From the Collection of Sir Arthur Evans

Sale: Triton XIII, Lot: 338. Estimate $5000.  Closing Date: Monday, 4 January 2010.  Sold For $4500. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

Gallienus. AD 253-268. AR Medallion (12.03 g, 12h). Rome mint. 8th emission, AD 263-265. G ALLIENVM AVG P R, laureate, draped, and cuirassed bust left, seen from behind, holding shield in left hand and spear in right / OB CONSERVATIONEM SALVTIS, Salus standing facing, head lowered right, feeding serpent held in both arms. Cf. RIC V 144; Gnecchi 23 and pl. 27, 3 (same dies); MIR 36, 563a (this medallion illustrated); Cohen 673 (300 fr.); RSC 673 var. (bust type). Good VF, heavy find patina, minor smoothing. The silver visible at the highest points. Extremely rare.

From the White Mountain Collection. Ex Numismatica Ars Classica 18 (29 March 2000), lot 681; Sir Arthur J. Evans Collection (Ars Classica XVII, 30 October 1934), lot 1744.

At the time this magnificent silver medallion was struck, the Roman Empire had been through one of the worst periods in its history. The Alamanni and Franks were invading across the Rhine Frontier, another group of Alamanni and the Juthungi were invading across the Danube Frontier, Gothic tribes were raiding the coastlines of the Black Sea and Aegean, and the Sasanians were attacking the eastern parts of the Empire. At the same time, the dire military situation caused internal dissent, which gave rise to a number of revolts: Ingenuus and Regalianus were proclaimed emperor by their troops in the region of Pannonia, the center of the Empire, while the Macriani revolted in Syria. The most significant revolt occurred in the West, where, after being proclaimed emperor following a victory over the barbarians, a Roman commander on the Rhine, Postumus, declared the creation of a Gallic Empire, which encompassed all of Roman Gaul, Britain, and Spain. This revolt led to the assassination of Gallienus' son, Saloninus, and the Praetorian Prefect Silvanus at Cologne. The most significant blow to the Empire, though, was the loss of the vigorous emperor, and Gallienus' father, Valerian I, who had been captured by the Sasanians while campaigning in the East in AD 260.

The Roman world seemed to be falling apart, and Gallienus, whom Valerian left to deal with threats in the West, stood alone. Nevertheless, he proved to be an innovative and adaptive leader. The eastern threat was diminished with the rise of the formidable Palmyrene ally of Rome, Odenathus, who defeated the Sasanians and secured the frontier. This left Gallienus only the threats posed by the Gallic Empire and the invasions across the Danubian Frontier. Gallienus organized a mobile cavalry force, based in Mediolanum, that could be quickly dispatched to deal with threats along the borders in the West. Another military innovation was his exclusion of any senator from military high command. Thus, the armies would be headed by skilled military men, who also hopefully would be less politically aspirational. Gallienus also established a variety of mints near the frontiers so that cash was readily available to fund any operations the Romans would undertake. By AD 265, Gallienus was in a position to begin tackling Rome's many external threats.

As he had not yet begun his military campaigns, it is likely that this medallion was struck in the hope of Gallienus' success. The military character of the obverse is an overt reference to the emperor as the commander of Rome's armed forces, while the reverse shows Salus, who was often invoked to cure the ills of the empire. The inscription of the obverse and reverse are read together, 'For Gallienus Augustus (by) the Roman People / On account of the complete restoration of health,' clearly indicating the hopeful nature of this issue: the people give this medallion for the emperor, who will return the empire to its healthy state.