First issue from Treveri mint. Unlisted in RIC, but should be expected—for this issue, each emperor has 2 right bust varieties and 1 left bust variety, except that no left bust variety is listed for Maximianus. This is presumably it. Proper catalog would be RIC 138b.

Absolutely unique obverse legend is completely unknown—it is not catalogued anywhere, for any mint or issue. All of the laur/cuir bust types for this issue are rated R or S for rarity, and none of those include the FL VAL first/second names.

Based on the distinctive and somewhat crude portrait style, this coin is possibly a "barbarous" issue, struck by an unofficial mint in Gaul or Germany. Such coins were relatively common in the decades before Diocletian came to power, when rebels controlled both Gaul and Britain and there was an evident lack of official coinage in circulation in this region. They would be common again in the late 4th century, after the London mint was closed, but during the Tetrarchy period such coins are rare.

Not listed in RIC for either obverse legend, or bust type. Should be included with the series iv types found on p.185 [RIC #246-253, c. AD 298-9]. The officina mark in the left field (tough to see in photo, but you can see it in hand) distinguishes it from the series v [where it still would have been a minor variant [no drapery].

Unlisted in RIC for mintmark IITR, only ITR is listed for Maximianus; even that is rarity R.

RIC 36 is for bust type seen from front (D); bust type from rear (C) not listed for this type. (Bust type C is only listed for a single type from this issue, for Diocletian.)

Unpublished obverse legend variant (...SEN AG). ex. Dr. J. S. Vogelaar Collection

Unlisted obverse legend -- completely unlisted for any mint or coin, in fact. Closest cataloged form is MAXIMINVS NOBILISSIMVS CAES. Ex. Dr. J. S. Vogelaar Collection

Not catalogued in RIC for this obverse legend. Mentioned in footnote as, "Voetter (see also Gerin Cat., Diocl., nos. 16-17) recorded the obverse IMP CC VAL DIOCLETIANVS P F AVG with this rev.: too doubtful to be included here."

RIC records version with Genius wearing modius; this is quite clearly a turret. No turreted Genius types are officially recorded in the vicinity of this one, but one is described in a footnote of the previous issue, struck for Constantine. Listed as R for the normal 224.

This is part of an interesting issue struck at Lugdunum when Maximianus was left in control of the city by Constantine after emerging from retirement. In place of the typical "abdication" follii struck for both augusti, with two figures of Providentia and Quiess on the reverse and the former emperor in consular robes—emphasizing civilian, not military authority—on the obverse, Maximianus struck a retirement follis in Diocletian's name only, with only a single figure on the reverse. For himself, he struck coins in the style of the other active emperors: "Genio Populi Romani" on the reverse, and the armored bust of an active military leader on the obverse. To reinforce the claim to legitimacy, he added the classic S-C ("Senatus Consultus") on the reverse to give the impression of Senatorial sanction and echoing the motto typically found on Roman coins from the great days of the empire.

This reverse type is simply unknown for Maximianus in RIC — it is only used by Constantine himself, except for a single rare issue for Maximinus II. That said, the existence of the Maximinus issue would imply a corresponding issue for Maximianus in the same series, which would be this coin.

In rough condition, but a scarce variety. Picked up from the ebay juk bin. Unlisted for this obverse legend and reverse type; should be catalogued with 133-137.

Rated R3 in RIC. Unpublished for this officina

Completely unknown reverse type, but would be part of the Victory series, RIC 272-274 (page 384); this would presumably follow 274.

The HERCVLI VICTORI reverse type was only struck occasionally from 311-313 in the mints under control of Maximinus II: Nicomedia, Cyzicus, Antioch, and Alexandria, and, briefly, Heraclea after Maximinus took control of the city from Licinius and struck his own coin types before his defeat. This type is not recorded anywhere for Licinius (except for a single, very rare issue from Alexandria); if it were cataloged, it would be RIC 68a.

This reverse type is only catalogued for Maximinus as Augustus, after the death of Galerius. So the existence of this coin pushes the date for the BONO GENIO PII type to before the death of Galerius, into the Group IV coinage.

From 308-310, the Genius types were divided into Genio Caesaris type for Caesar obverses, and Genio Imperatoris types for the Augusti obverses. The final Maximinus as Caesar legends were issued during this period. For 310 and beyond (once the star control mark is added to the field) only the Genio Imperatoris types are recorded for all of the augusti, and no coins are struck for anyone as caesar.

So this coin represents the only use of Maximinus as Caesar for this series, and the preceding as well. Plus, it pushes this type to before the death of Galerius. The only other explanation is that a mint worker in Alexandria mistakenly used an old obverse die of Maximinus as Caesar; Maximinus presumably would have been none too pleased!

Another unlisted variety of this type. This one is unlisted for this obverse legend; 144a is listed as S

Unlisted in RIC for reverse legend variation; RIC 55 spells out "GENTIVM." In addition, RIC 55 is not recorded for officina T. Plate coin for Failmezgar "Roman Bronze Coins" (Plate 8). ex Tory Failmezgar collection; ex Harlan J Berk, 2000 (Philadelphia ANA show, Aug 2000). Note: This reverse type and legend duplicate gold aureus RIC 6.

The GENIO AVGVSTI follii from Group V (310-311 AD, of which RIC 66 is a part) have -CMH ligature in reverse legend, with the officina mark in ex instead of in the field. The Group VI GENIO AVGVSTI follii have officina mark in field, no ligature in the reverse legend, and altar / eagle in other field. So this is a complete hybrid: the Group V reverse design & ligature, but struck with the Group VI mint marks.

Mint mark "Γ" is unlisted—only A is listed—but is mentioned in footnote as a possibility. The issue itself is rated R5 in RIC ("Small and extremely rare issue") but that seems a bit overdone.

This type only listed for Licinius (70a) and Maximinus (70b), not Constantine, which would be expected at 70c.

Unlisted in RIC for Constantine (or Licinius, for that matter), matches RIC 75 for Maximinus; if it were cataloged, it would be RIC 75c.

Tough to get a good picture of this coin because where the silvering has worn off, the metal is patinated pure black, but it is actually quite nice with a terrific portrait and a wonderfully detailed Hercules.

RIC only lists the "dragging captive" variety of this reverse type. This is the same reverse type as RIC 70.

This is yet another uncatalogued variety struck during the war between Licinius and Maximinus II.

Coins with mintmark HTA through HT-Δ were issued with wreath in field in 312, anticipating Licinius' 5-year anniversary. Later in 312, SM was added to HT in ex, wth the officina mark in the field, indicating that Licinius and his treasury had taken up residence at Heraclea, in anticipation of the coming battle with Maximinus II. This coin has a transitional mintmark, the same exergual markings of group (ii) but with the SM added — struck presumably towards the end of officina Δ when Licinius arrived, before the the mint marks were reorganized for the next issue.

[The obverse of this coin was unfortunately damaged when someone tried to clean the coin with electrolysis and ate into the patina badly. Would be a really nice coin otherwise...]

Unlisted in RIC. See King and Spear, "A Hoard of Folles from Northern Sinai," in NumChron 1977, 3981-3999. 9 Examples recorded, officina A - 1, officina G - 2, officina E - 2, officina S - 1, officina Z, -1, officina I - 2.

See coins 204-031 and 204-032 for more unlisted coins for this group for Constantine as caesar.

This group of folles is recorded for all the members of the second tetrarchy, but not for Constantine as Caesar or Severus II as augustus (see 104-646 for an example of the unrecorded Severus II).

This group of folles is recorded for all the members of the second tetrarchy, but not for Constantine as Caesar or Severus II as augustus. Despite its relative rarity, this is the second example I have. This coin is from officina Z, the last workshop in the Antioch mint, while the other is officina A, the first one. (Coin 104-646 is an example of the unrecorded Severus II coin.)

This is yet another uncatalogued variety struck during the war between Licinius and Maximinus II.

The "SM" in the clearly legible mint mark situates this coin pretty clearly in the series iv follii struck by Licinius at Heraclea, but the other reverse elements and legend are way out of place: the Licinian issues feature the eagle and wreath prominently, commemorating Licinius' 5-year anniversary. The reverse elements and layout, as well as the style (especially the distinctive style of the robe) exactly match the Maximinus issues from Nicomedia (see RIC VI Nic 79), so it seems fair to surmise that this was struck in Heraclea after Maximinus II took control of the mint. RIC lists three coin types struck by Maximinus after taking control of the mint: GENIO AVGVSTI, HERCVLI VICTORI, and SOLI INVICTO [RIC 76-78]. The IOVI CONSERVATORI was the fourth major type struck by Maximinus at Nicomedia, so it would not be surprising to have had it been struck at Heraclea also—evidenced by this coin—so that the set of types from Heraclea matches those struck at Nicomedia at the same time.

Unpublished with both crescent and altar in fields, but that is apparently just a typo from the RIC editors.