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Carausius. Romano-British Emperor, AD 286-293. AR Denarius (17mm, 2.82 g, 9h). ‘RSR’ mint. IMP CARAVSIVS P F AV, laureate, draped, and cuirassed bust right / [...]OVATIO AVG, She-wolf standing right, head facing, suckling the twins (Romulus and Remus); RSR. RIC V.5 125 (forthcoming; this coin noted); cf. RIC V 573 (for similar issue); cf. Shiel p. 113, 80a (same); cf. RSC 91 (same). Toned, find patina, reverse somewhat off center, slight roughness. Good VF. Unique. Only this coin noted in RIC V.5.
From the Dr. Malcolm Lyne Collection, purchased from Baldwin’s, 22 February 2012.
Sir Arthur Evans suggested in 1928 that the ‘RSR’ mark in the exergue “[can] be explained as R[ationalis], S[ummae] R[ei] rather than a local mint mark” (as cited in Shiel 1977). Shiel followed Evans’ explanation and suggested that “one would expect to find such an officer based at the administrative centre of the area concerned, in this case London, and so the denarii ... must have been produced there also” (Shiel, 98).
Alternatively, Guy de la Bédoyère proposed a more literary explanation for the three letters in his article "Carausius and the Marks RSR and I.N.P.C.D.A." in NC 1998. His explanation draws upon the enigmatic letters INPCDA found on a pair of large bronze Carausius medallions and extrapolates from the two sets of exergual letters that they are a reference to a passage from Virgil’s Ecologues iv.6-7 which reads “Redeunt Saturnia Regna, Iam Nova Progenies Caelo Demittitur Alto” (de la Bédoyère, 82). De la Bédoyère suggests that perhaps at the least the RSR-marked silver denarii of Carausius were likely not intended for widespread general circulation but were instead donatives for the state’s elite (ibid, 85). The substantial weight of the denarii and their metal quality lends some credence to this hypothesis. Both Evans’ and de la Bédoyère’s explanations are offered here for this intriguing and artistic series.
The final winners of all CNG Feature Auction 126 lots will be determined during the live online sale that will be held on 28-29 May 2024. This lot is in Session Three, which will begin 29 May at 9 AM ET.
Winning bids are subject to a 22.5% buyer's fee for bids placed on this website and 25% for all others.
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