Owner Comments:
This coin bears the obverse inscription D N FL VICTOR P F AVG, attributing it to "our lord, the pious and felicitous Augustus Flavius Victor" (died 388 AD). When his political and military career launched, Flavius Victor’s father, Magnus Maximus, was considered a usurper. However, Maximus swiftly rose in power, earning acknowledgment as Western Roman Emperor over Britannia, Gaul, Spain, and Africa. His popularity and ambition grew to the point that in 387 AD, he wrested control of Italy from its official Emperor, Valentinian II. At that climax of his power, Maximus declared his son co-Augustus and spread the word on coinage issued from mints under his newly expanded control, including Aquileia, Italy, where this specific bronze piece was struck. Owing to his exceedingly brief reign (387–388 AD), Flavius Victor’s coinage is scarce, particularly in higher grades of preservation such as this example.
Although the obverse pearl-diademed, draped, and cuirassed bust suggests that Flavius Victor was a young man, historical sources indicate he may have been only an infant or a very young child. Infant or not, Flavius Victor held promise as a future leader for Rome — a sentiment explicitly advertised by the reverse inscription, SPES ROMANORVM, or "the hope of the Romans." The coin’s reverse also depicts a camp gate with two turrets, surmounted by a prominent star. These camp gate turrets may have actually represented signal beacons or braziers, providing a mechanism for line-of-sight communication between Roman military camps. Crucially, the camp gate and star motif was a hallmark of the coins of Constantine’s descendants. By utilizing this imagery, Maximus was visually cementing their dynasty. Interestingly, it is highly possible that Flavius Victor was the very last Constantinian dynast to hold the title of a Roman Emperor.
At the time this coin was struck, Magnus Maximus had successfully driven Valentinian II out of Italy. The deposed Augustus sought refuge and assistance from his ally in Constantinople, the Eastern Augustus Theodosius I. This turbulent power struggle is directly reflected in the era's ancient coinage. It is intriguing to note that while some of Maximus’s earlier coinage acknowledges the presence of multiple Augusti (with obverse inscriptions ending in AVGG or AVGGG to denote two or three co-rulers), much of his later coinage — and perhaps all issues struck in Flavius Victor’s name — only denotes one Augustus (ending simply in AVG).
Ultimately, Theodosius I took strong exception to Maximus's Italian land grab and mobilized Constantinople’s forces to return Italy to Valentinian II. Reportedly, the defeated Maximus begged for mercy but did not receive it. Soon thereafter, Flavius Victor also met his demise; the young dynast was tracked down in Gaul and strangled by Arbogast, one of Theodosius's trusted generals, permanently extinguishing the hope of the Romans.
Coin Details: WESTERN ROMAN EMPIRE, Flavius Victor, AD 387-388, Æ4 (Nummus) (13mm, 1.11 g, 11h), Aquileia mint, 1st officina, NGC Grade: AU, Strike: 5/5, Surface: 4/5, Obverse: Pearl-diademed, draped, and cuirassed bust right, D N FL VICTOR P F AVG, Reverse: Camp gate with two turrets, star above, SPES ROMANORVM, SMAQP in exergue, References: RIC IX 55b.1; LRBC 1104.
Image: NGC PhotoVision Plus.