Numismatica Ars Classica
Auction 138 18-19 May 2023
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Gallienus 253 – 268.
Aureus, Samosata 255-256, AV 3.31 g. IMP C P LIC VALERIANVS AVG Laureate, draped, and cuirassed bust r. Rev. VICTORIAE – AVGG Victory in biga r. C –. RIC –. Göbl –. Calicó –. For a similar type cf., RIC 4 (Gallienus) and RIC 276 (Valerian I).
An apparently unrecorded issue of great interest and fascination. An unusual
and interesting portrait, a minor flan crack at eight o'clock on obverse,
otherwise extremely fine
Upon his assumption of the purple in AD 253, Valerian I immediately appointed his son Gallienus to be a second Augustus who could rule alongside him. In a move that prefigured the division of the Empire under Diocletian, Valerian I then established Gallienus to rule over the western provinces while he mounted a campaign against the Sasanian Persian Empire in the East. While marching eastwards, in AD 254 Valerian I and Gallienus repelled major invasions mounted by the Goths into Thrace and northern Greece and by the Marcomanni into Pannonia and northern Italy. For these victories father and son assumed the titles of Germanicus Maximus and Germanicus, respectively. Further victories against the Visigoths in AD 255 also caused Gallieneus to assume the title of Germanic Maximus. It is almost certainly these notable victories that are cited by the reverse legend of this unique aureus as the "Victories of the Augusti" since it was struck at the mint of Samosata in preparation for Valerian's Persian campaign. There were none in that conflict that could be shared by father and son since Gallienus remained in the West to deal with the problems of the Danube and Rhine frontiers, although Valerian I did reclaim Syria from the usurper Uranius Antoninus. Aurei with this reverse quadriga type and legend have long been known, this is the first specimen discovered to have paired it with the portrait of Gallienus. It is an expected piece, but one that has always been missing from published catalogues of the Valerianic dynasty. The image of Victory driving a quadriga is an old Roman type emblematic of triumph that extends back to the coinage of the Roman Republic. Unfortunately, despite the optimism expressed by this type for the war against the Persians on the basis of the recent military record of Valerian I and Gallienus, it turned out to be severely misplaced. Following a series of misadventures and serious defeats, in AD 260 Valerian I was captured alive by the Sasanian king Shapur I and may have suffered the indignity of being stuffed for use as a footstool after he died. At the same time that the disastrous Persian campaign was unfolding, Gallienus was facing his own series of calamities. In AD 257, Gallienus left his son and Caesar Valerian II at Sirmium as a means of projecting imperial authority along the Danube frontier while he marched west to deal with new Germanic invasions across the Rhine into Gaul. While Gallienus was distracted, Valerian II died under mysterious circumstances and the Pannonian governor Ingenuus raised the forces under his command in revolt. With the problems on the Rhine frontier still unresolved, Gallienus was forced to return to Pannonia to crush Ingenuus. The war against Ingenuus denuded the Rhine and Danube frontiers of defenders, resulting in a series of invasions by the Alemanni, Franks, and Juthungi that reached as far as Hispania and Italy. Gallienus was only able to defeat the Germanic invaders at Mediolanum (Milan) inAD 259 as they were withdrawing from Italy laden with plunder. Even this desperate victory came with a great cost. A dispute over the distribution of the spoils after a successful secondary action against the retreating Alemanni became the excuse for the commander Postumus to claim the title of Augustus and establish his own breakaway Gallic Empire. Two attempts to bring Postumus to heel failed and in AD 262 it became necessary to crush an uprising led by L. Mussius Aemilianus the prefect of Egypt. Amid this chaos, the Goths and Heruli crossed the Danube frontier and devastated much of mainland Greece before they were finally defeated at the Battle of Naissus (AD 268). Then, while Gallienus was focused on these troubles, a further revolt took place under the leadership of Aureolus, the cavalry commander at Mediolanum charged with guarding against Postumus. Gallienus marched against this new usurper and besieged Mediolanum in AD 269, but by this time the frustration and resentment of his generals had become too much to bear. During the siege the Emperor made the mistake of leaving his tent without his bodyguard and was murdered by his own commanders. It would seem that the victories of Valerian I and Gallienus celebrated by this aureus were almost as rare as the coin itself.
Aureus, Samosata 255-256, AV 3.31 g. IMP C P LIC VALERIANVS AVG Laureate, draped, and cuirassed bust r. Rev. VICTORIAE – AVGG Victory in biga r. C –. RIC –. Göbl –. Calicó –. For a similar type cf., RIC 4 (Gallienus) and RIC 276 (Valerian I).
An apparently unrecorded issue of great interest and fascination. An unusual
and interesting portrait, a minor flan crack at eight o'clock on obverse,
otherwise extremely fine
Upon his assumption of the purple in AD 253, Valerian I immediately appointed his son Gallienus to be a second Augustus who could rule alongside him. In a move that prefigured the division of the Empire under Diocletian, Valerian I then established Gallienus to rule over the western provinces while he mounted a campaign against the Sasanian Persian Empire in the East. While marching eastwards, in AD 254 Valerian I and Gallienus repelled major invasions mounted by the Goths into Thrace and northern Greece and by the Marcomanni into Pannonia and northern Italy. For these victories father and son assumed the titles of Germanicus Maximus and Germanicus, respectively. Further victories against the Visigoths in AD 255 also caused Gallieneus to assume the title of Germanic Maximus. It is almost certainly these notable victories that are cited by the reverse legend of this unique aureus as the "Victories of the Augusti" since it was struck at the mint of Samosata in preparation for Valerian's Persian campaign. There were none in that conflict that could be shared by father and son since Gallienus remained in the West to deal with the problems of the Danube and Rhine frontiers, although Valerian I did reclaim Syria from the usurper Uranius Antoninus. Aurei with this reverse quadriga type and legend have long been known, this is the first specimen discovered to have paired it with the portrait of Gallienus. It is an expected piece, but one that has always been missing from published catalogues of the Valerianic dynasty. The image of Victory driving a quadriga is an old Roman type emblematic of triumph that extends back to the coinage of the Roman Republic. Unfortunately, despite the optimism expressed by this type for the war against the Persians on the basis of the recent military record of Valerian I and Gallienus, it turned out to be severely misplaced. Following a series of misadventures and serious defeats, in AD 260 Valerian I was captured alive by the Sasanian king Shapur I and may have suffered the indignity of being stuffed for use as a footstool after he died. At the same time that the disastrous Persian campaign was unfolding, Gallienus was facing his own series of calamities. In AD 257, Gallienus left his son and Caesar Valerian II at Sirmium as a means of projecting imperial authority along the Danube frontier while he marched west to deal with new Germanic invasions across the Rhine into Gaul. While Gallienus was distracted, Valerian II died under mysterious circumstances and the Pannonian governor Ingenuus raised the forces under his command in revolt. With the problems on the Rhine frontier still unresolved, Gallienus was forced to return to Pannonia to crush Ingenuus. The war against Ingenuus denuded the Rhine and Danube frontiers of defenders, resulting in a series of invasions by the Alemanni, Franks, and Juthungi that reached as far as Hispania and Italy. Gallienus was only able to defeat the Germanic invaders at Mediolanum (Milan) inAD 259 as they were withdrawing from Italy laden with plunder. Even this desperate victory came with a great cost. A dispute over the distribution of the spoils after a successful secondary action against the retreating Alemanni became the excuse for the commander Postumus to claim the title of Augustus and establish his own breakaway Gallic Empire. Two attempts to bring Postumus to heel failed and in AD 262 it became necessary to crush an uprising led by L. Mussius Aemilianus the prefect of Egypt. Amid this chaos, the Goths and Heruli crossed the Danube frontier and devastated much of mainland Greece before they were finally defeated at the Battle of Naissus (AD 268). Then, while Gallienus was focused on these troubles, a further revolt took place under the leadership of Aureolus, the cavalry commander at Mediolanum charged with guarding against Postumus. Gallienus marched against this new usurper and besieged Mediolanum in AD 269, but by this time the frustration and resentment of his generals had become too much to bear. During the siege the Emperor made the mistake of leaving his tent without his bodyguard and was murdered by his own commanders. It would seem that the victories of Valerian I and Gallienus celebrated by this aureus were almost as rare as the coin itself.