Heritage World Coin Auctions
NYINC Signature Sale 3061 7-8 Jan 2018
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Magnus Maximus (AD 383-388). AV solidus (21mm, 4.41 gm, 6h). NGC Choice AU 5/5 - 4/5. Trier, AD 383-384. D N MAG MA-XIMVS P F AVG, rosette-diademed, draped and cuirassed bust of Maximus right / RESTITVTOR REIPVBLICAE, Maximus in military dress (cuirass, long-sleeved tunic and cloak (paludamentum), standing front, his head turned right, holding vexillum emblazoned with Christogram in right hand and Victory on globe in left, star in left field, SM TR in exergue. RIC 76. Depeyrot 50/1. Cohen 4. Very rare. Boldly struck on a broad flan, with a forceful portrait.
A capable general of Spanish birth, Flavius Magnus Maximus was appointed military commander of Britain in AD 380. Three years later, Maximus made a bid for the throne of the Western Roman Empire, then ruled by the ineffectual Gratian and his young brother Valentinian II. After disposing of Gratian, Maximus proposed a three-way division of the Empire, with himself ruling Britain, Gaul, Germany and Spain, Valentinian II ruling Italy and Africa, and Theodosius I, another Spaniard, holding the East. This uneasy equilibrium lasted about four years, with Maximus seeming mightiest of the three rulers. But in AD 387 Maximus launched an invasion of Italy, provoking a final, fatal showdown with Theodosius. In a lightning campaign, Theodosius struck eastward and defeated Maximus before he could fully martial his forces. Both Maximus and his son Flavius Victor were summarily executed by Theodosius, who restored Valentinian II to the Western throne. Maximus' grab for power proved ill-advised, resulting in a destructive civil war and the downfall of his own promising regime.
HID02901242017
Estimate: 10000-15000 USD
Magnus Maximus (AD 383-388). AV solidus (21mm, 4.41 gm, 6h). NGC Choice AU 5/5 - 4/5. Trier, AD 383-384. D N MAG MA-XIMVS P F AVG, rosette-diademed, draped and cuirassed bust of Maximus right / RESTITVTOR REIPVBLICAE, Maximus in military dress (cuirass, long-sleeved tunic and cloak (paludamentum), standing front, his head turned right, holding vexillum emblazoned with Christogram in right hand and Victory on globe in left, star in left field, SM TR in exergue. RIC 76. Depeyrot 50/1. Cohen 4. Very rare. Boldly struck on a broad flan, with a forceful portrait.
A capable general of Spanish birth, Flavius Magnus Maximus was appointed military commander of Britain in AD 380. Three years later, Maximus made a bid for the throne of the Western Roman Empire, then ruled by the ineffectual Gratian and his young brother Valentinian II. After disposing of Gratian, Maximus proposed a three-way division of the Empire, with himself ruling Britain, Gaul, Germany and Spain, Valentinian II ruling Italy and Africa, and Theodosius I, another Spaniard, holding the East. This uneasy equilibrium lasted about four years, with Maximus seeming mightiest of the three rulers. But in AD 387 Maximus launched an invasion of Italy, provoking a final, fatal showdown with Theodosius. In a lightning campaign, Theodosius struck eastward and defeated Maximus before he could fully martial his forces. Both Maximus and his son Flavius Victor were summarily executed by Theodosius, who restored Valentinian II to the Western throne. Maximus' grab for power proved ill-advised, resulting in a destructive civil war and the downfall of his own promising regime.
HID02901242017
Estimate: 10000-15000 USD