GENIO POPVLI ROMANI portraits

[Valentinian]

The Roman emperor Diocletian reformed the coinage c. 294 during the First Tetrarchy and introduced the denomination we call a follis (but ancients apparently called in a nummus) with the reverse legend GENIO POPVLI ROMANI with Genius standing left holding a patera and cornucopia. This type is large (c. 28mm) and common, which makes it relatively inexpensive and very collectable. 

Art historians note that individually has largely gone out of the portraits of the period, but if you like the tetrarchal period and pay close attention to coin portraits, you can find coins with portraits that look like the features of an individual, not just a generic emperor, have been conveyed. 

Constantius I, Caesar 293-305 and Augustus 305-306.
26-25 mm. 8.20 grams.
CONSTANTIVS NOB CAES, laureate head right
GENIO POPVLI ROMANI
AQΓ in exergue
RIC VI Aquileia 26a.   Struck "c. 297-298."

I love all the portraits of tetrarchs--even those that are generic. Here is my website about the portraits from various mints:
http://augustuscoins.com/ed/tetrarchy/bymint.html
If you want to see them arranged by emperor, the top of that page has the link.

Show us a portrait on a GENIO POPVLI ROMANI coin!

Edited February 22, 2023 by Valentinian
typo

[Kali]

Severus II (305 - 307 A.D.)

Æ Follis
O:SEVERVS NOB C, Laureate, draped and cuirassed bust right.
R:  GENIO POP-VLI ROMANI, Genius standing left, holding patera and cornucopiae; altar left, star right: PLC in exergue.
Lugdunum (Lyon) mint
8.83g
31mm
Seltz Hoard 9; RIC VI Lyons 193 var (star type)

Ex CNG Electric Auction, Lot 372, 1/10/2008

[Severus Alexander]

Diocletian at 12 different mints (mostly first issues):

Some portraits I like on GENIO folles:

Constantius at Cyzicus:

Constantius at Alexandria under Domitius Domitianus:

Constantius at London:

Constantius at Lugdunum:

Galerius as Augustus at Heraclea:

Severus II at Lugdunum:

Apparently I don't have any post-reform portraits of Maximianus that I particularly like, at least not on a Genio follis.  I'm also sorely lacking in the Aquileia department!

[Sol_Invictus]

Those are some beautiful coins!  I have a Licinius I GENIO that has one of my favorite portraits from among all of my Roman imperial coins. I find the style interestingly different from most other Licinius I portraits - he looks a little less thick-necked than usual here.

Licinius I, 313-315 AD, AE follis, Trier mint, 21mm, 2.54g. Obv: LICINIVS P F AVG, Bust of Licinius, laureate, draped, cuirassed, right. Rev: GENIO - POP ROM, Genius, standing left, holding patera and cornucopiae; TF in field; PTR in ex., RIC VII Treveri 57; ex. Bourton on the Water Hoard 1970; ex. Huddersfield collection 1979; ex. Den of Antiquity 2022.  This is a dealer photo.

[Qcumbor]

Maximianus - Lyon

 

Constantius - Trier

 

Galerius - Heraclea

 

Severus II - Heraclea

 

Constantinus the Great - Trier

 

Q

[Valentinian]

1 hour ago, Severus Alexander said:

Apparently I don't have any post-reform portraits of Maximianus that I particularly like, at least not on a Genio follis.  I'm also sorely lacking in the Aquileia department!

Wow!  That is a great group. I have one Maximian that I love:

I think of London as usually having crude portraits, but his one has character.

 

[Al Kowsky]

58 minutes ago, Valentinian said:

Wow!  That is a great group. I have one Maximian that I love:

I think of London as usually having crude portraits, but his one has character.

 

I've posted many of my favorite nummi before so I'll post just a few for this thread 😊.

Diocletian, AD 284-305. London Mint.

 

Constantius as Caesar, AD 293-305. Cyzicus Mint.

Galerius as Caesar, AD 293-305. Cyzicus Mint.

Constantine the Great as Caesar, AD 306-309. Trier Mint

[Jims,Coins]

[Roman Collector]

I like these folles from the first tetrarchy. Here are some GENIO POPVLI coins from the Trier mint.


Galerius as Caesar, AD 293-305.
Roman silvered billon follis, 8.62 g, 27.2 mm, 6 h.
Trier, AD 302-3.
Obv: MAXIMIANVS NOBIL C, laureate and cuirassed bust, right.
Rev: GENIO POPV-LI ROMANI, Genius standing facing, head left, wearing modius, naked but for chlamys over left shoulder, holding patera and cornucopiae; S/F//IITR.
Refs: RIC vi, p. 196, 508b; Cohen 65; RCV 14348.
Notes: Some numismatists postulate that the S F in the fields of these coins from Trier is an abbreviation for SAECVLI FELICITAS.


Constantius I, Caesar, 293-305.
Roman billon follis, 9.95 g, 26.6 mm, 11 h.
Trier, AD 296-97.
Obv: CONSTANTIVS NOB CAES, laureate head right.
Rev: GENIO POPV-LI ROMANI, Genius standing left, modius on head, naked but for chlamys over left shoulder, holding patera and cornucopiae; A/Γ//TR.
Refs: RIC vi, p. 183, 218a; Cohen 61; RCV 14035.

Maximian, 1st Reign, AD 286-305.
Roman billon follis, 10.96 g, 27.2 mm, 12 h.
Trier, AD 298-99.
Obv: IMP MAXIMIANVS P F AVG, laureate head, right.
Rev: GENIO POP-VLI ROMANI, Genius, wearing modius, nude but for chlamys draped over left shoulder, standing left, holding patera in right hand and cornucopiae in left hand; A/*//TR.
Refs: RIC vi, p. 186, 277b.
Notes: Typically, the reverse legend is broken GENIO POPV-LI ROMANI.

Diocletian, AD 284-305.
Roman billon follis, 8.99 g, 28.3 mm, 6 h.
Trier, AD 302-303.
Obv: IMP DIOCLETIANVS AVG, Laureate and cuirassed bust, right.
Rev: GENIO POPV-LI ROMANI, Genius, turreted, nude but for chlamys draped over left shoulder, standing left, holding patera in right hand and cornucopiae in left hand; S/F//IITR.
Refs: RIC vi, p. 196, 524a; RCV --.

[shanxi]

I have only two GENIO POPVLI ROMANI. This is the better one:

 

Constantius I Chlorus, Genius
Æ Follis, Trier mint
Obv.: FL VAL CONSTANTIVS NOB C, laureate, cuirassed bust right
Rev.: GENIO POPVLI ROMANI, Genius with modius, cornucopia and patera, B and star, TR in ex
Æ, 9.49g, 27.2mm
Ref.: RIC 329

[ambr0zie]

Here is my only coin of this type, a left facing Constantius I 

11.13 g   26.2 mm. Constantius I, as Caesar, Æ Nummus. Treveri, AD 298-299. FL VAL CONSTANTIVS NOB C, laureate bust left / GENIO POPVLI ROMANI, Genius, towered and nude to waist, standing facing, head turned left, holding cornucopiae with his left hand, patera in his right hand; B- gamma across fields, TR in exergue. RIC 196 R  - but not with B gamma.

[Al Kowsky]

2 hours ago, ambr0zie said:

Here is my only coin of this type, a left facing Constantius I 

11.13 g   26.2 mm. Constantius I, as Caesar, Æ Nummus. Treveri, AD 298-299. FL VAL CONSTANTIVS NOB C, laureate bust left / GENIO POPVLI ROMANI, Genius, towered and nude to waist, standing facing, head turned left, holding cornucopiae with his left hand, patera in his right hand; B- gamma across fields, TR in exergue. RIC 196 R  - but not with B gamma.

Ozie, In the spirit of "one-upmanship" here is another example of a left facing Constantius I 😜.

[ambr0zie]

Mine is better!

...for the price of 4 euros...

[Marsyas Mike]

Nice coins in this post.  This one turned green: 

Constantius I Chlorus  Æ Follis (struck by Maximian) (294 A.D.) Siscia Mint  FL VAL CONSTANTIVS NOB C, laureate head right / GENIO POP-VLI ROMANI, Genius standing left, holding patera and cornucopiae, S in left field, Γ in right field RIC VI Siscia 81a.  (8.53 grams / 26 x 25 mm) eBay Aug. 2021 

[Etcherdude]

Diocletian - Alexandria 

[SteveJBrinkman]

The portraits on the folles of this time period can be of very fine style, although they are not given credit for such.  Each mint has it's own distinct character.  Here are a few genio types from my own collection.

Aquileia - Maximian with his distinctive turned up nose.

Maximian again, from Lugdunum.  Still with a turned up nose but a less realistic portrait than the other western mints of Trier and Aquileia.

A very nice early portrait of Constantine as Caesar from the mint of Trier.  The Trier mint produced the finest style portraits of this time in my opinion.

Another Constantine as Caesar from the mint of Cyzicus.

London Mint Constantius

Another Maximianus follis from Cyzicus

Edited February 24, 2023 by SteveJBrinkman

[DonnaML]

I have a small handful of these, even though I no longer actively collect bronze coins from Diocletian going forward. Perhaps needless to say, my favorite is the first of the four.

Please feel free to effect a mental substitution of "Nummus" for "Follis" if you prefer that term!

Diocletian, silvered AE Follis, 294-295 AD, Nicomedia Mint. Obv. Laureate head right, IMP CC VAL DIOCLETIANVS PF AVG/ Rev. Genius standing left, pouring out patera & holding cornucopiae, GENIO POPVLI ROMANI, mintmark SMN (Nicomedia). RIC VI 27a p. 556), Sear RCV IV 12788, ERIC II 539, Cohen 106.  27.8 mm., 8.6 g.

Maximian, silvered AE Follis, 297-98 AD, Heraclea Mint (1st Officina). Obv. Laureate head right, IMP C MA MAXIMIANVS PF AVG / Rev. Genius standing left holding cornucopiae in left hand and pouring libation from patera in right hand, GENIO POPVLI ROMANI; HTA in exergue. RIC V-2 Heraclea 19b, Sear RCV IV 13265. 28 mm., 10.26 g.

Constantius I Chlorus Caesar (father of Constantine I), Billon Follis, 296-297 AD, Heraclea Mint (3rd Officina). Obv. Laureate head right, FL VAL CONSTANTIVS NOB CAES / Rev. Genius wearing modius on head, standing left, nude, chlamys draped over left shoulder, holding cornucopiae in left hand and pouring libation from patera in right hand, GENIO POPV-L-I ROMANI; mintmark HT Γ[gamma] [Γ= 3rd Officina] in exergue. RIC VI Heraclea 18a (p. 531), Sear RCV IV 14061.  29 mm., 9.91 g. 

Galerius, AE Follis, 305-306 AD, Cyzicus Mint (4th Officina). Obv. Laureate head right, IMP C GAL VAL MAXIMIANVS P F AVG/ Rev. Genius, wearing modius on head, nude, chlamys draped over left shoulder, standing left, holding cornucopiae in left hand and pouring libation from patera in right hand, GENIO POPV-LI ROMANI; mintmark K Δ [K = Cyzicus, Delta = 4th Officina] in exergue. RIC VI Cyzicus 21b & 25a (pp. 582, 584), Sear RCV IV 14546, Cohen 81.  27.8 mm., 9.65 g. 12 h. Ex Giovanni Dattari Collection (before 1923); Ex Jesus Vico 2018.

 

[SteveJBrinkman]

On 2/22/2023 at 1:36 PM, Severus Alexander said:

Diocletian at 12 different mints (mostly first issues):

Some portraits I like on GENIO folles:

Constantius at Cyzicus:

Constantius at Alexandria under Domitius Domitianus:

Constantius at London:

Constantius at Lugdunum:

Galerius as Augustus at Heraclea:

Severus II at Lugdunum:

Apparently I don't have any post-reform portraits of Maximianus that I particularly like, at least not on a Genio follis.  I'm also sorely lacking in the Aquileia department!

@Severus Alexander, I'm very impressed with your array of early and first issue Diocletians.  This is a worthy series to collect.  Most are relatively available but some are quite scarce.  I've always liked the "first" of things.

Edited February 24, 2023 by SteveJBrinkman

[Valentinian]

On 2/22/2023 at 12:36 PM, Severus Alexander said:

Some portraits I like on GENIO folles:

Some of those are really outstanding. I'm tempted to tell which ones I like the most and why, but I won't. I don't want anyone else to decide they agree with me and bid me up the next time another one becomes available!

[Orange Julius]

Here’s my early Alexandrian Diocletian:

…and an Alexandrian Constantius I