  |
|
||||||||
|
Obverse: IMP CARAVSIVS P F AVG, radiate, draped and cuirassed bust of emperor right. Reverse: PAX AVG, Pax standing left, holding olive branch and sceptre. Reference: RIC 880. Marcus Aurelius Mausaeus (?) Carausius, a native of the seafaring district of Menapia between the Rhine and the Scheldt, was appointed by the Emperor Maximian to command the ships of the British Channel Fleet (AD 286). His task was to combat the raids of the Saxon pirates who were causing devastation along the south-eastern coastline of the island province. However, he seems to have enjoyed a little piracy himself for he always confronted the raiders on their way back, laden with plunder, rather than preventing their inroads in the first place. When news of his activities got back to Maximian the emperor ordered his arrest and execution. Forewarned, Carausius countered by crossing to Britain where he proclaimed himself emperor and was hailed as the deliverer of the province. In AD 289 he thwarted an attempt by Maximian to dislodge him from his island stronghold and even extended his authority to parts of northern Gaul. With great audacity he issued coins in the names of the official emperors Diocletian and Maximian, styling himself their brother and colleague, and he was responsible for opening at least two mints in Britain which had never possessed such an establishment before. The principal mint was situated in the provincial capital of Londinium (London), but the precise location of the secondary mint remains controversial Ñ probably either Camulodunum (Colchester) or Clausentum (Bitterne). In AD 293 Carausius fell victim to the treachery of his own chief minister, Allectus, and three years later the rebellious province was recovered for the central government by the Caesar Constantius, father of Constantine the Great. This outstandingly well preserved antoninianus (double denarius) still exhibits most of its original silvering, which quickly wore off in circulation. The reverse features Pax, the goddess of Peace, the deity who appears most frequently on the Carausian coinage. Although lacking a mint mark this issue was almost certainly produced in London.
|
|
