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Nummus - Diocletian Cuirassed, IMP C DIOCLETIANVS P F AVG, GENIO POPVLI ROMANI, Londinium
| Issuer | Roman Imperial Mint, Londinium |
|---|---|
| Year | 298-300 |
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| Shape | Round (irregular) |
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| Obverse description | Radiate, laureate, and cuirassed bust of Emperor Diocletian facing right, rendered in high relief with considerable detail to the imperial armour, including pteryges visible at the shoulder. The emperor is depicted with short-cropped hair surmounted by a laureate wreath, with the laurel ties visible behind the neck. The muscled cuirass is finely articulated, conveying imperial military authority. The encircling Latin legend runs clockwise around the obverse field. |
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| Reverse description | The Genius of the Roman People stands facing left in the reverse field, depicted nude with a chlamys draped over the left shoulder, wearing a modius (grain-measure crown) upon his head. In his raised right hand he holds a patera for libation, while his left hand supports a cornucopiae, symbolising abundance and divine favour bestowed upon Rome. The composition is rendered in a confident late-antique style characteristic of the Londinium mint. No mintmark appears in the exergue, consistent with the earliest issues of RIC VI 6a from this workshop. |
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| Additional information |
The London mint opened around 286 AD under the usurper Carausius, who needed a local source of coinage to sustain his breakaway British empire. When Constantius I retook Britain in 296 and reintegrated it into the Tetrarchic system, the mint continued operating — shifting allegiance almost overnight to issue coins in Diocletian's name. This piece belongs to that early post-reunification phase, when the London facility was still establishing its Tetrarchic output and die quality remained inconsistent across officinae.