60, Lot: 140. Estimate $200. Sold for $195. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

GALLIENUS. 253-268 AD. Antoninianus (21mm, 2.61 gm). Mediolanum (Milan) mint. Struck 258 AD. Radiate and cuirassed bust right / LEG I MIN VI P VI F, Minerva standing left, holding Victory, spear, and shield. RIC V 322; MIR 36, 988n; RSC 459a. Toned, good VF, reverse die rust, light porosity. Rare.

According to the author of the Historia Augusta, the reign of Gallienus represented one of the lowest points in Roman imperial history. Although faced by no less than thirty different usurpers, including the Gallic emperors and Zenobia, the emperor was reputed to have spent his time instead writing poetry and sleeping on a rose-covered bed. While modern historical interpretation has taken a less hostile view, it is nevertheless clear that the Gallienus' relationship with the legions was an important one; hence this commemorative series. Unfortunately, it was this need to support the military that contributed to the financial crisis of the mid-third century.