A commemorative coin, struck for
Valerianus II., one of the two sons of
Gallienus. We do not know why
Valerianus iunior died so young, maybe due to illness, maybe due to an accident, but there have been rumours that the general and later usurper Ingenuus, who was in charge of
Valerianus iunior at that time, has
had a hand in the death of the boy.
Valerianus II. commemorative Antoninian, struck 258-260 AD at
Cologne mint.
Obv:
DIVO VALERIANVS
CAES,
radiate and draped
bust right, seen from behind.
Rev: CONSACRATIO,
eagle standing left,
head right, wings spread up close to body.
Ø 19-24 mm, 3.23 g.
Zschucke 99,
RIC 8.
ScarceThe coin has a really lovely
toning which is even darker in hand. Interestingly, the
Gaul mint spells
CONSACRATIO with an A, while elsewhere, it is usually spelled with an E:
CONSECRATIO. I think that may be due to a different
pronunciation in
Gaul.
Lars
