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Aureus - Allectus ADVENTVS AVG, Londinium
| Issuer | Britannic Empire (Roman splinter states) |
|---|---|
| Year | 293 |
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| Reference(s) | RIC V.2#1 , OCRE#ric.5.all.1 , Calicó#4786 , Depey Rom#4/1 , Vagi#2639 |
| Obverse description | Laureate, draped, and cuirassed bust of Allectus facing right, rendered in high relief with finely detailed portraiture characteristic of late Roman imperial coinage. The emperor is depicted with a short beard and radiate crown elements visible at the nape, wearing a paludamentum fastened at the right shoulder. The encircling legend runs from lower left to upper right around the bust within a beaded border. The portrait displays the distinctive stylistic traits of the London mint under the Britannic Empire, with strong facial modeling and careful attention to the cuirass decoration. |
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| Obverse lettering | IMP C ALLECTVS P F AVG (Translation: Emperor and Caesar Allectus, Blessed and Pious) |
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Allectus seized control of Roman Britain in 293 by murdering Carausius, the former commander he served as finance minister — making him one of the few usurpers in Roman history who toppled another usurper rather than a legitimate emperor. His reign lasted just three years before Constantius I retook the island in 296. The ADVENTVS type, conventionally struck to commemorate an imperial arrival or entry into a province, carries an irony here: Allectus never meaningfully expanded his territory and spent his reign on the defensive.
The Londinium mint attribution is secure. RIC V.2 #1 makes this the opening entry of his coinage — the first classified gold issue of a man who ruled Britain for roughly 1,000 days.