Carausius declared himself emperor in 286 AD after being ordered executed by Maximian — he preempted the sentence by crossing to Britain with his fleet and proclaiming a breakaway empire that would hold out for a decade. His coin output was substantial and deliberately propagandistic, invoking the loyalty of the Roman legions stationed in Britain and the Classis Britannica. The PAX legend was a pointed claim: a usurper advertising peace is advertising legitimacy.
RIC V.2 883 is among the earlier emissions, predating the more ambitious silver-washed issues Carausius later produced to rival official Roman coinage in appearance.
Carausius declared himself emperor in 286 AD after being ordered executed by Maximian — he preempted the sentence by crossing to Britain with his fleet and proclaiming a breakaway empire that would hold out for a decade. His coin output was substantial and deliberately propagandistic, invoking the loyalty of the Roman legions stationed in Britain and the Classis Britannica. The PAX legend was a pointed claim: a usurper advertising peace is advertising legitimacy.
RIC V.2 883 is among the earlier emissions, predating the more ambitious silver-washed issues Carausius later produced to rival official Roman coinage in appearance.