Coinmaster Posted February 23 · Member Share Posted February 23 Hi all, yes, this question is a bit of a clickbait and possibly unanswerable, but hopefully with your combined knowledge there can be shed some light on it? Here, I saw this sentence that got me questioning: Quote The denarius (pl. denarii) was the standard Roman silver coin from its introduction in the Second Punic War c. 211 B.C. to the reign of Gordian III (AD 238–244), when it was gradually replaced by the Antoninianus. It continued to be minted in very small quantities, likely for ceremonial purposes, until and through the tetrarchy (293–313). So: 1. What could these ceremonial purposes be (and is this correct)? 2. What denarius types exactly from which emperors and what mint places are we talking about? 3. And is there a denarius type (from the tetrarchy) that can be seen as the latest denarius minted? Perhaps this is old news for some of you and possibly there are publications about this. But if so, please share and many thanks! 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maridvnvm Posted February 23 · Member Share Posted February 23 I can illustrate two coins that I have owned that I think are relevant here. There seems to have been a couple later breaks in the production of denarii. One being during the reign of Aurelian. Aurelian, denarius Obv:– IMP C AVRELIANVS AVG, Laureate, cuirassed bust right Rev:– VICTORIA AVG, Victory walking left, holding wreath and palm. Minted in Rome, (B _ //VSV). Allocated by Estiot to Emission 10 dating to end A.D. 274. Reference:– Paris-185, Gobl-135f2 (9 spec.), RIC-71, C-250 (Elberling, 6 Fr.). Virtually fully silvered , a good strike, well centred and not showing much evidence of wear. Relatively scarce in this condition. We don't really know what the VSV stands for though there are several hypotheses. The next is possibly Diocletian,.where these are sometimes called denarii, sometimes quinarii and sometimes called AE Fractions. Diocletian - Ae Fraction, sometimes referred to as denarius / quinarius Obv:- DIOCLETI-ANVS AVG, laureate head right Rev:- VTILITAS PVBLICA, Utilitas standing facing, head left, hands in drapery. Minted in Rome (T in exergue). A.D. 294 - 295 Reference:- RIC VI Rome 48 (Rated R2). 1.43 gms. 16.68 mm 8 1 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coinmaster Posted February 23 · Member Author Share Posted February 23 (edited) Very nice, many thanks!! I just found an interesting topic in this regard: https://www.cointalk.com/threads/a-denarius-of-probus.387741/. Edited February 23 by Coinmaster Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CPK Posted February 23 · Supporter Share Posted February 23 Carausius minted a quantity of high-quality silver denarii - probably as a donative for his soldiers. They're rare and in high demand. CNG just sold a whole bunch in their most recent Triton auction. Here's one example: https://www.acsearch.info/search.html?id=12061284 "Carausius. Romano-British Emperor, AD 286-293. AR Denarius (19.5mm, 3.95 g, 6h). 'RSR' mint. IMP CARAVSIVS P F AVG, laureate and draped bust right / VIRTVS SAECC, radiate lion walking left, holding thunderbolt in mouth; RSR. RIC V.5 174; cf. RIC V 591 (for similar type); cf. Shiel 92-3 (same). Toned, flan crack, light scrapes and scratches. Near EF. Extremely rare, only 2 examples noted in RIC V.5. From the Dr. Malcolm Lyne Collection. Ex Numismatica Ars Classica 114 (6 May 2019), lot 844. Found in St. Mary Bourne, Hampshire, 2015 (PAS ID BM-B49CF4). The reverse type with the radiate lion holding a thunderbolt in its mouth is first seen in the coinage of Caracalla. What exactly the significance and meaning of this type is has been a source of much discussion. David Woods in his article "From Caracalla to Carausius: The Radiate Lion With Thunderbolt in its Jaws" for the 2018 BNJ suggested that the scene is a reference to courage inspired by the classical account of a pair of dream premonitions concerning Alexander the Great as recounted by Plutarch of Chaeronea. Caracalla, a fervent admirer of Alexander, would likely have been familiar with the account and enthusiastic to compare his courageousness to that of Alexander. Later, Carausius revived the reverse type as is found here on this coin. Carausius' coinage is ripe with literary references, so it is not astonishing to think that he would have picked up on this previous design and elected to strike coinage depicting it. His legend reads VIRTVS SAECC, or "courage of the ages." A quite aspirational expression but one that was perhaps not fated to be sustained as Carausius' rebellion came it an abrupt end in 293 upon the fall of his fortress of Gesoriacum (today's Boulongne-sur-Mer)." 7 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heliodromus Posted February 23 · Member Share Posted February 23 3 hours ago, maridvnvm said: Diocletian - Ae Fraction, sometimes referred to as denarius / quinarius Obv:- DIOCLETI-ANVS AVG, laureate head right Rev:- VTILITAS PVBLICA, Utilitas standing facing, head left, hands in drapery. Minted in Rome (T in exergue). A.D. 294 - 295 Reference:- RIC VI Rome 48 (Rated R2). That one's usually called a post-reform laureate, but I suppose could be considered as the post-reform equivalent to the denarius (which we could call a pre-reform laureate, although nobody does!). Emphasizing the apparently ceremonial nature of the pre-reform AE denarii, here's one that just sold (Solidus 129.229) that is gold plated. 3 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shanxi Posted February 23 · Supporter Share Posted February 23 (edited) You didn't say Roman 😁 https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces302096.html Edited February 23 by shanxi 3 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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