TYPE Roman Empire, Maxentius (306-312 AD), copper-billon follis (3% silver) 25mm, struck 308-11 AD, Ostia (port of Rome) mint, 7.03g DESCRIPTION . Obv: Laureate head of Maxentius to right; legend: IMP C MAXENTIVS PF AVG Rev: The Dioscuri (Castor and Pollux), each holding long spear and horse by bridle, she-wolf suckling Romulus and Remus in between, legend: AETERNITAS AVG N, MOSTB in exergue REFERENCE: SR 3776 GRADING: VF, slightly uneven strike, chocolate brown patina, scarce reverse and mint ORDER INFO: R1328, $70 Maxentius, the losing foe of Constantine the Great at the fateful battle following the latter's Christian revelation, survived for years as a pretender to the throne in the aftermath of the crumbling tetrarchy. He appealed to the resentment of many people in Rome itself, which saw its importance (irreversibly, however) drop during the Tetrarchy. The reverse devices here - the Dioscuri, mostly absent from coinage since Republican times, and the legendary founders of Rome - are in line with his propaganda theme. Ostia - the Mediterranean port of Rome - is a scarce mint, as it was used for less than five years.