Constantine I. As Filius Augustorum, AD 309-310. Æ Follis (23mm, 6.65 g, 12h). Alexandria mint, 1st officina. Struck late AD 308-310. Laureate head right / Genius standing left, holding patera from which liquor flows and cornucopia; K|A/P//ALE. RIC VI 100b. Dark brown patina, minor pitting. Good VF.
From the Tony Holmes Collection.
This follis was struck while Constantine was recognized by Galerius and Maximinus II Daia with the novel title Filius Augustorum. Galerius had offered this title to Constantine and Maximinus after the conference of Carnuntum in November AD 308, but both rejected it for themselves. For Constantine, it was a demotion, as he had already claimed the title Augustus in AD 307, while Maximinus thought he deserved elevation to Augustus following the death of Severus II, and the new title was below that rank. Constantine, seemingly seeking to show a unified front and sow division between Galerius and his Caesar, named both himself and Maximinus as Augustus on the coinage struck at his western mints. Maximinus, however, had no interest in appeasing Constantine and took the middle route, naming himself Augustus but Constantine Filius Augustorum at his mints, which included Alexandria, where this coin was struck. Eventually, in AD 310, Galerius relented, and recognized both of them as holding the rank of Augustus.