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Gallienus
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When Valerian I, Gallienus' father, took power in 253, he sems to have realised the difficulties of his position. The empire was under attack all round, and one man alone could not defend the frontier. If he gave another general enough troops to be effective, the inevitable result, given the political instability of the period, would be a coup attempt and the associated civil war. In order to avoid this, he appointed Gallienus co-emperor, and gave him responsibility for the defence of the west. This seems to have worked until Valerian's capture by the Persians in 260.
This left Gallienus in an impossible situation, with wars and revolts all round. He managed to hang on until 268, despite the secession of the Gallic Empire under Postumus, and the murder of his son Saloninus; his other son Valerian II had been killed in the fighting on the Danubian frontier in 258. After a period of peace from 263-66, war broke out again, and he was eventually murdered in a conspiracy by a gropup of army officers while trying to put down the revolt of Aureolus, a general who had allied himself with Postumus. His wife Salonina was killed shortly afterwards.
The extremely debased metal used in these ants - with a silver content so low they've effectively degenerated into AE's - together with the extremely poor quality flans is a gign of just how bad things had got in the empire at this time.
19 files, last one added on Nov 27, 2007 Album viewed 12 times
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Probus
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Probus may have been born in Sirmium in 232, but his career before becoming emperor is otherwise uncertain. It is clear, however, that he was a successful general. His troops declared him emperor in 276, and after the death of Florian, who was murdered by his own troops during a desultory civil war, he took power unopposed.
He fought a successful campaign along the Rhine, strengthened the frontier, and repulsed a Vandal invasion. Subsequently, he put down an uprising in Egypt, and restored irrigation works along the Nile. In other areas, however, he does not seem to have been so successful. The revolts of Proculus, Bonosus, and Saturninus, which occurred in 280-1, demonstrate continuing political instability, and perhaps widespread discontent. Probus may have succeeded in making himself unpopular with the army, or alternatively he may have been on the way to becoming a victim of the instability of the time, and the lack of legitimacy which weakened the rulers of this period, and encouraged coup after coup.
It is commonly said that Probus' troops killed him during a riot after they had been ordered to do agricultural work rather than fighting; however, there seems to have been more to it than this. M Aurelius Carus, the Prefect of the Guard, was declared emperor in 282; subesequently, elements of Probus' forces turned against him, and changed sides. The riot could have been little more than a way of removing an unpopular ruler who was seen as being on the way out, and thus of avoiding yet another unnecessary civil war.
12 files, last one added on Jan 30, 2007 Album viewed 13 times
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Last additions - Robert_Brenchley's Gallery |
Postumus SALVS AVG RIC V/2 85Ant, 23mm, 3.49g.
Obverse: IMP C POSTVMVS PF AVG, Radiate, draped & cuirassed bust R.
Reverse: SALVS AVG, Salus standing L feeding snake over altar with flame, & leaning on anchor.
RIC V/2 85, Common.Robert_BrenchleyDec 20, 2007
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SAECVLO FRVGIFERO RIC V/2 84Ant, 22mm, 3.13g.
Obverse: IMP C POSTVMVS PF AVG, Radiate & draped bust R.
Reverse: SAECVLO FRVGIFERO, Winged caduceus.
Reiwe, Officina A, Issue 4.
RIC V/2 84, Scarce.Robert_BrenchleyDec 18, 2007
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Obodas III (30-9BC) leadPb 18, 1.88g.
Obverse: Laureate head of Obodas R.
Reverse: Nike standing L, wings outstretched, holding wreath.
These lead coins turn up regularly, from different, mainly Near Eastern rulers, over quite a period; the best known are those of Jannaeus. Little seems to be known about them, but I can't imagine that they're official.Robert_BrenchleyDec 10, 2007
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Aretas IV (9BC-40AD) & Shuqailat SNG ANS 1438-43AE 19, 3.82g.
Obverse: Jugate heads of Aretas IV & Shuqailat, A in L field, S in R.
Reverse: HRTT/SQY/LT between crossed cornucopiae.
SNG ANS 1438-43.Robert_BrenchleyDec 06, 2007
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Aretas IV (9BC-40AD) & Shuqailat SNG ANS 1435AE 15, 2.24g.
Obverse: Aretas IV laureate, standing L in military dress, with spear, A to r.
Reverse: Shuqailat standing L, wreath to L, SQYLT to R.
SNG ANS 1435.Robert_BrenchleyDec 06, 2007
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Aretas IV (9BC-40AD) SNG ANS 1433AE 13, 1.44g.
Obverse: Laureate head of Aretas R.
Reverse: A between crossed cornucopiae.
SNG ANS 1433.Robert_BrenchleyDec 06, 2007
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Obodas III & Syllaeus SNG ANS 1426AE 14, 2.70g.
Obverse: Diademed head of Obodas R.
Reverse: Crossed cornucopiae, S to L.
SNG ANS 1426, 9BC.Robert_BrenchleyDec 06, 2007
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Rabbel II (70-106 AD) & Gamilath SNG ANS 1446-51AE 17, 4.03g.
Obverse: Jugate heads of Rabbel II & Gamilath, in dotted circle.
Reverse: RB'L/GMLT between crossed cornucopiae.
SNG ANS 1446-51.Robert_BrenchleyDec 06, 2007
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Postumus IMP X COS V RIC V/2 289Ant, 20mm, 3.81g.
Obverse: IMP C POSTVMVS PF AVG, Radiate, draped & cuirassed bust R.
Reverse: IMP X COS V, Victory standing R with wreath & palm.
Trier, Officina B, Issue 7. AD 269.
RIC V/2 289, Scarce.
Struck at the end of Postumus' reign, and silvered not billon.Robert_BrenchleyNov 27, 2007
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Postumus PM TRP COS III PP RIC V/2 55Ant, 22mm, 2.43g.
Obverse: IMP C POSTVMVS PF AVG, Radiate, draped & cuirassed bust R.
Reverse: PM TRP COS III PP, Emperor standing L with spear & globe.
Trier, Issue 2, Officina B. 260-1 AD.
RIC V/2 55, Common.
This is evidently an engraver's error, as Postumus was COS II in 260-1, when he was TRP I, and this is as stated on the common dated coin of this year. I have two of these, from different dies, so evidently the mistake was repeated.Robert_BrenchleyNov 27, 2007
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MARTI PACIFERO RIC V/1 236Ant, 18mm, 2.50g.
Obverse: GALLIENVS AVG, Radiate head R.
Reverse: MARTI PACIFERO, Mars standing L with branch, spear & shield.
Rome, RIC 236, Common.
A nice example of a clashed die, with the outline of the bust clearly visible on the reverse.Robert_BrenchleyNov 27, 2007
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VBERITAS AVG RIC V/2 330Ant, 21mm, 3.76g.
Obverse: IMP C POSTVMVS PF AVG, Radiate, draped & cuirassed bust R.
Reverse: VBERITAS AVG, Uberitas standing L with purse and cornucopia.
Trier, Issue 4, Officina B.
RIC V/2 330, Common.
The scarcer variant with VBERITAS spelt correctly.Robert_BrenchleyNov 12, 2007
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Random files - Robert_Brenchley's Gallery |
Tetricus II PRINC IVVENT RIC V/2 260Ant, 19mm, 2.43g.
Obverse: C PIV ESV TETRICVS CAES, Radiate and draped bust R.
Reverse: PRING IVVENT, Caesar standing L with spear, leaning on shield.
Trier, Issue 4
RIC 260, Common.Robert_Brenchley
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Constantine I VOT XX RIC VII Heraclea 60AE3, 19mm, 3.99g.
Obverse: CONSTAN-TINVS AVG, laureate head L.
Reverse: DN CONSTANTINVS MAX AVG, VOT/XX in wreath.
Exe: SMH delta (Heraclea, Officina 4)
RIC VII 60, 324, C2.Robert_Brenchley
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Postumus VICTORIA AVG RIC V/2 89Ant, 20mm, 3.37g.
Obverse: IMP C POSTVMVS PF AVG, Radiate, draped and cuirassed bust R.
Reverse: VICTORIA AVG, Victory walking L with palm, trampling captive.
Trier, Officina B, Issue 1
RIC V/2 89, Common.
This is an early example with the very short beard (Phase B Style 1) characteristic of these.
Robert_Brenchley
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