LIVE from the World's Fair of Money® – Silver Coinage of the Tetrarchy: All Hail the Argenteus!
August 8, 12pm MT
Diocletian is famous for many accomplishments, one of which was the creation of the Tetrarchy. Another was the resurrection of high quality silver coins in the form of the Argenteus. Why? What was the emperor thinking? This presentation explores this question and examines the history and purpose behind the coin. The Argenteus was not only a surprising pivot back to the silver coinage of old, but it signaled an interesting shift in the art and portraiture of Roman coins. For the collector, though, the Argenteus presents a confusing array of types, mints, and rarities. This presentation will attempt to bring some order to the chaos and hopefully ignite renewed appreciation and respect for this often underappreciated coin.
Kirk Van Brunt, a lifelong collector of ancient coins, is the owner of Argenteus Rare Coins, which specializes in Roman and Greek coinage. Since his graduate school days in early Christian history, he has possessed an abiding passion for all things Diocletian and a fascination with his impact on the history of the Roman empire and the Christian church. In addition to numismatics, Kirk is a writer and recently signed a book deal with Penguin Random House Canada for his forthcoming novel.