IMP C VAL LICIN LICINIVS P F AVG, laureate head right / IOVI CONS-ERVATORI AVGG, Jupiter standing half left, chlamys hanging from left shoulder, holding Victory on globe and sceptre; eagle with a wreath in its beak at foot left. A in right field. Mintmark SMHT. 22mm, 3.07 grams. Heraclea mint. RIC VI Heraclea 73; Sear 15240.

Licinius I (Gaius Valerius Licinianus Licinius) was a Roman emperor who ruled from 308 to 324 AD, primarily controlling the eastern part of the empire. Born around 263 AD in Moesia (modern-day Balkans), he rose through the ranks as a soldier and became a close ally of Emperor Galerius, who appointed him Augustus in 308. Licinius is best known for co-authoring the Edict of Milan in 313 AD with Constantine the Great, which granted religious tolerance throughout the empire and was a key milestone in the rise of Christianity.

Initially allied with Constantine through marriage to his sister Constantia, Licinius later came into conflict with him in a struggle for sole control of the empire. This culminated in a series of civil wars, ending with Licinius’s defeat at the Battle of Chrysopolis in 324 AD. Though initially spared, he was executed a year later, likely on charges of plotting rebellion. His rule marked a critical transitional period in Roman history, as the empire shifted toward Christian dominance and centralized power under Constantine.