Argenteus (Coin) Portraying Emperor Diocletian (300, issued by Diocletian or Maximianus): Artwork and History

Argenteus (Coin) Portraying Emperor Diocletian (300, issued by Diocletian or Maximianus) is in the Art Institute of Chicago collection. The museum lists its creator attribution as Roman, possibly minted in Carthage.

The work and its context

The Art Institute of Chicago describes the work:

The front (obverse) of this coin portrays the head of emperor Diocletian, laureate and facing to the right. The back (reverse) depicts a laurel wreath and inscription. X C V I on the back refers to the reformed silver coinage after 295 CE. The inscription is for the number "96," meaning 96 silver coins to the pound was Diocletian's reformed currency. However, it was often struck well under that weight.

Object facts

• Title: Argenteus (Coin) Portraying Emperor Diocletian
• Date: 300, issued by Diocletian or Maximianus
• Artist attribution: Roman, possibly minted in Carthage
• Place of origin: Roman Empire
• Medium: Silver
• Dimensions: Diam.: 1.7 cm (11/16 in.)
• Type: Coin
• Department: Arts of Greece, Rome, and Byzantium
• Reference number: 1922.4901

Collection credit

Gift of Martin A. Ryerson

View the original

Explore the artwork in the Art Institute's collection, including its image and the museum's current catalogue details.

The description above is credited to the Art Institute of Chicago and reused under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0; HTML formatting has been converted to plain text. Other catalogue metadata and the public-domain image are provided under CC0 1.0.