Numismatica Ars Classica
Auction 135 21 Nov 2022
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The Roman Empire. Postumus, 260 – 269.
Aureus, Lugdunum 263, AV 6.14 g. POSTVMVS – PIVS AVG Laureate head r. Rev. P M TR P IMP V COS III P P Postumus seated l. on curule chair, holding globe in r. hand and sceptre in l. C 287. RIC 7. Schulte 67. Calicó 3767 (this reverse die).
Very rare. An interesting and attractive portrait of fine style struck on a very large flan.
Minor marks in field and on edge, otherwise extremely fine
Ex Leo Hamburger sale 96, 1932, 965.
In the chaos that enveloped the West during the mid- and later 3rd Century, resourceful generals were valued for their ability to spare their fellow Romans the horror of invasion, and were feared for their ability to inspire their legions – purposely or inadvertently – to rebellion. Such was the case in Germany and Gaul in the fall of 260, when a commander named Marcus Cassianius Latinius Postumus assumed the purple some months after news was received of the capture of Valerian I by the Sasanians. The position held by Postumus is not clear. He may have been a commander or a governor of one of the Germanies. The Historia Augusta describes him as "Transrhenani limitis dux et Galliae praeses" and Aurelius "Victor as barbaris per Galliam praesidebat". The claim in the Historia Augusta that he came to power with the assistance of his eponymous father is considered by most to be an invention typical of that source. Schulte's die study of Gallo-Roman gold reveals a complex and well-conceived series of issues under Postumus, spanning from the start of his revolt to at least early 269. Within nine of the 12 issues identified by Schulte there is significant die-linking, which may suggest each was produced in comparatively narrow time frames. The largest emissions seem to have occurred from the fall of 263 through the start of 264, and in the beginning of 268.
Aureus, Lugdunum 263, AV 6.14 g. POSTVMVS – PIVS AVG Laureate head r. Rev. P M TR P IMP V COS III P P Postumus seated l. on curule chair, holding globe in r. hand and sceptre in l. C 287. RIC 7. Schulte 67. Calicó 3767 (this reverse die).
Very rare. An interesting and attractive portrait of fine style struck on a very large flan.
Minor marks in field and on edge, otherwise extremely fine
Ex Leo Hamburger sale 96, 1932, 965.
In the chaos that enveloped the West during the mid- and later 3rd Century, resourceful generals were valued for their ability to spare their fellow Romans the horror of invasion, and were feared for their ability to inspire their legions – purposely or inadvertently – to rebellion. Such was the case in Germany and Gaul in the fall of 260, when a commander named Marcus Cassianius Latinius Postumus assumed the purple some months after news was received of the capture of Valerian I by the Sasanians. The position held by Postumus is not clear. He may have been a commander or a governor of one of the Germanies. The Historia Augusta describes him as "Transrhenani limitis dux et Galliae praeses" and Aurelius "Victor as barbaris per Galliam praesidebat". The claim in the Historia Augusta that he came to power with the assistance of his eponymous father is considered by most to be an invention typical of that source. Schulte's die study of Gallo-Roman gold reveals a complex and well-conceived series of issues under Postumus, spanning from the start of his revolt to at least early 269. Within nine of the 12 issues identified by Schulte there is significant die-linking, which may suggest each was produced in comparatively narrow time frames. The largest emissions seem to have occurred from the fall of 263 through the start of 264, and in the beginning of 268.