Galerius, Roman Emperor AD 293-311. GENIO POPVLI ROMANI
Caesar of the first tetrarchy of the Roman Empire, 293-305, and Augustus of the second, 305-311.
(Go to the page of folles of Diocletian, Maximian, Constantius, or later rulers. Folles by mint.)
Roman coins ("folles") of the common GENIO POPVLI ROMANI type from various mints. Each has
Genius standing left with a (small) modiusn1 on his head and holding a patera and cornucopia, naked but for a cloak ("chlamys") over his left shoulder and hanging down behind the cornucopia.
What's new? 2024, March 8: Larger fonts. Minor formating changes.
2023, April 12: Galerius as Augustus at Heraclea.
2023, Jan. 30: Galerius as Augustus at Cyzicus.
2022, Sept. 22: Galerius as Caesar at Antioch with K V / ANT mintmark.
London, Treveri, Lugdunum (Lyons), Ticinum, Aquileia (none here), Rome, Siscia (none here), Serdica, Thessalonica, Heraclea, Nicomedia, Cyzicus (none here), Antioch, and Alexandria. [Carthage and Ostia are also in RIC volume VI, but neither minted this type.]
(Click the obverse image to go to a larger image of both sides and its description.)
London | Trier | Lugdunum | Lugdunum |
Lugdunum | Ticinum | Rome | Serdica |
Serdica, as Augustus | Thessalonica | Thessalonica | Heraclea |
Heraclea | Nicomedia, as Caesar | Nicomedia, as Augustus | Cyzicus, as Augustus |
Antioch, as Caesar | Antioch, as Caesar | Antioch, as Augustus | Alexandria |
Heraclea, as Augustus |
Galerius, as Caesar
London
MAXIMIANVS NOB CAES
28-26 mm. 8.23 grams.
nothing in exergue
RIC London 15 "c. 300 onward"
This legend has "MAXIMIANVS" in it but the coin is of Galerius and not of the emperor we call Maximianus. Here is a short note at the bottom of this page on how to distinguish the two emperors.]
Galerius, as Caesar
Trier
28-26 mm. 9.66 grams.
MAXIMIANVS NOBIL C
S in left field, F in right field
PTR in exergue
RIC Trier 594b "c. 303- 1 May 305" (i.e. the last issue before becoming Augustus)
Galerius, as Caesar
Lyons
29-28 mm. 11.12 grams.
MAXIMIANVS NOB CAES
Consular bust, laureate, left with eagle-tipped scepter
altar left, A in right field
PLG in exergue
RIC Lugdunum 146b "c. 301-303"
Galerius, as Caesar
Lyons
28-25 mm. 7.55 grams.
MAXIMIANVS NOB C
laureate and cuirassed bust right
PLG in exergue
Altar to left, star (weak) in right field
RIC Lugdunum 164b "301-303"
Galerius, as Caesar
Rome
31-26 mm. 6.60 grams (thin and light!)
MAXIMINVS NOB CAES
Q✳ in exergue
RIC Rome 95b "c. 299"
Galerius, as Caesar
Thessaloncia
28-27 mm. 11.33 grams.
GAL VAL MAXIMIANVS NOB CAES
TSB in exergue
RIC Thessalonica 20b "c. 298-299"
Galerius, as Caesar
Thessalonica
27-25 mm. 8.89 grams.
GAL VAL MAXIMIANVS NOB CAES
E in right field
• T S • in exergue
RIC Thessalonica 26b "c. 302-303"
Galerius, as Caesar
Heraclea
28 mm. 10.06 grams.
GAL VAL MAXIMIANVS NOB CAES
HTΔ in exergue
RIC Heraclea 18b "296-297"
Galerius, as Caesar
Nicomedia
28-27 mm. 9.84 grams.
GAL VAL MAXIMIANVS NOB CAES
SMNA in exergue
RIC Nicomedia 30b "c. 303-4"
Note the "bull neck" found at Nicomedia on portraits of the the tetrarchs.
Nicomedia often has portraits with an extreme bull-neck. This must be one of the most extreme.
Galerius, as Augustus
Antioch
27 mm. 10.96 grams.
IMP C GAL V MAXIMIANVS PF AVG
I in right field
ANT•
RIC Antioch 70b "c. 305"
Galerius, as Caesar
Alexandria
26 mm. 10.80 grams.
GAL VAL MAXIMIANVS NOB CAES
XXI in left field, Δ in right field
ALE in exergue
RIC Alexandria 31b "c. 300"
The revival of the mark "XXI" suggests Diocletian's Edict of Maximum Prices was accompanied by an attempt to assure the people that the coins had the composition introduced by Aurelian, "20 parts copper and one part silver" (nearly 5% silver). Since silver was worth 80 times the value of copper, [in Diocletian's Edict on Maximum Prices] every percent mattered to the intrinsic value of the coin.
Go to the next page with other GENIO POPVLI ROMANI folles.
Go to the pages with folles of Diocletian, Maximian, or Constantius.
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