Argenteus - Constantius I PROVIDENTIAE AVGG, Nicomedia

The argenteus was revived by Diocletian as part of his sweeping monetary reforms of the 290s, the first silver coinage struck in any meaningful volume since the denarius had effectively ceased to function as a silver denomination decades earlier. Constantius I held the rank of Caesar under Maximian at the time of this issue — not yet Augustus — making the PROVIDENTIAE AVGG legend a direct invocation of the two senior emperors, Diocletian and Maximian, whose providence the reverse celebrates. Nicomedia, Diocletian's preferred eastern residence, was elevated to a major mint precisely during this reorganization.