Jupiter the Preserver

Licinius I AV Aureus. Siscia, AD 316. LICINIVS P F AVG, laureate head to right / IOVI CONSERVATORI AVG, Jupiter standing facing, head to left, holding thunderbolt and sceptre; at his feet on left, eagle standing to left, head reverted; X in right field, SIS in exergue. RIC VII 19 & 21; Depeyrot 12/1; Alföldi 226; Calicó 5120. 5.19g, 20mm, 6h.

Good Extremely Fine; rev. lightly brushed. Extremely Rare.

Ex Classical Numismatic Group, Auction 111, 29 May 2019, lot 801. Ex ArtCoins Roma 8, 4 February 2014, lot 715 (hammer: EUR 20,000).

9,000

The portrait and reverse type employed on this aureus are deliberately conventional: Licinius’ close cropped hair, sharp beard, stylised face and neck with straight features and stern eyes reflects the unifying portrait style of the tetrarchic system of four emperors instituted by Diocletian in AD 293, whose images are often so similar that they are only attributable by legend.

While clearly displaying Licinius’ conformity to tetrarchic ideals, his portraiture was according to R.R.R. Smith also “clearly an oppositional and reactive style” in comparison with his co-emperor Constantine’s, who favoured a slender, youthful, clean-shaven portrait which harked back “beyond the aggressive paternal militarism of third-century and tetrarchic portraits” to the classical features and archetypal fringe of the Julio-Claudian mode of imperial representation. (Roman Portrait Statuary from Aphrodisias, 2006, p.186-91). These conflicting methods of representation emphasised the political and religious differences of the two emperors; differences starkly characterised also by their choice of symbolism. Whereas Constantine chose to highlight his monotheistic credentials by using the Chi-Rho symbol on his military standards (a style of standard which became its own distinct category, known as a labarum), Licinius instead reinforced his connection to ancient Roman tradition and continued to use ‘pagan’ motifs on both his coinage, as in this example, and on his military standards. The depiction of Jupiter standing on this coin is typical of Licinius’ earlier issues; this imagery evolved into an enthroned format in later issues; the overall impact, however, remains the same. His consistent use of traditional Roman iconography, particularly that of Jupiter where is coinage is concerned, can be seen to be as much motivated by his desire to create clear distinctions between himself and his opponent, Constantine, as a reflection of his true religious beliefs.

Constantine I ‘the Great’ AV Solidus. Treveri, AD 312-313. CONSTANTINVS P F AVG, laureate head to right / GAVDIVM ROMANORVM, Francia seated to left on ground, resting head on hand and leaning right hand on grounded bow behind her, trophy in background; FRANCIA in exergue. RIC VI 824 var. (no bow), cf. RIC VII p. 255 for rev. type; C. 168 (bow described as column); Depeyrot 18/3; Jameson 351 corr. (bow not mentioned). 4.16g.

NGC graded AU 5/5 - 3/5, brushed (#5791248-002). Extremely Rare.

12,000

In his youth Constantine accompanied his father Constantius I Chlorus on a campaign to Britain in AD 305, where Constantius died at Eobarcum (York) after having fought against the Picts beyond Hadrian’s Wall. Upon his father’s death Constantine was appointed Caesar by Galerius, Augustus in the East, and he remained in the West commanding a vast army along the Rhine. The Franks invaded Gaul across the Rhine in AD 306 and were brutally repelled by Constantine’s army. The captured kings Ascaric and Merogais were paraded in the amphitheatre of Treveri, the tetrarchic capital of the West, and fed to the beasts. Eumenius recalls this event in his Panegyrici Latini (xi), taunting “where now is that ferocity of yours? Where is that ever untrustworthy fickleness?”, referencing a possible etymology for the name ‘Franci’ from the Latin ‘ferocia’ and Germanic ‘frech’, meaning ‘fierce’ or ‘bold’. This coin is testament to the significance of this victory to Constantine’s reign, minted several years after the event itself and after Constantine I ‘the Great’ had put down rebellions of Maxentius, Maximian and Maximinus to emerge victorious in Rome in AD 312 as one of two co-emperors with Licinius I.

The present coin portrays the victory of Constantine I ‘the Great’ over the Franks with a pitiful image of Francia, the personification of the tribe, using the typical iconography of the mourning captive. It forms part of a long numismatic tradition of representing Roman victory over foreign peoples with captive female personifications. Precedents can be found amongst the aurei of Vespasian celebrating the Flavian victory over Judaea, Domitian’s aureus of Germania (RIC II.1 560), Marcus Aurelius’ denarii of Armenia (RIC III 81) and Trajan’s sestertii displaying a the Roman male personification Tiber trampling the female figure of Dacia (RIC II 556), a scene with remarkable stylistic parallels to the monumental relief of Claudius overpowering the figure of Britannia from the Sebasteion at Aphrodisias.

Francia’s defeated posture and mournful gesture, placing her head in her hands, seated as she is beneath a trophy of Francish weapons, appears in jarring contrast to the legend ‘GAVDIVM ROMANORVM’ which proclaims the joy and delight of the Romans at the defeat of the Franks and highlights the disdain with which Romans perceived the ‘barbarians’, who threatened their frontiers and the security of the Empire.

Seemingly the Second Known

3.38g, 20mm, 12h.

Good Extremely Fine; scattered contact marks. Seemingly unpublished, and likely only the second known example. From a private UK collection.

600