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ANA Signature Sale 3094 19-20 Aug 2021
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Ancients
Maximian (AD 286-310). AV aureus (19mm, 5.49 gm, 6h). NGC Choice AU 5/5 - 4/5. Rome, AD 293-294. MAXIMIA-NVS P F AVG, laureate head of Maximian right / HERCVLI-VICTORI, Hercules, nude, seated facing on rock, head right, left hand on lion skin on lap; right hand resting on club at left leaning on rocks, bow and quiver on right, PR in exergue. RIC VI -, cf. 13 (Treveri). Calicó 4680 (Trier, this coin) Mazzini 305 (this coin). Biaggi 1792 (this coin). Crisply struck from fresh dies.
From the Monaco Collection. Ex collection of GK, Ukrainian Emigrant (Roma Numismatics, Auction XXI, 24 March 2021), lot 727; Numismatica Ars Classica, Auction 91 (23 May 2016), lot 58; "An Important Collection" (Numismatica Ars Classica, Auction 34, 24 November 2006), lot 76; Leo Biaggi de Blasys (1906-1979) Collection, sold privately in 1978 to Bank Leu (Zurich) and a partner; Giuseppe Mazzini (1883-1961) Collection
Like Diocletian, Maximian was of hardy Illyrian peasant stock and rose through the ranks of the Roman Army during the war-torn later third century. Once Diocletian was installed as emperor, he almost immediately offered to share power with his old friend, whom he seems to have trusted implicitly. Though far less of a thinker than Diocletian, Maximian was a better soldier, a fact Diocletian understood and even appreciated. Maximian thus became Hercules to Diocletian's Jupiter, the man of action following the lead of a great planner and organizer. The partnership worked remarkably well, and in AD 293 the Diarchy was expanded to a Tetrarchy with the addition of two subordinate rulers, the Caesars Constantius I and Galerius. After decades of chaos and dissolution, the fortunes of the Roman Empire rose again under the unusual arrangement. The Tetrarchs regularized the empire's finances, restored its frontiers, rebuilt its cities, and won signal victories against enemies without and within. Some, however, complained about the regimentation of Roman society and the heavy burden of taxation. In AD 305, after 20 exhausting years of rule, the weary Diocletian declared his job finished and formally abdicated. Maximian, perhaps five years younger and more in love with power, reluctantly followed suit.
https://coins.ha.com/itm/ancients/roman-imperial/ancients-maximian-ad-286-310-av-aureus-19mm-549-gm-6h-ngc-choice-au-5-5-4-5/a/3094-32079.s?type=CoinArchives3094
HID02906262019
© 2020 Heritage Auctions | All Rights Reserved
Estimate: 15000-20000 USD
Maximian (AD 286-310). AV aureus (19mm, 5.49 gm, 6h). NGC Choice AU 5/5 - 4/5. Rome, AD 293-294. MAXIMIA-NVS P F AVG, laureate head of Maximian right / HERCVLI-VICTORI, Hercules, nude, seated facing on rock, head right, left hand on lion skin on lap; right hand resting on club at left leaning on rocks, bow and quiver on right, PR in exergue. RIC VI -, cf. 13 (Treveri). Calicó 4680 (Trier, this coin) Mazzini 305 (this coin). Biaggi 1792 (this coin). Crisply struck from fresh dies.
From the Monaco Collection. Ex collection of GK, Ukrainian Emigrant (Roma Numismatics, Auction XXI, 24 March 2021), lot 727; Numismatica Ars Classica, Auction 91 (23 May 2016), lot 58; "An Important Collection" (Numismatica Ars Classica, Auction 34, 24 November 2006), lot 76; Leo Biaggi de Blasys (1906-1979) Collection, sold privately in 1978 to Bank Leu (Zurich) and a partner; Giuseppe Mazzini (1883-1961) Collection
Like Diocletian, Maximian was of hardy Illyrian peasant stock and rose through the ranks of the Roman Army during the war-torn later third century. Once Diocletian was installed as emperor, he almost immediately offered to share power with his old friend, whom he seems to have trusted implicitly. Though far less of a thinker than Diocletian, Maximian was a better soldier, a fact Diocletian understood and even appreciated. Maximian thus became Hercules to Diocletian's Jupiter, the man of action following the lead of a great planner and organizer. The partnership worked remarkably well, and in AD 293 the Diarchy was expanded to a Tetrarchy with the addition of two subordinate rulers, the Caesars Constantius I and Galerius. After decades of chaos and dissolution, the fortunes of the Roman Empire rose again under the unusual arrangement. The Tetrarchs regularized the empire's finances, restored its frontiers, rebuilt its cities, and won signal victories against enemies without and within. Some, however, complained about the regimentation of Roman society and the heavy burden of taxation. In AD 305, after 20 exhausting years of rule, the weary Diocletian declared his job finished and formally abdicated. Maximian, perhaps five years younger and more in love with power, reluctantly followed suit.
https://coins.ha.com/itm/ancients/roman-imperial/ancients-maximian-ad-286-310-av-aureus-19mm-549-gm-6h-ngc-choice-au-5-5-4-5/a/3094-32079.s?type=CoinArchives3094
HID02906262019
© 2020 Heritage Auctions | All Rights Reserved
Estimate: 15000-20000 USD