LICINIUS I GOLD AUREUS – RIC UNLISTED AND SEEMINGLY UNPUBLISHED EMISSION FROM THESSALONICA – MINT STATE NGC GRADED ROMAN IMPERIAL COIN (Inv. 13458)

ROMAN EMPIRE. LICINIUS I, AD 308-324.
Gold aureus, 5.02 g, 20 mm. Issue of Thessalonica, ca. AD 310-311.
Obv. LICINIVS AVGVSTVS, laureate head right.
Rev. IOVI CONSERVATORI AVGG, Jupiter standing left, holding Victory on globe, eagle with wreath at his feet, •TS•Γ• in exergue.
RIC unlisted, but cf. RIC VI, 3 (an issue of Diocletian, with similar types and exergue formula, but different control letter); Calicó -, cf 5121 (Zeus with thunderbolt, different renderings of mint markings and controls).
Ex Roma XXIII, 3/24/2022, 1077 = Vilmar Numismatics, Fixed Price List I, lot 126 = Künker 304, 3/19/2018, lot 1362 = Gorny & Mosch Giessener Münzhandlung 79, 10/14/1996, lot 706.
NGC graded MINT STATE, Strike 5/5, Surface 3/5, possibly unique and seemingly unpublished variety of Licinius from Thessalonica. Accoring to RIC, the arrangement of the mint designation (TS) and officina (Γ) parallels that of Thessalonica group I, where Diocletian used the same types that later were employed for Licinius. The obverse titulature, with AVGVSTVS spelled out in full, is characteristic of Group IV, although the authors acknowledge the possibility that this variety belongs with Group III (pp. 506, note 1 and p. 507, note 1). The present piece makes use of features of Group I and IV suggesting that it belongs with Group III which otherwise has no gold assigned to it.