How to Identify the Follis of Galerius

Start with the portrait and the name. A follis of Galerius shows a laureate head facing right in the heavy, blocky Tetrarchic style, wearing a laurel wreath rather than the spiked radiate crown of the earlier antoninianus. Read the legend around the edge and look for the name MAXIMIANVS preceded by GAL VAL, as in IMP C GAL VAL MAXIMIANVS P F AVG. This step matters because Galerius shared the name Maximianus with the western Augustus Maximian Herculius; the abbreviations GAL VAL (Galerius Valerius) are what separate the two, so never attribute from the portrait alone.

Check the fabric, size, and weight. A follis of about AD 308-310 is a fairly large bronze coin, roughly 24-27 mm across and generally around 6-8 grams, lighter than the heavy folles of the reform's first years in the 290s. Many examples keep patches of the original silvering as a pale grey film, while worn areas expose a brown or olive bronze surface beneath. Hand-struck irregularity, slightly off-centre legends, and small flan cracks are all normal for the period.

Use the reverse to attribute the type. The figure is a standing deity or personification whose identity is fixed by its attributes and legend, so read the two together. The most common Tetrarchic reverse is the Genius of the Roman People, a semi-nude male holding a patera from which he pours a libation and a cornucopia, under a legend such as GENIO POPVLI ROMANI or GENIO IMPERATORIS. Late issues can also show Sol, Providentia, or a similar figure. In the reverse field and exergue, look for the mint mark and officina letters, which place the coin to a specific mint such as Thessalonica, Serdica, Siscia, Heraclea, Nicomedia, Cyzicus, Antioch, or Rome and to a particular workshop.

Watch for look-alikes and check authenticity. Folles of the other Tetrarchs, including Diocletian, Maximian, Constantius, Severus II, Maximinus II, Licinius, and the early coins of Constantine, share the same laureate style, size, and Genius reverse, so the obverse name is decisive. Contemporary imitations and modern cast forgeries exist. Warning signs include a visible casting seam around the rim, a soft or granular surface, mismatched portrait and legend styles, bubbling or an unnaturally even, bright silvering, and weight or size well outside the expected range. For a coin bought as an investment, seek attribution from a specialist in late Roman coinage or a piece with reputable provenance.