Nummus - Licinius II VIRTVS EXERCIT; S - F/HL; Siscia

The VIRTVS EXERCIT series was issued in 320 AD at a moment of mounting tension between Licinius and Constantine — a cold war between co-emperors that would turn hot within four years. Licinius II, elevated to Caesar in 317 as part of the peace settlement following the first civil war, was barely three years old when these coins were struck in his name. The series functioned as political currency as much as literal coin, broadcasting dynastic stability from Licinius's Balkan stronghold.

The HL officina mark places this piece in the second workshop at Siscia. RIC VII 132 is not among the rarest of the type, but Siscia issues from this precise political window carry a specificity that more abundant Nicomedia strikes do not.