugate Britain. Landing in the north, Carausius secured the support of the native Picts and, advancing south, confronted and defeated the forces of the Roman Governor. Having thus conquered the Island, he proclaimed himself Augustus of a Secessionist Britain, becoming an effective and efficient Administrator using the Roman Imperial governmental framework as a model. He maintained control of Boulogne and coastal northern Gaul. Carausius established his own mints at London (Londinium) and Colchester/Camulodunum/Clausentum (“C” Mints), and across the Channel in Gaul, which began to produce coins of distinctive style in gold, silver and bronze. Unfortunately for Carausius, his chief Minister/confidant (unsure titulature), Allectus, conspired against him and either assassinated Carausius or had him killed by others. Allectus thereupon assumed the title and function of Augustus of secessionist Britain. After his defeat of Allectus and restoration of secessionist Britain to the Empire, Constantius re-opened the London Mint, now as an official facility with one officina (workshop), which continued to produce only reformed folles until its closure in 325. It seems very likely that much of the early unmarked coinage was produced at the London Mint using British die engravers and other workers, formerly employed by the Carausius/Allectus Mints, now supervised and mixed in with Lugdunese mint workers who accompanied the Constantius invasion force. RIC VI, Londinium, No. 14a, Constantius, Caesar of the West, unreduced follis: FL VAL CONSTANTIVS NOB C ............................. GENIO POPV — LI ROMANI Laureate, cuirassed bust of Constantius Small head on a tall neck (reminiscent of the Carausian long neck antoniniani) Influence of Carausius/Allectus die engravers - maybe this die was made by one of them 9.8 gm I do indeed like Carausian coins. Many of them bear somewhat “ugly” , even grotesque, portraiture, but they have great historical association.
Interesting and informative write-up, as usual, @dougsmit . I always learn a lot from your posts. Thanks!
I love these long necked coins, both of Carausius and Aurelian. I had some in the past but traded them away a long time ago. Wish I'd kept them. May have to look for some more.
Don't have a Carausius yet, but I'm keeping my eye open for one at auction that will yield a fair price.
There are problems with being a Carausius fan. You must get over standards of quality commonly applied to most specialties. His earliest issues and the product of his Continental mint (Rouen, Rotomagus) are a bit more crude than most collectors will tolerate. There are many types that do not come in a presentable grade by most standards. Most of his attractive coins are Pax or Providentia. I would love to have more of his coins but finding clear ones of the other reverses has not come easily. My best is a Providentia (PROVID AVGGG S-P / C) with the scarce PFI obverse legend. Typical condition of too many 'other' reverses I have seen is this Virtus (from what mint?). Compare to many coins from the Vogelaar collection sold in 2009. https://www.cngcoins.com/Search.asp...1&SEARCH_IN_CONTAINER_TYPE_ID_4=1&VIEW_TYPE=0
I'm not certain where this was struck, but it is certainly crude: CARAUSIUS Antoninianus OBVERSE: IMP C M CARAVSIVS AVG, radiate and draped bust right REVERSE: / PAX AVG (AVGG?), Pax standing left, holding branch and transverse sceptre Struck at Uncertain British or Continental mint 287-293 AD 2.4g, 17/19mm RIC 899
CARAUSIUS: RI Carausius usurper in Britain CE 287–293 BI Ant 4.7g 24mm London radiate cuirassed - PAX AVG Pax stndg l branch scepter S—P RIC V 475 POSTUMUS: RI Postumus 259-268 CE Antoninianus Cologne Oriens AVG ex tif
I am reviving this old thread because I just got a Postumus with the Minerva Fautrix reverse. When I bought it, I couldn't really tell what it was from the eBay photos, but it was only $5, so what the heck (much of my collection is made up of "what the heck" decisions). When I got it in hand, I was pleasantly surprised at the unusual reverse - I'd never heard of Minerva Fautrix. And then I stumbled across this post (which was informative and helpful). Mine is pretty homely. As with so many issues of this era, the reverse dies were badly worn and it looks as if it circulated a bit as well. Also, mine appears to have very little to do with the element silver. So no Doug, I certainly do not have a nicer one than you do, but I thought I'd toss it out here anyway. Still no Carausius either, although I enjoyed at looking them over in this post. Gallic Empire Antoninianus Postumus (262 A.D.) Cologne or Lugdunum Mint IMP C POSTVMVS P F AVG, radiate, draped and cuirassed bust right / MINER FAVTR, Minerva running left, holding shield and spear in left hand and branch in right hand. RIC 74; Elmer 313; Cohen 195. (3.70 grams / 21 mm)
There is one style of portraiture of Postumus that I think is really outstanding especilly during this period of time. This coin is given to Cologne, but I think I see this celators influence on coins minted at Lugdunum for at least 20 years afterwards Antoninianus of Postumus 266 A.D. Rv Emperor stg right. RIC 83 4.63 grms 20 mm
This is attributed to Lugdunum, but the portrait looks very similar to the above coin. Silver Double Denarius Lugdunum mint Obv: IMP C POSTVMVS P F AVG Rev: PAX AVG - Pax, walking left, holding olive branch and scepter RIC 78 24mm, 3.0g I noticed that Marsyas Mike attributed his specimen to "Cologne or Lugdunum mint." I suspect that that might be the best attribution for many of the coins of Postumus.
Nice looking Pax you got there, gsimonel. I like that quizzically-arched eyebrow on the portrait in particular. When I was looking up attribution info on this coin, the mints were coming up both Cologne and Lugdunum. This seems to happen with these Gallic Empire coins, and I just don't have enough expertise to make an educated guess...so I just leave them both in.
