126, Lot: 358. Estimate $300. Sold for $310. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

EUGENIUS. 392-394 AD. Æ 14mm (1.06 g, 11h). Aquileia mint(?). Struck 393-394 AD. Diademed, draped, cuirassed and bearded bust right / Victory advancing left, holding wreath and palm; [AQP?]. Cf. RIC IX 59 I; cf. Paolucci 805; cf. LRBC 1108. VF/Fine, reverse porosity, strong portrait. Very Rare. Unfortunately, the illegibility of the mintmark leaves attribution to mint uncertain. The style is like that of Aquileia.

Arbogast, Theodosius I's Master of Soldiers, created Flavius Eugenius, a teacher of grammar and rhetoric, Augustus in an attempt to assert his own independence in the west. Whether Eugenius actually had a beard or whether the beard just reflected his sympathy for the old religions, his coins were among the few instances in late Roman history to attempt to portray the emperor as an individual. Eugenius made every effort to gain recognition by Theodosius. He struck in Theodosius', Arcadius' and even Honorius' name, but Theodosius, a very devout and intolerant Christian, refused to accept him. Finally, in 394 AD, a battle was fought on the river Frigidus near Aquileia. Eugenius was defeated and killed, while Arbogast commited suicide.