LICINIUS I
AD 308-324
AE Follis. 3.14g, 20.2mm
MINTED: Rome mint, AD 315-316
REF: RIC VII Rome 43 (R2)
OBVERSE: IMP LICINIVS P F AVG, laureate and cuirassed bust right.
REVERSE: SOLI INV-I-CTO COMITI, Sol radiate, standing left, chlamys across left shoulder, raising right hand and holding globe in left hand; C-S in fields, RT in exergue.

Grade/Notes:
Almost Extremely Fine.  Dark brown patina, bold portrait, well-centered.  
 
Historical Notes: 
Licinius was the son of a peasant family who, through his friendship with future emperor Galerius, was eventually appointed as Augustus in the West. In the final civil war that followed the collapse of the Tetrarchy (the period when the Roman Empire was ruled by four emperors), Licinius lost the struggle for supremacy against his great rival, Constantine the Great, and was put to death after a rule of 16 years.  Contemporary writers, eager to please the new sole Augustus of the empire, blackened the name and legacy of Licinius, painting him as a murderous, lustful, and envious pagan tyrant.