Heritage World Coin Auctions
ANA Signature Sale 3094 19-20 Aug 2021
View prices realized
► Sale information
Find similar lots
Ancients
Gallienus, Sole Reign (AD 253-268). AV aureus (21mm, 4.04 gm, 1h). NGC MS 4/5 - 4/5. Siscia, ca. AD 260-262. GALLIENVS AVG, laureate head of Gallienus right, drapery over left shoulder / AEQVITAS AVG, Aequitas standing facing, head left, scales in right hand, cornucopia cradled in left. RIC V.I 23 var. (Rome, bust type). Calicó 3461 var. (same). MIR 1423c (same dies). Sharply struck handsome portrait with a halo of flashy luster.
From the Monaco Collection. Ex Roma Numismatics, Auction XXI (24 March 2021), lot 700; Heritage Auctions, Auction 3073 CSNS (25 April 2019), lot 30319
No Roman emperor is more undeservedly vilified than Gallienus, who spent his entire 15-year reign desperately fighting the forces of chaos and destruction that threatened the Empire's very existence. Publius Licinius Egnatius Gallienus was born circa AD 218-220, in the waning days of the Pax Romana-the "Roman Peace" which had endured for 250 years. His father, Valerian, seized the throne for himself in AD 253, and named Gallienus, then in his mid 30s, as co-emperor. Gallienus took charge of Roman forces in Gaul and the Balkans, while Valerian traveled East to combat a major Persian invasion. From AD 253-260, Gallienus fought furiously against continuous barbarian incursions along the crumbling Rhine and Danube frontiers. He won a smashing victory over the Alemanni in AD 259, but almost immediately thereafter came news that Valerian had been captured by the Persians and the entire Roman army of the East was annihilated. Gallienus had no time to ponder rescuing his father, for all hell broke loose in the following months. Roman generals revolted in Gaul, the Balkans, and Asia Minor, while barbarian raiders poured across the unprotected frontiers in destructive waves. Economic collapse, banditry, piracy, and pestilence followed in their wake as the Roman Empire fragmented and spiraled perilously close to oblivion. Still, Gallienus battled on doggedly, showing grit and ingenuity. His military reforms, including the creation of a large central cavalry reserve and the promotion of a tough new officer class from the Danubian provinces, were key to the eventual Roman recovery. His poetic pretensions, gender-bending wit and love of luxury earned him the disdain of Rome's upper classes. But he was tolerant and humane, and he won the respect of Christians by ending decades of persecution. In AD 268, he fell victim to a plot by the very Danubian officers he had raised to prominence.
https://coins.ha.com/itm/ancients/roman-imperial/ancients-gallienus-sole-reign-ad-253-268-av-aureus-21mm-404-gm-1h-ngc-ms-4-5-4-5/a/3094-32066.s?type=CoinArchives3094
HID02906262019
© 2020 Heritage Auctions | All Rights Reserved
Estimate: 5000-7000 USD
Gallienus, Sole Reign (AD 253-268). AV aureus (21mm, 4.04 gm, 1h). NGC MS 4/5 - 4/5. Siscia, ca. AD 260-262. GALLIENVS AVG, laureate head of Gallienus right, drapery over left shoulder / AEQVITAS AVG, Aequitas standing facing, head left, scales in right hand, cornucopia cradled in left. RIC V.I 23 var. (Rome, bust type). Calicó 3461 var. (same). MIR 1423c (same dies). Sharply struck handsome portrait with a halo of flashy luster.
From the Monaco Collection. Ex Roma Numismatics, Auction XXI (24 March 2021), lot 700; Heritage Auctions, Auction 3073 CSNS (25 April 2019), lot 30319
No Roman emperor is more undeservedly vilified than Gallienus, who spent his entire 15-year reign desperately fighting the forces of chaos and destruction that threatened the Empire's very existence. Publius Licinius Egnatius Gallienus was born circa AD 218-220, in the waning days of the Pax Romana-the "Roman Peace" which had endured for 250 years. His father, Valerian, seized the throne for himself in AD 253, and named Gallienus, then in his mid 30s, as co-emperor. Gallienus took charge of Roman forces in Gaul and the Balkans, while Valerian traveled East to combat a major Persian invasion. From AD 253-260, Gallienus fought furiously against continuous barbarian incursions along the crumbling Rhine and Danube frontiers. He won a smashing victory over the Alemanni in AD 259, but almost immediately thereafter came news that Valerian had been captured by the Persians and the entire Roman army of the East was annihilated. Gallienus had no time to ponder rescuing his father, for all hell broke loose in the following months. Roman generals revolted in Gaul, the Balkans, and Asia Minor, while barbarian raiders poured across the unprotected frontiers in destructive waves. Economic collapse, banditry, piracy, and pestilence followed in their wake as the Roman Empire fragmented and spiraled perilously close to oblivion. Still, Gallienus battled on doggedly, showing grit and ingenuity. His military reforms, including the creation of a large central cavalry reserve and the promotion of a tough new officer class from the Danubian provinces, were key to the eventual Roman recovery. His poetic pretensions, gender-bending wit and love of luxury earned him the disdain of Rome's upper classes. But he was tolerant and humane, and he won the respect of Christians by ending decades of persecution. In AD 268, he fell victim to a plot by the very Danubian officers he had raised to prominence.
https://coins.ha.com/itm/ancients/roman-imperial/ancients-gallienus-sole-reign-ad-253-268-av-aureus-21mm-404-gm-1h-ngc-ms-4-5-4-5/a/3094-32066.s?type=CoinArchives3094
HID02906262019
© 2020 Heritage Auctions | All Rights Reserved
Estimate: 5000-7000 USD