Artemide Aste s.r.l.
Auction LII 26-27 Oct 2019
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Constantius I Chlorus as Caesar (293-305 AD). AR Argenteus, Ticinum mint, c. 294 AD. D/ CONSTANTI-VS CAESAR. Laureate head right. R/ VIRTVS-MILITVM. The four princes sacrificing over tripod before gate in six-turreted enclosure. RIC 15 a (R3). AR. g. 3.37 mm. 19.00 RRR. Very rare. A wonderful example, in exceptional state of preservation. Lovely light iridescent tone with golden hues. FDC.
On March 1, AD 293, the Roman world was significantly changed when the Augustus (senior emperor) Diocletian and his Caesar (junior emperor) Maximianus reorganized the Empire to be administered by two Augusti and two Caesars. In this new system, known as the Tetrarchy, one Augustus and Caesar would be responsible for the Western Empire while the other would handle the East. Maximianus was named Augustus in the West and appointed his son-in-law, Constantius Chlorus, as his Caesar while Diocletian elevated his own son-in-law, Galerius, to be his Caesar.
This aureus depicts Constantius as Caesar on the obverse and celebrates his elevated relationship to Maximianus on the reverse. Already in AD 287, Diocletian and Maximianus had made a point of closely associating themselves with Jupiter and Hercules. Jupiter was tied to Diocletian and with the office of Augustus while Hercules was linked to Maximianus and the position of Caesar. Diocletian took to referring to himself as Jovianus and to Maximianus as Herculius as a means of casting themselves as agents of the divine and elevating their authority beyond the mortal realm. In keeping with this custom, Constantius added the name Herculius to his own nomenclature during his tenure as Caesar. (NAC 99, 45 note).
This coin belongs to the hoard of Sisak, discovered in 1953 in Croatia. Published in A. Jelocnik 'The Sisak hoard of argentei of the early tetrarchy', Ljubljana, 1961.
On March 1, AD 293, the Roman world was significantly changed when the Augustus (senior emperor) Diocletian and his Caesar (junior emperor) Maximianus reorganized the Empire to be administered by two Augusti and two Caesars. In this new system, known as the Tetrarchy, one Augustus and Caesar would be responsible for the Western Empire while the other would handle the East. Maximianus was named Augustus in the West and appointed his son-in-law, Constantius Chlorus, as his Caesar while Diocletian elevated his own son-in-law, Galerius, to be his Caesar.
This aureus depicts Constantius as Caesar on the obverse and celebrates his elevated relationship to Maximianus on the reverse. Already in AD 287, Diocletian and Maximianus had made a point of closely associating themselves with Jupiter and Hercules. Jupiter was tied to Diocletian and with the office of Augustus while Hercules was linked to Maximianus and the position of Caesar. Diocletian took to referring to himself as Jovianus and to Maximianus as Herculius as a means of casting themselves as agents of the divine and elevating their authority beyond the mortal realm. In keeping with this custom, Constantius added the name Herculius to his own nomenclature during his tenure as Caesar. (NAC 99, 45 note).
This coin belongs to the hoard of Sisak, discovered in 1953 in Croatia. Published in A. Jelocnik 'The Sisak hoard of argentei of the early tetrarchy', Ljubljana, 1961.