Constantius I, as Caesar, 293-305, Argenteus

Constantius I (as Caesar), Argenteus, AR, AD 293–305; Carthage, c. AD 298–299; 3.32 g; 18 mm. Laureate head right; CONSTANTIVS CAES. Africa standing facing, head left, wearing elephant-skin headdress, draped, holding standard in right hand and tusk in left; to left, lion with captured bull; FEL ADVENT AVGG NN. Struck at the Carthage mint to the post-reform argenteus standard introduced under Diocletian. RIC VI Carthage 12a. Introduced by Diocletian around AD 294, the argenteus restored a high-fineness silver denomination of roughly 1/96 of a Roman pound; the Carthage mint began producing this denomination soon after. The FEL ADVENT AVGG NN series marked the formal arrival (adventus) of the Augusti in Africa during Maximian’s African campaign against the Quinquegentiani in AD 297–298, with companion issues for both Caesars, including Constantius. The reverse personification of Africa with elephant-skin headdress and the lion subduing a bull are provincial identifiers closely associated with the African mint and its civic imagery.