THE BRITANNIC COINAGE OF CONSTANTIUS
Produced during the First Tetrarchy c. 296-305 AD

THE BRITISH INVASION COINAGE OF CONSTANTIUS

On this page: The production of "invasion folles" in Gaul using Lugdunese workers. The subsequent invasion and occupation of seccessionist Britain and its restoration to the Roman Empire by Constantius.

In 293 Diocletian instituted the Tetrarchy: government of the geographically divided Empire by four interacting rulers - two Augusti assisted by two subordinate Caesars which each Augustus would personally select. Diocletian, Augustus of the east, selected Galerius Maximian as his Caesar and Maximian Herculius, Augustus of the west, selected Constantius as his Caesar. The first assignment given Constantius by Maximian was to remove Carausius, the usurper Augustus of secessionist Britain, and restore that former possession to the Empire. Constantius thereupon beseiged and captured Boulogne and then wrested coastal Gaul from Carausius. Constantius now set about planning the invasion, occupation and restoration of secessionist Britain to the Empire.

CONSTANTIUS and the invasion coinage

One of the first orders of business for Constantius was to insure that a supply of reformed aes coinage - now the commonplace legal tender of the Roman Empire - was available for use not only by his occupying force, but also by the British civilian populace. To that end Constantius established a Continental Mint (exact location unknown), manned by Lugdunese workers, to produce this invasion coinage - unmarked (i.e. without a mint mark) folles issued in the names of Diocletian & Maximian Herculius as Augustus and Constantius & Galerius Maximian as Caesar.

Notes relating to unknown Continental Mint invasion coinage

• In his introductory notes to RIC VI, Londinium, Sutherland states that "Bastien is to be followed in regarding the umarked coins of Class I as an issue prepared in advance for Constantius' invasion of Britain in 296".
• This coinage is characterized by right facing laureate heads with the long laurel wreath ribbon laying on the neck. The Genius of the Roman People reverse with the legend GENIO POPVLI ROMANI is standard and bears no mint mark. Genius is depicted standing, head surmounted by modius, naked except for chlamys over left shoulder, holding patera in right hand and cradling cornucopia in left arm. Peripheral legends read clockwise. The inscriptional lettering is relatively large with delicate letterforms.
• Reverse axis is 6 or 12 o'clock.
• Weight range is 10.5 to 8.75 gm.
• I wish to thank my fellow "Romano-British coinage" enthusiast and noted numismatist, Lee Toone, for granting me permission to quote his contribution to this subject: "Bastien, in an annexe to a later work, Le Monnayage de L'Atelier de Lyons (Wetteren, 1980) - Annexe Atelier Continental Sans Marque, pp.125-128 and Plate LXIX, revisits this issue. He reaffirms his view that these coins were minted at an unknown continental mint prior to the invasion and concludes that, in reality, there are only four types RIC 14a, 14b, 17a and 17b. The others listed under Lyon by Sutherland are erroneous, either unofficial, lightly struck LA or LB coins or unmarked London coins. He goes on to catalogue these four types each with two different versions; the first 'set' with large heads ('effigies larges') and the second with small heads ('petites effigies') .........."

Example of early reformed follis - RIC VI, Lugdunum, Group I, (ii), LA or LB, c. 295 - No. 2a, DIOCLETIAN.

IMP C DIOCLETIANVS PF AVG ............................. GENIO POP -- VLI ROMANI
LA in exergue

actual size of coin
weight: 9.0 grams

Example of early reformed follis - RIC VI, Lugdunum, Group I, (ii), LA or LB, c. 295 - No. 6, CONSTANTIUS. 2010-08-11

CONSTANTIVS NOB CAES ............................. GENIO POPV -- LI ROMANI
LB in exergue

actual size of coin
weight: 8.7 grams

Examples of unknown Continental Mint invasion coinage

RIC Volume VI, Lugdunum, Group I, (iv), folles, Class I, No. 14-21, c. 296, 10.5-8.75 gm, reverse axis 6 or 12 o'clock. Laureate head, right, with bare neck truncation.

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RIC VI, Lugdunum, No. 14a - DIOCLETIAN

IMP C DIOCLETIANVS PF AVG ............................. GENIO POPV -- LI ROMANI

actual size of coin
weight: 8.9 grams

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RIC VI, Lugdunum, No. 14b - MAXIMIAN HERCULIUS

IMP C MAXIMIANVS PF AVG ................................. GENIO POP -- VLI ROMANI

actual size of coin
weight: 8.8 grams

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RIC VI, Lugdunum, No. 17a - CONSTANTIUS

FL VAL CONSTANTIVS NOB C .............................. GENIO POPV -- LI ROMANI

actual size of coin
weight: 9.0 grams

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RIC VI, Lugdunum, No. 17b - GALERIUS MAXIMIAN

C VAL MAXIMIANVS NOB C .............................. GENIO POPV -- LI ROMANI

actual size of coin
weight: 8.5 grams

ALLECTUS - Successor Usurper Augustus of Secessionist Britain

Shortly after Constantius reconquered coastal Gaul Allectus, the chief Minister - Praetorian Prefect of Carausius, conspired to assassinate him and thereupon declared himself Augustus of Secessionist Britain. Allectus continued operation of the London and "C" Mints and coins were issued in his name and bearing his portrait.

IMP C ALLECTVS PF AVG

This the obverse of a typical antoninianus (RIC V [2], London, Allectus, No. 33).

CONSTANTIUS - Restorer of Britain to the Roman Empire

In 296 Constantius launched a powerful naval invasion force against Britain in two divisions: one led by himself, which sailed from Boulogne and the other led by his Praetorian Prefect, Asclepiodotus, which sailed from the mouth of the river Seine. The mission of Constantius was to remove Allectus from power and restore Britain to the Empire. This mission was accomplished and although Constantius was in overall command of the operation, some historical sources assert it was the force under Asclepiodotus that did most of the fighting on land and in fact it was they who defeated and killed Allectus during the decisive battle. Constantius subsequently entered the city of London to proclaim his conquest as restorer of the eternal light of the Roman Empire: Redditor Lucis Aeternae.

This image is an enlarged photograph of the reverse of a bronze copy of the famous ten aurei multiple (RIC VOLUME VI, TREVERI, No. 34), the original of which presently resides in the museum at Arras, commemorating the restoration of Britain to the Roman Empire by Constantius in 296. It depicts the personification of Londinium (LON) kneeling and supplicating to Constantius (on horseback) outside the City Fortification while a galley with Roman soldiers waits on the river Thames. The inscription REDDITOR LVCIS AETERNAE proclaims Constantius as the restorer of the eternal light (of Rome). The Treveri (Trier) mint mark (PTR) is in the exergue.

Bastien records the original (unique) coin as No. 218 in his book on the Arras Hoard and mentions that galvano copies were made and sold by the Paris coin dealer Bourgey. At a weight of 23.0 grams, I think the copy depicted here was cast in bronze from one of those galvano copies. There are numerous other copies in circulation - some bronze, others gold or silver. Following are obverse and reverse depictions with attribution information:

Original unique coin attribution: RIC VOLUME VI (Treveri) No. 34

FL VAL CONSTANTIVS NOBIL CAES ............. REDDITOR LVCIS AETERNAE
LON (right) PTR (exergue)

actual size of this coin copy

References and Resources

• BASTIEN, Pierre -- Les emissions de l'atelier de Lyon en 293 et 294, Pierre Bastien, Revue numismatique, 1959, Volume 6, Issue 2, pp. 75-111
• BASTIEN, Pierre -- L'emission _ de l'atelier de Lugdunum, Schweizer Munzabl_tter no. 50 (March 1964), p. 34-35.
• BASTIEN, Pierre -- Some comments on the coinage of the London Mint c.296, Numismatic Chronicle Ser. 7,
• THE ROMAN IMPERIAL COINAGE (RIC), Volume VI, Diocletian's reform (AD 294) to the death of Maximinus (AD 313), C. H. V. Sutherland, Spink & Son Ltd, London (1967) -- LUGDUNUM, pp229-231 and p243.
• IN PRAISE OF LATER ROMAN EMPERORS (The Panegyrici Latini), Rodgers, Barbara Saylor & C. E. V. Nixon, University of California Press, (1995) -- VIII, Panegyric of Constantius (with annotations and footnotes).

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