Roma Numismatics Ltd
Auction XVI 26 Sep 2018
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Numerian AV Aureus. Rome, AD 284. IMP NVME[RI]ANVS P F AVG, laureate and cuirassed bust right / VIRTVS AVGG, Hercules standing right, leaning on club with his left hand and resting his right on his hip. RIC 407; C. -; Calicó 4334. 4.66g, 20mm, 5h.
Extremely Fine - Good Extremely Fine; pierced in antiquity. Extremely Rare, no other examples on CoinArchives.
From the collection of D.I., Germany, purchased before 1992.
The great rarity of this coin is in large part due to the brevity of Numerian's reign. In 282, the legions of the upper Danube in Raetia and Noricum rebelled and proclaimed the praetorian prefect Marcus Aurelius Carus emperor in opposition to Probus. Probus' army, stationed in Sirmium, decided they did not wish to fight Carus and assassinated Probus instead. Carus, already sixty, immediately elevated his sons Carinus and Numerian to the rank of Caesar.
In 283 Carus determined to take advantage of a succession crisis within the Sassanid empire, and marched east at the head of an army along with Numerian, while Carinus was left in charge in the West. The invasion met with great success, and the army was able to make huge incursions into Persian lands, and even capture the capital Ctesiphon. The campaign came to a premature end when Carus died suddenly (according to some sources, from a lightning strike).
Numerian made an orderly retreat from Persia, and subsequently died in mysterious circumstances during the journey west. Amid rumours of murder, the prefect Aper was executed by the man who went on to become emperor. Diocletian, previously an officer under Carus, was acclaimed by the army and proceeded to continue the march west, meeting Carinus' army in battle in Moesia and emerging as victor and emperor.
The reverse of this stunning aureus typifies the propagandist nature of Roman coinage, and bestows on Numerian the quality of 'virtus', which encompassed valour, manliness, excellence, courage, character, and worth - the necessary attributes of a Roman and especially of an emperor. Coupled with the standing figure of Hercules, with his usual attributes of club and lion's skin, this reverse references the military victories that Numerian and Carus achieved in the east and likens them to the completion of Hercules' labours.
Extremely Fine - Good Extremely Fine; pierced in antiquity. Extremely Rare, no other examples on CoinArchives.
From the collection of D.I., Germany, purchased before 1992.
The great rarity of this coin is in large part due to the brevity of Numerian's reign. In 282, the legions of the upper Danube in Raetia and Noricum rebelled and proclaimed the praetorian prefect Marcus Aurelius Carus emperor in opposition to Probus. Probus' army, stationed in Sirmium, decided they did not wish to fight Carus and assassinated Probus instead. Carus, already sixty, immediately elevated his sons Carinus and Numerian to the rank of Caesar.
In 283 Carus determined to take advantage of a succession crisis within the Sassanid empire, and marched east at the head of an army along with Numerian, while Carinus was left in charge in the West. The invasion met with great success, and the army was able to make huge incursions into Persian lands, and even capture the capital Ctesiphon. The campaign came to a premature end when Carus died suddenly (according to some sources, from a lightning strike).
Numerian made an orderly retreat from Persia, and subsequently died in mysterious circumstances during the journey west. Amid rumours of murder, the prefect Aper was executed by the man who went on to become emperor. Diocletian, previously an officer under Carus, was acclaimed by the army and proceeded to continue the march west, meeting Carinus' army in battle in Moesia and emerging as victor and emperor.
The reverse of this stunning aureus typifies the propagandist nature of Roman coinage, and bestows on Numerian the quality of 'virtus', which encompassed valour, manliness, excellence, courage, character, and worth - the necessary attributes of a Roman and especially of an emperor. Coupled with the standing figure of Hercules, with his usual attributes of club and lion's skin, this reverse references the military victories that Numerian and Carus achieved in the east and likens them to the completion of Hercules' labours.