The Usurper Alexander of Carthage
Alexander of Carthage. Usurper, AD 308-310. Æ Follis (21mm, 5.03 g, 6h). Carthago (Carthage) mint. IMP ALEXANDER P [F AVG], laureate head right / S P Q R OPTIM[O PRINCIPI], legionary aquila between two vexilla; PK. RIC VI 72. VF, attractive green-brown patina, minor flan split. Very rare.
L. Domitius Alexander led a short-lived revolt against Maxentius from AD 308 to 311, holding Africa and Sardinia. There is little known about this usurper, but there is evidence in an inscription (CIL VIII, 22183) that he and Constantine allied themselves in opposition to Maxentius. P. Salama in “Recherches numismatiques sur l’usurpateur africain L. Domitius Alexander,” Proceedings of the International Numismatic Congress 1973, p. 365, note 2, suggests that at the latest, the pact was entered into by autumn of 310.
