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It had all the setup for a storybook ending. After two action-packed decades serving on the imperial stage, the sagacious Diocletian and his sidekick, the pugnacious Maximian (c. 250–310 AD), did something no other Emperors had ever accomplished: they retired. In 305 AD, they abdicated to their respective luxurious estates. But while Diocletian contented himself with growing cabbages, Maximian seethed to get back into the fold.
When his son Maxentius usurped power in Rome in 306 AD, Maximian went back to work, (re)claiming the title of Augustus for a second reign. Despite his impressive credentials, Maximian's role as co-Emperor this time was supposedly junior since the rebellion had been led by his son. Evidently, that wasn't enough for Maximian, who turned on his own son in an attempt to reclaim supreme power. That attempt failed, however, and Maximian was forced to flee to the court of his son-in-law, Constantine, in Gaul.
At this point, the stable Tetrarchy had been torn to pieces. In 308 AD, the senior Emperor Galerius held an imperial conference at Carnuntum to settle the chaos. He invited the retired Diocletian as the guest of honor, trying to pressure him into a comeback. Diocletian steadfastly refused, limiting his role to advisor. Instead, a new structure was launched: Galerius remained the senior Augustus, appointing his nephew Maximinus II as Caesar; meanwhile Licinius was elevated directly to Augustus of the West, while Constantine was confirmed only as Caesar. And as for Maximian? He was forced to resign his titles and retire for a second time.
Predictably, Maximian took umbrage with the imperial restructuring. In 310 AD, he made a final grab for power. While Constantine was away fighting the Franks, Maximian saw an opening. He spread the falsehood that Constantine was dead, seized the treasury, and donned the purple for a third reign. He offered bribes to any troops that would support him, but it turned out that the loyalty of this new generation remained firmly with Constantine.
A highly displeased Constantine rushed back to the scene and caught his misbehaving father-in-law in the act. For the third time, Maximian was relinquished of his working titles. Not only that, but Constantine also ordered
damnatio memoriae, erasing Maximian’s name from inscriptions and destroying his statues. Most notably, this time Maximian was encouraged to commit suicide. Reportedly, Maximian complied, but it is not clear if he did so out of honor or because he preferred to die rather than live without the chance to wear the purple again.
This particular coin, struck at the Lugdunum mint in the summer of AD 307, provides a fascinating look at the political fine line Constantine walked during his father-in-law's second attempt at power. Struck while Maximian was an active player in the West, the coin’s legend is a masterpiece of political hedging. By using the dative case and the title S AVG, denoting the senior or elder Augustus, Constantine was technically honoring Maximian’s past status as a retired elder statesman rather than acknowledging his current acclamation as an active Augustus.
In this moment, Constantine was being the ultimate opportunist. He needed the dynastic weight of Maximian’s name to bolster his own shaky legitimacy, but he was careful not to fully validate a usurper whose presence might threaten his own eventual climb to supreme power. By honoring the senior/elder Augustus, Constantine found a way to respect old Roman traditions while strictly serving his own political purpose. It was a strategy he would perfect years later when, after Maximian’s suicide and
damnatio memoriae, he would once again rehabilitate the old warrior with honorary posthumous coins—but only when the political winds favored the restoration of his own family tree.
Coin Details: ROMAN EMPIRE, Maximian, AD 286- 310, as Senior Augustus (2nd reign), AD 307-310, Æ Follis (26mm, 8.15 g, 12h), Lugdunum (Lyon) mint, struck summer AD 307, NGC Grade: AU, Strike: 5/5, Surface: 4/5, Obverse: Laureate and cuirassed bust right, D N MAXIMIANO P F S AVG, Reverse: Genius standing left, holding cornucopia and sacrificing with patera over lighted altar to left, GENIO POP ROM, N to right, PLG in exergue, References: RIC VI 228; Lyon 404; ex Barry N. Rightman Collection, ex Bill Warden Collection.
Image: Sony ɑ 7R Ⅴ camera / Sony FE 90mm 2.8/100 Macro GM lens.