Time of Maximinus II, 310-313. 1/4 Follis (Bronze, 15 mm, 2.00 g, 11 h), Alexandria, circa 311-312. DEO SANCT-O SERAPIDI Draped bust of Serapis to right, wearing modius. Rev. DEO SANCTO NILO / ALE Nilus reclining left, leaning on hippopotamus, holding reed in his right hand and cornucopiae in his left; in field to left, A. CNG E-Auction 468 (2020), 577. Cohen VIII, p. 43, 3 ('Julian II'). Van Heesch 6b var. (officina A unrecorded). Very rare. An exceptionally well preserved example, very sharp and with a beautiful dark patina. Extremely fine.


This magnificent coin forms part of a broader series of fractional folles struck in Alexandria, Antioch and Nicomedia, which all show pagan deities, most likely in response to Christianity encroaching in the Roman East.