temp. Maximinus II. AD 310-313. Æ (15mm, 1.61 g, 11h). “Persecution” issue. Antioch mint, 10th officina. Struck circa AD 312.

Electronic Auction 507
Lot: 571. Estimated: $ 100

Roman Imperial, Bronze

Sold For $ 130. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

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temp. Maximinus II. AD 310-313. Æ (15mm, 1.61 g, 11h). “Persecution” issue. Antioch mint, 10th officina. Struck circa AD 312. GENIO AN TIOCHENI, towered and draped Tyche of Antioch seated facing; below, river-god Orontes swimming / APOLLONI SANCTO, Apollo standing left, holding patera and lyre; –|I//SMA. Van Heesch, Last 3a; McAlee 170j; Vagi 2954. Brown surfaces, minor porosity. VF.

Following the death of Galerius in AD 311, his Caesar, Maximinus II, who had declared himself Augustus the previous year, took control of Asia Minor and the Levant. Apparently a strident persecutor of the Christian minority (Lactant. De mort. pers. 36-49; Euseb. Hist. eccl. 9), he was compelled under the dictates of the edict of toleration to relax the persecutions. At the same time, he was approached by embassies of various cities now under his control. Among these were delegations from the major cities of Nicomedia and Antioch, who requested that in no way should Christians be permitted to continue to live in their cities and districts. Antioch went so far as to erect a statue of Zeus Philios, which delivered oracles condemning the Christians (Euseb. Hist. eccl., op. cit.). Encouraged by this apparent groundswell of popular support, Maximinus personally appointed pagan priests and sent copies of a document relating the memoirs of Pontius Pilate (cf. Euseb. Hist. eccl., 2.2). He sentenced some of the most notable preachers in his districts to death. Possibly fearing repercussions from Constantine I and Licinius I, Maximinus unexpectedly rescinded his persecutions in December AD 312. Hoping to hold on following his defeat by Licinius in April AD 313, Maximinus in May AD 313 issued his own edict, restoring property and privileges to his Christian subjects. This did not, however, have the desired effect, for in July or August of that same year, after having again been defeated by Licinius, Maximinus died at Tarsus.

Closing Date and Time: 5 January 2022 at 13:10:00 ET.

All winning bids are subject to an 18% buyer’s fee.