Watch List notes:

THE ROMAN EMPIRE
Numerian, 282 – 284

Aureus circa 284, AV 4.55 g. IMP NVMERIANVS P F AVG Laureate, draped and cuirassed bust r. Rev. VIRTV – S AVGG Hercules standing r., leaning on club, with lion's skin, on rock. C –. RIC 408. Calicó 4335.
Extremely rare. A wonderful portrait struck in high relief, minor marks,
otherwise good extremely fine / extremely fine


When Numerian's father Carus died unexpectedly at the army camp near the banks of the Tigris river, the burden of authority fell upon the 30-year-old Numerian, who had been hailed emperor at the start of their campaign against the Sasanians. Numerian was now in sole command in the east while his older brother, Carinus, had identical authority in the west. Whether he was startled by his father's mysterious death, daunted by the burden of supreme authority, or he wisely reacted to a change in military circumstances, Numerian negotiated a treaty with the Sasanian king Varhan II and led the bulk of his army westward. However, before he could make it to Europe to meet his brother, Carinus died – again seemingly a murder commited by Aper. Following Numerian's murder, another commander, Diocles (the future emperor Diocletian), executed Aper and was hailed emperor in Numerian's place. This inevitably placed Diocletian in opposition to Numerian's brother Carinus in the West. Caught between these rivals was yet a third commander, Julian of Pannonia, the governor of Venetia, who decided to stake his claim. While keeping a wary eye on the approach of Diocletian, Carinus quickly dealt with Julian, whom he defeated early in 285, only soon to be murdered by his own soldiers before he could fight Diocletian.
The aureus of Numerian is exceptionally well detailed, and the differences in the artists' execution aside, one can readily compare this portrait to the one of Geta on his sestertius offered earlier in this sale. The reverse type is ideally suited to the times, for the Roman forces were enjoying the fruits of a successful campaign against the Sasanians: Hercules, the personification of virility and strength, is shown within the inscription VIRTVS AVGG, which describes the 'manly excellence' of the emperors. This particular version of Hercules, the 'Farnese Hercules', features an older, weary hero leaning upon his club, which is set upon a rock and is draped with the skin of the Nemean lion.