Magnus Maximus AR Siliqua/Argentiolus

[Magnus Maximus]

Hi folks,

I am delighted to share with you my recent acquisition: a splendid siliqua/argentiolus of Magnus Maximus, minted in Mediolanum during the period of A.D. 387 to 388. This particular piece is of great historical interest, given its production following Magnus Maximus's conquest of Italy from Valentinian II. Notably, these coins were minted at a weight standard 30% lower than previously established, yet they maintained a remarkable silver purity of 97-98%.

It is intriguing to note that, despite the introduction of this lower weight standard, the production of siliquae at the heavier standard continued in both Trier and Italy. The rationale behind Magnus Maximus's decision to issue siliquae of reduced weight remains a subject of speculation. One theory posits that these lighter coins were minted to facilitate payments to the field armies and merchants supporting Maximus's eastern campaign in late 388, though definitive evidence for this hypothesis is lacking.

Furthermore, the co-circulation of both weight standards, as evidenced by their presence in hoards discovered across Gaul, Britain, and Italy, suggests that these coins were likely traded based on their weight rather than their nominal denomination, indicating their function as a form of bullion coinage. Otherwise Gresham’s law would denote that they would have fully replaced the heavier coins over time in hordes. 

 

Magnus Maximus 

AR Siliqua/Argentiolus 

A.D. 387 to 388

Mediolanum (Milan) mint 

1.72 grams 

Obverse: Head of Emperor Magnus Maximus

Reverse: Roma with globe and spear seated on throne facing forward. RIC 19a. C. 20

Edited February 3 by Magnus Maximus

[Nerosmyfavorite68]

Very nice!  That's also a much tougher mint for Magnus.

[Magnus Maximus]

2 minutes ago, Nerosmyfavorite68 said:

Very nice!  That's also a much tougher mint for Magnus.

Absolutely. And this coin looks like it circulated for a week before it was buried. 

[ominus1]

...a Dan-D fine coin of your namesake here....:)

[John Conduitt]

Nice. I wonder if most from Milan got buried quickly, otherwise they'd have been melted down. The same would go for most of his mints except Trier.

I'm not sure about the bullion argument (apart from the fact that all coins were valued on their metal content), as why have coins and nothing else? You'd have hacked up the coins too if it was weight-based, like the Vikings. I'd guess the two circulated as different denominations. It's pretty common through history to have two denominations that look the same but are different sizes. 33% is a noticable amount.

[Magnus Maximus]

4 minutes ago, John Conduitt said:

Nice. I wonder if most from Milan got buried quickly, otherwise they'd have been melted down. The same would go for most of his mints except Trier.

I'm not sure about the bullion argument (apart from the fact that all coins were valued on their metal content), as why have coins and nothing else? You'd have hacked up the coins too if it was weight-based, like the Vikings. I'd guess the two circulated as different denominations. It's pretty common through history to have two denominations that look the same but are different sizes. 33% is a noticable amount.

Yes, that’s the issue with the 4th century. We don’t know a lot and have to speculate more than I’d prefer. 

[Nerosmyfavorite68]

Does the name Argentiolus imply a smaller coin?  Could it be referring to these smaller issues?

[Magnus Maximus]

17 minutes ago, Nerosmyfavorite68 said:

Does the name Argentiolus imply a smaller coin?  Could it be referring to these smaller issues?

I was thinking that as well. However, the curse tablet that refers to argentiolii was from the first half of the 4th century, well before Magnus Maximus introduced the 1.6 gram standard to Milian in 387.

[John Conduitt]

23 minutes ago, Nerosmyfavorite68 said:

Does the name Argentiolus imply a smaller coin?  Could it be referring to these smaller issues?

It's possibly related. An argenteus is similar to the heavy siliqua, about the same value as the old light milarense, so argentiolus could be a reduced siliqua. But some denominations were of such low mintage that they were surely donative, like the modern Maundy Money, and possibly struck to old weight standards.

Edited February 4 by John Conduitt

[Magnus Maximus]

@John Conduitt

I think Peter Guest, author, did a good job of trying to tackle the issue of two different weight standards circulating at the same time.

From

[John Conduitt]

6 minutes ago, Magnus Maximus said:

@John Conduitt

I think Peter Guest, author, did a good job of trying to tackle the issue of two different weight standards circulating at the same time.

From

The problem here is that siliquae were quite expensive. The mint might not care, but the recipients would. You're not going to accept a coin worth 33% less than another. Gresham's Law would apply, and the reason we have this dilemma is that it didn't.

So either people were distinguishing them by sight, or they were not circulating any of them. There's a good chance that people were not using silver coins for daily transactions. I can't imagine buyers and sellers at a market getting out their scales to diligently weigh their coins without often cutting them up (they were thin enough) or chucking in other bits of precious metal. But if people used silver coins to store their savings - in hoards in the ground - which could later be used to pay taxes or other large bills, then it might not matter what size the coin was as you could weigh them in bulk.

[Magnus Maximus]

2 minutes ago, John Conduitt said:

The problem here is that siliquae were quite expensive. The mint might not care, but the recipients would. You're not going to accept a coin worth 33% less than another. Gresham's Law would apply, and the reason we have this dilemma is that it didn't.

So either people were distinguishing them by sight, or they were not circulating any of them. There's a good chance that people were not using silver coins for daily transactions. I can't imagine buyers and sellers at a market getting out their scales to diligently weigh their coins without often cutting them up (they were thin enough) or chucking in other bits of precious metal. But if people used silver coins to store their savings - in hoards in the ground - which could later be used to pay taxes or other large bills, then it might not matter what size the coin was as you could weigh them in bulk.

That lines up with them primarily being used to pay the soldier’s donatives. I believe on the accession of Valens and Valentinian I, it was recorded that a soldier got a pound of silver along with some solidii. Meaning they were traded by weight.