Classical Numismatic Group, LLC
Auction 121 6-8 Oct 2022
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Gallienus. AD 253-268. AV Aureus (20mm, 4.04 g, 12h). Siscia mint. 3rd emission, AD 266-267. GALLIENVS AVG, laureate head right / AEQVITAS AVG, Aequitas standing facing, head left, holding scales in right hand and cornucopia cradled in left arm. RIC V.1 23 var. (Rome mint, bust type); MIR 36, 1423c (same dies); Calicó 3461 var. (Rome mint, bust type). Lustrous. In NGC encapsulation 6030426-005, graded MS, Strike: 4/5, Surface: 4/5. With a fine late portrait of Gallienus.
Ex Roma XXI (24 March 2021), lot 700; Roma XVIII (29 September 2019), lot 1210; Heritage 3071 (6 January 2019), lot 34115.
It is interesting that, as the economic and military crises of the third century worsened, the Romans chose different forms of debasement for their silver, bronze and gold currency to stretch their waning supply of precious metals. The traditional bronze denominations disappeared entirely, while the silver content of the denarius and its eventual replacement, the antoninianus, rapidly declined to less than 5%, with the remainder mainly copper. The gold coinage was kept essentially pure, rather than cut with silver as other cultures had done, but the aureus denomination declined precipitously in weight from the second century norm of 7.5 grams to less than a third of that weight at the depths of the crisis, circa AD 268. The weights of individual aurei struck during this period fluctuated so wildly that it appears they were essentially treated as bullion, with scales employed to weigh out a certain value as in pre-coinage days. This aureus, struck circa AD 266, weighs in at 4.04 grams, but a quick survey shows that other aurei struck from the same mint (Siscia), in the same time span, can weigh as little as 1.95 grams and as much as 4.75 grams.
Ex Roma XXI (24 March 2021), lot 700; Roma XVIII (29 September 2019), lot 1210; Heritage 3071 (6 January 2019), lot 34115.
It is interesting that, as the economic and military crises of the third century worsened, the Romans chose different forms of debasement for their silver, bronze and gold currency to stretch their waning supply of precious metals. The traditional bronze denominations disappeared entirely, while the silver content of the denarius and its eventual replacement, the antoninianus, rapidly declined to less than 5%, with the remainder mainly copper. The gold coinage was kept essentially pure, rather than cut with silver as other cultures had done, but the aureus denomination declined precipitously in weight from the second century norm of 7.5 grams to less than a third of that weight at the depths of the crisis, circa AD 268. The weights of individual aurei struck during this period fluctuated so wildly that it appears they were essentially treated as bullion, with scales employed to weigh out a certain value as in pre-coinage days. This aureus, struck circa AD 266, weighs in at 4.04 grams, but a quick survey shows that other aurei struck from the same mint (Siscia), in the same time span, can weigh as little as 1.95 grams and as much as 4.75 grams.