Argenteus (Coin) Portraying Emperor Diocletian

Arts of the Ancient Mediterranean and Byzantium

300, issued by Diocletian or Maximianus

Roman, possibly minted in Carthage

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.

Status: Currently Off View
Department: Arts of the Ancient Mediterranean and Byzantium

Culture: Ancient Roman
Title: Argenteus (Coin) Portraying Emperor Diocletian
Place: Roman Empire (Minted in)
Date Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.: 300 CE
Medium: Silver
Inscriptions: Obverse: DIOCLETIANVS AVG Reverse: X C V I
Dimensions: Diam.: 1.7 cm (11/16 in.)
Credit Line: Gift of Martin A. Ryerson
Reference Number: 1922.4901
IIIF Manifest The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world. Learn more.: https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/5721/manifest.json

Karen B. Alexander, “From Plaster to Stone: Ancient Art at the Art Institute of Chicago,” in Karen Manchester, Recasting the Past: Collecting and Presenting Antiquities at the Art Institute of Chicago (Chicago: Art Institute of Chicago; New Haven: Yale University Press, 2012), p. 29.
Theresa Gross-Diaz, “Cat. 69 Aureus (Postreform) Portraying Diocletian: Curatorial Entry,” in Roman Art at the Art Institute of Chicago (Art Institute of Chicago, 2016), para 3, footnote 4.
Theresa Gross-Diaz, “Cat. 70 Argenteus Portraying Diocletian: Curatorial Entry,” in Roman Art at the Art Institute of Chicago (Art Institute of Chicago, 2016).
https://publications.artic.edu/roman/reader/romanart/section/557

Martin A. Ryerson (1856-1932), Chicago; given to the Art Institute of Chicago, 1922.

Cat. 70 Argenteus (Coin) Portraying Emperor Diocletian, A.D. 300

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Date Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

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IIIF Manifest The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world. Learn more.

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IIIF Manifest The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world.

Learn more.