Obverse: IMP C GAL VAL MAXIMINVS PF AVG;
Laureate Bust of the Emperor Facing
Right
Reverse: GENIO IMPERATORIS; Genius,
Standing to the Left, Holding a Wreath
and a Cornucopia
When the Roman Emperor Galerius ascended
the throne upon the abdication of
Diocletian and Maximianus, he appointed
Maximinus Daia as his Caesar in the East
to replace him. He remained Caesar until
308, when Galerius thought it prudent to
promote him to the rank of Augustus. In
311, Galerius died after a terrible
illness and Maximinus became Emperor
Maximinus II, Augustus in the East. He
immediately moved his court to the city
of Nicomedia in Asia Minor and governed
from there. In 312, Constantine the
Great, Emperor of the West, made an
alliance with Licinius and finally
defeated Maxentius at the Milvian
Bridge. A short while later, Maximinus
decided to invade territory belonging to
Licinius. He captured several cities
before Licinius was able to bring his
armies from Milan to face him. Maximinus
was defeated in the battle fought in
Thrace on April 30, 313 and only escaped
because he disguised himself as a slave.
He died a few months later at Tarsus,
leaving Constantine in control of the
West and Licinius in the East.
How many hands have touched a coin in
your pocket or purse? What eras and
lands have the coin traversed on its
journey into our possession? As we reach
into our pockets to pull out some
change, we rarely hesitate to think of
who might have touched the coin before
us, or where the coin will venture to
after it leaves our hands. More than
money, coins are a symbol of the state
that struck them, of a specific time and
location, whether contemporary
currencies or artifacts of a long
forgotten empire. This stunning hand-
struck coin reveals an expertise of
craftsmanship and intricate sculptural
detail that is often lacking in
contemporary machine-made currencies.
This ancient coin is a memorial an
emperor, passed from the hands of
civilization to civilization, from
generation to generation that still
appears as vibrant today as the day it
was struck.
