Nomos AG
obolos 27 21 Mar 2023
View prices realized
► Sale information
Find similar lots
Regalianus, usurper, 260. Antoninianus (Silver, 19 mm, 2.36 g, 12 h), Carnuntum. IMP C P C REGALIANVS AVG Radiate, draped, and cuirassed bust of Regalianus to right. Rev. PROVIDENTIA AVGG Providentia standing facing, head turned to left, holding grain ears with right hand and cornucopia with left; to left, modius filled with grain ears. MIR 43, 1714. RIC V, 8 corr. (reverse legend wrongly described as PROVIDENTIA AVG). RSC 5. Extremely rare and with an exceptionally well struck portrait of this usurper; a coin with a slightly more complete flan, but with a much worse portrait was sold in CNG 118 (2021) for USD 16,000. Somewhat rough surfaces, usual traces of overstriking and edge chip. Good very fine.
Very little is known about P. C. Regalianus. It is not even certain what the letters 'P. C.' stand for. Publius Cassius, Publius Cornelius, Publius Claudius, and Publius Gaius have been proposed over the years. As the literary sources provide no further clue, we cannot solve that question from the evidence on his rare coins alone. It seems certain that Regalianus was a high ranking officer in Pannonia, maybe he was governor of Pannonia Superior, based in Carnuntum, the capital of that province. At some point during the reign of Gallienus, most probably in 260, he was acclaimed emperor by his soldiers, the legionaries of LEGIO XIII Gemina Martia Victrix, which was stationed on the Danubian border. His short reign as usurper ended after a few months. Exactly how we dont know. Several options have been expressed - killed in action during a raid by the Roxolani tribe from the other side of the border, murdered by his own men, or defeated by troops of the 'regular' regime. Even today, Regalianus remains one of most enigmatic usurpers from the period of the Crisis of the Third Century.
A note on this type in RIC:
P.H. Webb writes in the Preface to RIC V: When I visited Vienna in 1922 there was no Roman specialist on the Museum staff, and it was therefore impossible at the time to establish that co-operation between Vienna and London which can normally be relied on [...]. Maybe the misreading of the reverse legend of this typie in RIC can be contributed to this fact. Regalianus was based in Carnuntum, a mere 30km outside of Vienna, and several of the better preserved coins are kept in the Münzkabinett of the Kunsthistorisches Museum.
Very little is known about P. C. Regalianus. It is not even certain what the letters 'P. C.' stand for. Publius Cassius, Publius Cornelius, Publius Claudius, and Publius Gaius have been proposed over the years. As the literary sources provide no further clue, we cannot solve that question from the evidence on his rare coins alone. It seems certain that Regalianus was a high ranking officer in Pannonia, maybe he was governor of Pannonia Superior, based in Carnuntum, the capital of that province. At some point during the reign of Gallienus, most probably in 260, he was acclaimed emperor by his soldiers, the legionaries of LEGIO XIII Gemina Martia Victrix, which was stationed on the Danubian border. His short reign as usurper ended after a few months. Exactly how we dont know. Several options have been expressed - killed in action during a raid by the Roxolani tribe from the other side of the border, murdered by his own men, or defeated by troops of the 'regular' regime. Even today, Regalianus remains one of most enigmatic usurpers from the period of the Crisis of the Third Century.
A note on this type in RIC:
P.H. Webb writes in the Preface to RIC V: When I visited Vienna in 1922 there was no Roman specialist on the Museum staff, and it was therefore impossible at the time to establish that co-operation between Vienna and London which can normally be relied on [...]. Maybe the misreading of the reverse legend of this typie in RIC can be contributed to this fact. Regalianus was based in Carnuntum, a mere 30km outside of Vienna, and several of the better preserved coins are kept in the Münzkabinett of the Kunsthistorisches Museum.