Roman Empire. Diocletianus, 284-305 AD. AE Follis 297 AD, 4 Emission / 2 Officina, Treveri (Trier) mint
Roman Empire. Diocletianus, 284-305 AD. AE Follis 297 AD, 4 Emission / 2 Officina, RIC 272a, Zschucke 57a, Bronze 30 mm, weight 7,87 g., Condition XF, attractive dark patina with silvery tones, glossy and sttractive specimen, very rare variety
Laurent bust on the right, IMP DIOCLETIANVS P AVG / Genius standing left, holding patera and cornucopia, aside letter B and star, GENIO POPV-LI ROMANI / TR
In the case of extremely rare large Follis from the fourth issue, Genius wears a different loincloth/band. Zschucke, a researcher on the subject, sees this as a short-lived attempt to change the reverse motif in favour of depictions of Genius of Nicomedia, which was abandoned after a short time.
However, the Genius with a loincloth became the dominant type of depiction during the reign of Constantine I (Zschucke 2000, p. 14).
