Faustus Albinus Basilius Junior, praefectus urbi, circa 530/40-546. Tessera Monumentorum (Bronze with raised Silver band, 19 mm, 3.23 g, 12 h), with his father, Faustus Albinus. SALVIS DD / NN•ALBI/NVS FECIT in three lines inscribed on raised silver band. Rev. SALVIS DD NN / BASILIVS REPARAVIT in three lines inscribed on raised silver band. K. L. Elvers: Zwei neue sog. tesserae monumentorum im Archäologischen Museum der Westfälischen Wilhelms-Universität Münster und in westfälischem Privatbesitz: Mit einem Katalog der bekannten Exemplare, in: Boreas 34 (2011), 17a = M. Kulikowski: Urban Prefects in Bronze, in: JNLA 10.1 (2017), C1. Very rare exceptionally well preserved. Light scratches and corrosion, otherwise, good very fine.


The identification of Albinus and Basilius is one of the great puzzles of the Tesserae Monumentorum, largely due to the commonality of their names. Basilius has long been equated with Fl. Caecina Decius Basilius, who served as Praetorian Prefect under Majorian and Libius Severus (see Lot 512 above) and was consul in 463. Since the Tesserae state that Basilius restored what Albinus had built, we would need to place the latter in the first half of the 5th century. However, Kulikowski has recently proposed identifying Albinus with Faustus Albinus, who held the consulship in 493 and served as Praetorian Prefect of Italy under Theoderic around 500.

As for Basilius, Kulikowski identifies him as Anicius Faustus Albinus Basilius Junior (PLRE 3: 174-5), the last ordinary consul in Roman history, before Justinian largely abolished the office. Afterward, only emperors up to Heraclius held the consulship once, at the start of their reigns. Basilius held the consulship in 541 and fled Rome in 546, along with Rufius Petronius Nicomachus Cethegus (PLRE 2: 281-2), the president of the Senate (who had been consul in 504), Decius (who had been consul in 529), and the general Bessas, when the Ostrogothic king Totila captured and looted the city. The Liber Pontificalis also reports that Justinian I honored these consular refugees by welcoming them to Constantinople. Kulikowski further suggests that this Basilius may have been the son of Faustus Albinus, and that he could have been responsible for restoring (REPARAVIT) a building (FECIT) constructed by his father.

If this theory is correct, then this tessera encapsulates a fascinating story of a senatorial family during the tumultuous period of Late Antiquity: the father served as consul under the Ostrogothic kingdom, and likely as city prefect of Rome, where he built a structure. Decades later, his son restored it, became the last ordinary consul in Roman history, and was soon driven from Rome by Totila.