Denarius (Coin) Portraying Galerius Maximianus

307-310

Roman

The front (obverse) of this coin portrays the Emperor Galerius Maximianus facing right and wearing a crown of laurels. On the back (reverse) is a gate comprised of three towers.

The fourth century was a time of tremendous political, social, and religious strife within the Roman Empire, but the imagery on these coins tells a story of an unbroken chain of powerful rulers. Diocletian (reigned 284–305) enacted a series of administrative, military, and monetary reforms that brought an end to the chaos of the third century. He divided the vast empire into western and eastern halves and assigned their administration to
four men, the Tetrarchy. Galerius was one of these four men (called tetrarchs) who together ruled the Roman Empire at this time. Each half was governed by two tetrarchs, one senior and one junior in status. Portraits of these rulers are generic-looking, without individualized features, to reinforce the unity of their joint rule.

Status: On View, Gallery 153
Department: Arts of the Ancient Mediterranean and Byzantium

Culture: Ancient Roman
Title: Denarius (Coin) Portraying Galerius Maximianus
Place: Rome (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.: 307 CE–310 CE
Medium: Silver
Inscriptions: Obverse: IMP MAXIMIANUS P F AVG Reverse: VIRTVS MILITVM
Dimensions: Diam.: 1.9 cm (3/4 in.)
Credit Line: Gift of Martin A. Ryerson
Reference Number: 1922.4902
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/96051/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.

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

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