SteveJBrinkman Posted April 30 · Member Share Posted April 30 (edited) I'm rather fond of the coins of London though I have only a few in my collection. This Follis/Nummus of Maximian with an expressive portrait recently came up in a Roma E-Sale and I was fortunate to win it. Although the series is interesting, the coins of London are not as a rule found with beautiful workmanship. This one is an exception in my opinion. Please post any London mint coins that you would describe as having nice or interesting style. Denomination: Maximian Follis/Nummus – London mint Time Period: AD 303-305 Obverse: IMP MAXIMIANVS P F AVG. Laureate cuirassed bust right Reverse: GENIO POPU-LIROMANI. Genius standing with towered crown, nude but drapery over l. shoulder, patera in r., cornucopia in l. Mint: London Weight: 9.95 g Reference: RIC VI 23b (London) Provenance: Roma E-Sale 118, April 9, 2024 Edited April 30 by SteveJBrinkman corrections 31 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maridvnvm Posted April 30 · Member Share Posted April 30 Very nice. I have a few Lokdone folles. This is my current favourite. Maximinus Daia Follis Obv:- MAXIMINVS NOBILISSIMVS CAES, Laureate, draped and cuirassed bust right Rev:- GENIO POPVLI ROMANI, Genius standing left, holding patera and cornucopia Minted in London Reference: RIC VI 59b, LMCC 4.03.024 Weight: 9.9g Diameter: 28.2mm Part of a pot hoard found in Rauceby, UK in 2017. The hoard given the reference 2017 T649 by the British Museum who catalogued the hoard. This coin given the hoard reference BM#092 22 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveJBrinkman Posted April 30 · Member Author Share Posted April 30 @maridvnvm Yours is a worthy favorite, with great style portrait and the added interest of Maximinus being substantially more scarce in London. 24 minutes ago, maridvnvm said: Very nice. I have a few Lokdone folles. This is my current favourite. Maximinus Daia Follis Obv:- MAXIMINVS NOBILISSIMVS CAES, Laureate, draped and cuirassed bust right Rev:- GENIO POPVLI ROMANI, Genius standing left, holding patera and cornucopia Minted in London Reference: RIC VI 59b, LMCC 4.03.024 Weight: 9.9g Diameter: 28.2mm Part of a pot hoard found in Rauceby, UK in 2017. The hoard given the reference 2017 T649 by the British Museum who catalogued the hoard. This coin given the hoard reference BM#092 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maridvnvm Posted April 30 · Member Share Posted April 30 I bought it with a more generic, stylised Severus II. Severus II, Follis Obv:- SEVERVS NOBILISSIMVS CAES, Laureate, draped and cuirassed bust right Rev:- GENIO POPV-LI ROMANI, Genius standing left, holding patera and cornucopia Minted in London Reference: RIC VI London 59a, LMCC 4.02.016 Weight: 8.1g Diameter: 27.2mm Part of a pot hoard found in Rauceby, UK in 2017. The hoard given the reference 2017 T649 by the British Museum who catalogued the hoard. This coin given the hoard reference BM # 081 12 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maridvnvm Posted April 30 · Member Share Posted April 30 I think that my Galerius as Augustus is relatively scarce too. Galerius (As Augustus) Follis Obv:– IMP MAXIMIANVS P F IN AVG, Laureate, cuirassed bust right Rev:– GENIO POPV-LI ROMANI, Genius standing left, modius on head, naked but for chlamys over left shoulder, left hand holding cornucopiae and right hand holding patera Minted in London (_). Group II - i. May A.D. 305 - Late A.D. 306 or into Early A.D. 307 Reference(s) – Cohen ?. RIC VI London 50 (R, citing Voetter with a footnote stating that confirmation is needed). LMCC (page 126) 4.03.012 Same die pair as LMCC plate coin and BM example (BM B.54, 9.98g, 6h. ex De Salis 1860) 9.77 gms. 29.01 mm diameter. 180 degree die orientation. 12 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Conduitt Posted May 1 · Supporter Share Posted May 1 I have mostly London from this period. It's quite difficult to find something that isn't Genio. Maximian I First Abdication Follis, 305-306 London. Bronze, 29mm, 9.82g. Laureate bust of Maximian senior right, wearing Imperial mantle and holding olive branch and mappa; DN MAXIMIANO FELISSIMO SEN AVG. Providentia standing right extending hand, facing Quies, standing left holding olive branch and resting on sceptre; PROVIDENTIA DEORVM QVIES AVGG (RIC VI, 77b). 10 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveJBrinkman Posted May 1 · Member Author Share Posted May 1 19 hours ago, John Conduitt said: I have mostly London from this period. It's quite difficult to find something that isn't Genio. Indeed, virtually everything that is not a genio type or an unusual bust is rarely seen available. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hrefn Posted May 2 · Supporter Share Posted May 2 \ My personal opinion, based on no evidence, is the best portrait of Constantius is on this coin. The emperor died in England, and it is within the realm of possibility that the celator was acquainted with his appearance in life. Many portraits of the Tetrarchs appear similar, but there is no mistaking this for any of his colleagues. It is as individual as the snub-nosed bulldog portrait of Maximianus, who could hardly be mistaken for anyone else, in @SteveJBrinkman OP. 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benefactor Victor_Clark Posted May 2 · Benefactor Benefactor Share Posted May 2 54 minutes ago, Hrefn said: the best portrait of Constantius is on this coin. here is an antemortem portrait Constantius I A.D. 296-303 26x27mm 9.8g FL VAL CONSTANTIVS NOB C; laureate and cuirassed bust right. GENIO POPVLI ROMANI; Genius standing left, modius on head, naked but for chlamys over left shoulder, right holding patera, left cornucopiae. No mintmark RIC VI London 14a/20; LMCC 2.01.010 Ex-Rauceby Hoard 11 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hrefn Posted May 2 · Supporter Share Posted May 2 “an antemortem portrait….” @Victor_Clark, it is fascinating to me that at first glance the portraits on your follis and mine do not look much alike. But on looking closely all the elements, the nose with its distinctive bridge and downward curving tip, the heavy brow, the oversized ear, the heavy supraorbital ridge; they are all the same. We are being shown some elements of Constantius’ features which I have no doubt he actually exhibited. On the antemortem coin, these elements are imposed on the idealized square Tetrarchic head, emphasizing his political affinity with the original Tetrarch, the square-headed Diocletian. After Constantius’ death, there is no longer any reason to depict him as a Diocletian clone, and we see a more life-like image. That is my theory, anyway. If I am correct, it is ironic that the dead Constantius gets a more lifelike treatment than the live Constantius. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Severus Alexander Posted June 1 · Supporter Share Posted June 1 @SteveJBrinkman, my example is surely from the same engraver, and caught my eye for the same reason. I'm envious of the surfaces on yours, though! It's probably my favourite portrait of Maximian... surprising for a London coin, I agree! 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anaximander Posted June 2 · Member Share Posted June 2 Lovely portraiture. Posters here clearly have a good eye for it, I am happy to say. I was bemused to see so many examples of Genius. Genio is everywhere in the late 3rd & early 4th c., appearing on coins from mints at Londinium, Heraklea, Nikomedia, Serdica... Yet I cannot find a reference to Genio in my new Handbook of Late Roman Coin Types by Shawn Caza (Spink, 2021), which covers the period 324-395. Here's what Copilot had to say about Genio: Genius, in Latin, means “begetter,” and it was considered an attendant spirit of a person, place, or thing associated with men. The imagery of Genius is often that of a youth standing naked except for a chlamys (a type of cloak) around his shoulders, symbolizing both the purity and the generative power of this protective spirit. On coins, Genius is typically shown holding a patera (sacrificial dish) in one hand and a cornucopia (symbol of abundance) in the other, representing the offering of sacrifices and the abundance that the protective spirit could bring. The nakedness of Genius emphasizes the concept of the natural and unadorned essence of life and the spirit’s role in the birth and nurturing of all things. This iconography was particularly common during the 3rd and early 4th centuries, especially on coins from the era of Diocletian and his colleagues, where Genius was personified in various forms such as Genius Populi Romani (‘The Spirit of the Roman People’), Genius Augusti (‘The Spirit of the Emperor’), and others. The depiction of Genius sacrificing over a fire altar or emptying the contents of his patera on the ground are also seen, each with its own symbolic meaning related to the spirit’s role and the emperor’s relationship with the divine. In summary, the naked depiction of Genius on Roman coins is a representation of the spirit’s purity, generative power, and the blessings of abundance and protection it was believed to provide to the Roman people and their emperor. Some of this was cribbed from a PAS entry: Details of Genius personified The Latin word Genius means spirit. Genius is normally shown as a naked male holding a patera (dish) and a cornucopia. Other common attributes include corn-ears and a sceptre. Genius most commonly appears on coins of the 3rd and early 4th century, especially of Diocletian and his colleagues (AD 295-c.318). He is commonly represented as Genius Populi Romani (‘The Spirit of the Roman People’), Genius Augusti (‘The Spirit of the Emperor’), Genius Exercitus (‘The Spirit of the Army’) who holds a military standard and Genius Senatus (‘The Spirit of the Senate’) who is bearded and wears a toga. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alegandron Posted June 2 · Supporter Share Posted June 2 London Follis RI Constantine I AVG Follis Votive XX seated captives 2.69g 18mm RIC VII 191 London 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Valentinian Posted June 3 · Member Share Posted June 3 On 4/30/2024 at 9:36 AM, SteveJBrinkman said: Please post any London mint coins that you would describe as having nice or interesting style. London may have been a remote town, but it made this coin which has my favorite portrait of Maximian. London also made the next one with a marvelous helmet: Not in RIC, but reported to the BM. There is a lot to like about GENIO POPVLI ROMANI coins. 5 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Kowsky Posted June 3 · Member Share Posted June 3 Maximian, AD 286-310. London Mint (struck c. AD 303). Billon Nummus: 9.67 gm, 27 mm, 6 h. RIC 25. Ex Freeman & Sear, Mail Bid Sale 14, lot 472, June 21, 2007. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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