Carausius, Romano-British Emperor, 286-293. Antoninianus (Bronze, 23 mm, 4.01 g, 7 h), 'C' mint (Camulodunum?), 287-289. IMP CARAVSIVS P AVG Radiate, draped and cuirassed bust of Carausius to right. Rev. GENIO [B]RITANNI / C Genius standing front, head to left, holding patera over lighted altar in his right hand and cornucopiae in his left. Cohen -. H. -. RIC 240. Webb 293. Extremely rare and of great historical importance. Some traces of corrosion and minor flatness and the reverse struck slightly off center, otherwise, very fine.



For a usurper like Carausius, who established his rule in Britain, few reverse inscriptions could be more fitting than GENIO BRITANNI, which appears on this exceptionally rare and remarkable coin. Like many of Carausius' coins, this antoninianus draws on earlier models, particularly the GEN(...) ILLYRICI coins of Trajan Decius and Aurelian. Yet these models were not merely imitated; rather, the legend referencing Illyricum on the coins of earlier emperors was adapted to reflect the usurper's domain: Britain. This adaptation makes it the earliest coin to portray Britain not as a subjugated or dependent Roman province but, through the celebration of its Genius (the spirit), as a de facto 'independent' realm - a Brexit of the island from Rome, so to say.

Although Carausius undoubtedly saw himself as a Roman emperor rather than the founder of an independent British realm, early commentators like the great 18th-century British historian, Edward Gibbon, saw in him a precursor to future British naval power, or the 'first British naval supremacy': 'Under his command, Britain, destined in a future age to obtain the empire of the sea, already assumed its natural and respectable station of a maritime power', although he added in a footnote, 'As a great number of medals [i.e., coins] of Carausius are still preserved, he has become a very favorite object of antiquarian curiosity, and every circumstance of his life and actions has been investigated with sagacious accuracy. Dr. Stukely [William Stukely, 1687-1765] in particular has devoted a large volume to the British emperor. I have used his materials, and rejected most of his fanciful conjectures [sic!]' (E. Gibbon: The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Vol II. London 1781, p. 126).

Gibbon's remarks reflect the spirit of a rising maritime power that would, after the brutal Napoleonic Wars, go on to achieve global dominance for more than a century, encapsulated in the phrase, 'Britain rules the waves!'. That quarter-century-long struggle against Napoleon’s vastly larger continental empire provided a rich parallel for the heirs of Cape St. Vincent, Abukir, and Trafalgar, who, in the 19th century especially, viewed Carausius’ fight against the Roman central empire in the late 3rd century as an early precursor to their own battles against mainland European hegemony.

Ultimately, this remarkable coin type is one of the great rarities of Carausius' coinage. It originates from the recently auctioned collection of Dr. Malcolm Lyne (and previously that of Dr. J. S. Vogelaar). Amid the sheer volume of coins offered and the lack of historical context provided, it passed somewhat unnoticed. Roman coins featuring the Genius rarely draw significant attention, but on closer examination, with its nearly complete inscription, [B]RITANNI, the profound historical significance of this piece becomes clear.