I'm pleased to share two
superb antoninianii depicting a figure of some fascination for me,
Tacitus.
Tacitus was an accomplished politician nearing the end of
his life when the Senate offered him the top job, eight months after the assassination of
Aurelian.
Tacitus hesitated to take up the imperial mantle, presumably aware of
his age and the ignominious fates that
had befallen most of
his predecessors. He nevertheless accepted the job out of a sense of duty in September 275 and set about restoring power to the Senate. Alas, this was not to last.
Tacitus and
his brother
Florian were called east to deal with rebellious tribes (earning the title
Gothicus Maximus in the process; a title preserved on some coins). On the return journey, the aged
Tacitus expired of a fever (although as usual, some suspected foul play). He
had survived imperial power for less than six months.
In my view, the portraiture of
Tacitus is an interesting moment in
Roman art. Seemingly abandoning the abstracted and heroic portraiture of
his predecessor
Aurelian, there is a sudden spasm of realism.
Tacitus is depicted as he was: an elderly, slightly overweight politician. To be sure,
his coins are
still trying to project power and authority. But
his frailties are also present in a way that never seems to be depicted on
Roman coins again. The author of
RIC V describes the
portraits minted at
Lugdunum as "pleasant, homely" and notes that the early coins minted at
Ticinum show an emperor "whose forehead is generally low, with a flat
head, and often a weak, receding chin. These faults were
corrected under
Florian, whose
portrait is virile and warlike..."
I present for your enjoyment my two recent acquisitions: one from
Ticinum and the other from
Lugdunum. Both show the realism I mention above, although it's more present in the
Lugdunum example.
1.
Tacitus Antoninianus - (22mm, 4.08 g, 12h) -
Ticinum mint, 5th
officina. 2nd emission, early-mid AD 276.
Radiate, draped, and
cuirassed bust right /
Securitas standing left with legs
cross, leaning on
column, and resting hand on
head; U.
RIC V 163; BN 1708-9. Reddish-brown
patina, minor
porosity, traces of
silvering. Near EF.
2.
Tacitus Antoninianus - (23mm, 3.72 g, 6h) -
Lugdunum (
Lyon)
mint, 1st
officina. 5th emission, March-April AD 276.
Radiate, draped, and
cuirassed bust right /
Felicitas standing left, holding long
caduceus and
cornucopia; AA//–.
RIC V 65; BN 1463-7;
Lyon 78.
Toned silvering.
Good VF.
Post your best
Tacitus portrait!
Evan