Julian II. AD 360-363. AE Double Maiorina (27.5mm, 8.63 g, 6h). Sirmium mint, 1st officina. Struck AD 361-363. DN FL CL IVLI ANVS P F AVG, bearl-diademed, draped, and cuirassed bust right, with close beard / SECVRITAS REIPVB, Bull standing right; two stars above; *ASIRM(palm). RIC VIII 106; LRBC 1621. Attractive brown and green patina, traces of silvering. Choice EF.
Ex Liggett Collection.
One of Julian’s reforms was the introduction of a new coin of silvered bronze, sometimes termed a “double maiorina.” This remarkable piece, struck at the mint of Sirmium in modern Serbia, bears a striking portrait of Julian wearing a beard, much against the prevailing fashion of the day and an open expression of his adherence to the “old ways,” including Paganism. The reverse depiction of a sacrificial bull with two stars overhead, coupled with the legend evoking the “Security of the Republic,” probably alludes to the restoration of the old Roman religion as providing new strength and security to the state.
