Maximian (First reign), as Emperor, 286-305, Argenteus

Maximian, Argenteus, AR, first reign AD 286–305; struck at Carthage, c. AD 297–299; 3.29 g; 18 mm. Laureate head right with legend MAXIMIANVS AVG. Reverse with F ADVENT AVGG NN: Africa standing facing, head left, wearing elephant-skin headdress and drapery, holding standard in right hand and tusk in left; to left, lion with captured bull. Struck on the reformed argenteus standard of Diocletian’s coinage reform, with fabric and iconography characteristic of the Carthage issue. Reference: RIC VI Carthage 13b. Introduced under Diocletian’s reform around AD 294, the argenteus restored a high-fineness silver denomination at roughly 1/96 of the Roman pound. Carthage was reopened as a mint during Maximian’s African operations in AD 297–298, and this adventus type (legend expanding to FELIX ADVENTVS AVGG NN, “fortunate arrival of our emperors”) marks the presence of the Augusti and the reassertion of imperial control in the vital African grain provinces. The personification of Africa with elephant-skin headgear and the lion overpowering a bull are long-standing regional emblems, underscoring the mint’s identity and the political message of restored order and supply.