Gallienus - Antoninianus, LIBERT AVG, Rome

Struck at Rome, AD 262–263, during the sole reign of Gallienus. After his father Valerian was captured by the Persian king Shapur I in 260 - the only Roman emperor ever taken alive - Gallienus ruled a fractured empire alone, holding the centre against breakaway regimes in Gaul and the East. Obverse GALLIENVS AVG, radiate cuirassed bust right.

The reverse reads LIBERT AVG - Libertas Augusti, "the Liberty of the Emperor." Libertas stands left, leaning on a column, holding the pileus (the felt cap given to freed slaves, the badge of liberty) and a sceptre. On a coin of the 260s the message was pointed: whatever the crisis, the legitimate emperor still guaranteed Roman freedom.

Good EF, virtually as struck. Fully silvered with bright, near-lustrous surfaces and no visible circulation wear - the radiate crown, hair and drapery are sharp on both sides. Peripheral legend weakness on the reverse is a product of the strike, not wear, and patches of reddish burial deposit (cuprite) remain in the reverse fields. Flan slightly ragged at the top edge, as made.

Attribution: RIC V-1 232 var.

Mint: Rome (attributed by style)

Weight: 5.01 g

Diameter: 23 mm

Catalogued in the NumisLens cabinet - NL-Z0SZM-MQ60M

Die axis: 7h

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