By the time this piece was struck, Diocletian had already spent years attempting to stabilize a currency system badly eroded by decades of debasement. The antoninianus itself was by this point a debased shadow of its original billon composition, and scholarly debate continues over whether issues from this transitional phase should be classified as silver at all — most contain only a thin surface wash over a billon or bronze core. The post-reform coinage Diocletian introduced around 294 with the argenteus would effectively render this denomination obsolete within a few years.
By the time this piece was struck, Diocletian had already spent years attempting to stabilize a currency system badly eroded by decades of debasement. The antoninianus itself was by this point a debased shadow of its original billon composition, and scholarly debate continues over whether issues from this transitional phase should be classified as silver at all — most contain only a thin surface wash over a billon or bronze core. The post-reform coinage Diocletian introduced around 294 with the argenteus would effectively render this denomination obsolete within a few years.