An impressive portrait of Gallienus

[Claudius_Gothicus]

I personally find the imperial portraiture on the antoniniani of Gallienus from Mediolanum to be somewhat hit-and-miss; while there are certainly some dies with great artistry, there are also many which I feel have a portrait that is somewhat cartoonish and not very realistic. However, out of all of them, I think that the coins with the best portraits are those from early in Gallienus' sole reign, and this is especially true for the coins with special busts, amongst which is this recent acquisition of mine:

Roman Empire, Gallienus (253-268), Antoninianus, Mediolanum mint.

Obverse: IMP GALLIENVS AVG GER, radiate, draped and cuirassed bust right, aegis on left shoulder;

Reverse: PROVIDENTIA AVG, Providentia standing left, leaning on colum, holding wand in right hand and cornucopia in left hand, globe at feet to the left;

RIC V - (c.f. RIC V 510 - unlisted bust type and obverse legend); MIR 1089s;

As I said before, I think that the coins from this group sport particularly refined and detailed portraits, and specifically this obverse die is even better than the other ones, of which I also own one example, especially due to the extensive details of the cuirass, paludamentum and aegis:

Roman Empire, Gallienus (253-268), Antoninianus, Mediolanum mint.

Obverse: IMP GALLIENVS AVG, radiate, draped and cuirassed bust right, aegis on left shoulder;

Reverse: PERPETVITATI AVG, Securitas standing left, leaning on column, holding globe in right hand and long transverse sceptre in left hand;

RIC V - (c.f. RIC V 504 - unlisted bust type); MIR 1078s;

Apparently I'm not the only one with this opinion, since Frank Reinhardt also chose a coin from this obverse die as the cover piece of his collection:

This particular type of bust with aegis is only used at Mediolanum and only in this emission; the fact that it also appears to have only been paired with reverse dies without an officina mark makes me think that these coins were part of special group, likely some kind of donativum - during the early part of the sole reign Gallienus spent a lot of time at his headquarters in Mediolanum.

(Image courtesy of Leu Numismatik)

The extended obverse legend with the title of Germanicus is also worthy of note, since it rarely appears at Mediolanum and during this issue it appears to have been mostly reserved for special busts:

(Image courtesy of Leu Numismatik)

Anyway, that's all for now - post your coins with a portrait that you consider to be particularly impressive, or anything else you feel like might be relevant!

[Orange Julius]

I have a real soft spot for coins of this era too, Gallienus through… Probus. As for great portraits (from also a hit-and-miss mint), Alexandria has some great ones too.

[Molag Bal]

Wow! Congrats! That obverse is one of my favorites from Mediolanum, I love the detail and the addition of GER. 

The third coin in your post is now in my possession and was one of my top coins of '23: 

IMP GALLIENVS AVG: Radiate, draped, and cuirassed bust right, aegis on left shoulder.
VIRTVS AVG: Virtus standing left, with spear and shield. 
4th emission of Mediolanum. 
21mm, 3.50g.

From the E. Mensch & A. Bauer Collection. 

MIR 1158s(2)

 

For other coins from the mint, one of my goals this year was to get a legionary ant. This recent acquisition is now my second! Not bad with six and a half months left.  

GALLIENVS AVG: Radiate and cuirassed bust right, holding spear over left shoulder. 
COHH PRAET VI P VI F: Radiate lion walking right. 
2nd emission of Mediolanum. 
23.3mm, 4.04g.

MIR 979o

Edited May 12 by Molag Bal

[CPK]

That is definitely a stand-out portrait among a sea of mediocre ones, @Claudius_Gothicus, proving that there was still artistic talent to be found even in those chaotic times!

Though they are quite rare, the middle AE's of Gallienus also feature some impressive portraiture. I would love to add one like this to my collection:

https://www.acsearch.info/search.html?id=5050268

"Gallienus Æ As. Rome, AD 253. IMP C P LIC GALLIENVS AVG, laureate, draped and cuirassed bust right / VOTIS DECENNALIBVS SC in four lines within laurel wreath. Cf. RIC 250 (Sestertius); MIR 36, 40gg. 10.22g, 24mm, 1h.
Very Fine. Scarce.
From the collection of V.B., United Kingdom."

[Harry G]

Fantastic coins! That portrait is superb.

I don't have any particularly fancy busts of Gallienus, other than my "VICT GAL AVG" type.

 

Gallienus Antoninianus (Rome):

Obverse: GALLIENVS AVG, Radiate head right, wearing lion's skin headdress (two ribbons)

Reverse: VICT GAL AVG, Three Victories standing facing, heads left, each holding wreath and palm branch, V in exergue.

It has quite rough surfaces, but is nicer in hand.

[expat]

Nice to see some good portraits out of what almost seems to be a multitude of poor ones available. I finally got a half decent one recently

Gallienus AE Antoninianus. Rome. AD 260-268 (Sole Reign). 4.13 g. GALLIENVS AVG, radiate, cuirassed bust right. / AETERNITAS AVG, Sol, radiate, standing left, chlamys draped over shoulder and hanging down behind, holding globe and raising right hand. Γ in left field. RIC V-1 Rome 160; Goebl 0577w.

 

[Roman Collector]

My best Gallienus portrait is on this Alexandrian tet. The reverse? Not so nice. 

[ambr0zie]

My favorite Gallienus coin has a decent portrait, but what makes it interesting, in my opinion, is that "it doesn't look like Gallienus" - because it was struck very early in his reign.

22 mm, 1,99 g.
Gallienus 253-268 AD. AR antoninianus. Rome. 253.
IMP C P LIC GALLIENVS AVG, bust of Gallienus, radiate, draped, right / CONCORDIA AVGG, two right hands clasped together.
RIC V Gallienus (joint reign) 131; Cohen 125.

[Shea19]

Excellent post and beautiful new addition, @Claudius_Gothicus! 

This joint reign coin has my favorite Gallienus portrait (which of course they paired with the oldest reverse die they could find).

[CPK]

18 minutes ago, Shea19 said:

..(which of course they paired with the oldest reverse die they could find).
 

It almost seems like they went out of their way to do this. 🤔

That is a great portrait!

[Sulla80]

There are certainly a lot of poor quality strikes and flans from this period.  However I find that there are occasionally some rather excellent portraits - some excellent ones posted in this thread!  Here's a favorite from Mediolanum/Milan.

ROMAN EMPIRE: Gallienus, 253-268 AD, AE antoninianus, Mediolanum mint, 266, RIC-483, Göbl-1350h, IMP GALLIENVS AVG, radiate head right / FORT REDVX, Fortuna seated left, holding rudder and cornucopia, MS in ex

Many of my favorite portraits of this emperor come from Roman Egypt (Alexandrian Tetradrachms).

I've posted my scarce Gallienus/Neptune Tetradrachm from the Dattari Collection one too many times. https://www.sullacoins.com/post/provenance-rediscovered

Edited May 12 by Sulla80

[ambr0zie]

From the "classic grapes neck beard category" this one is the best from my collection 

 

"Big surprised eye" category 

 

"Heavy night last night, can't keep my eyes open"

[kevikens]

I am not a big fan of the coinage of the time of the Emperor Gallienus. I simply do not usually see them as attractive coins, with the notable exceptions of the coins of the site  posters here. Also, part of the reasoning for why I don't actively collect from this time period is that I like to see and handle coinage of the most famous of the Ancient rulers. There's nothing like an XF denarius of Augustus, or a toned Titus sestertius to set one salivating. However, there is also the matter of very little written by Ancient historians to fascinate us about their lives. I am sure the emperors of the mid Third Century AD thought they were living in interesting times and were living important lives, but it was their misfortune that they had no Livy to document their lives, no Sallust or Plutarch to regale us with their exploits, no Tacitus to fascinate us with their quirky behavior. It was not that they had bad press. They just had very little press of any kind. Also, to be honest, the celators of the mid-Third Century seem to have been less skilled, most of them any way, than those of the First Centuries BC and AD. Also, the metal they had to work with was a highly debased silver and much smaller bronze planchets did not offer the scope of the previous centuries. That said, I think there is enough evidence to think that some of the very best, the most talented (if not also the most unlucky) of the Roman emperors in Roman history may have been those of the mid-Third Century. The bottom had really fallen out of the tub when they ruled and they may have done excellent jobs of being emperors of those days, but, having no Livy's or Plutarchs, we have no way of knowing that. Judging by their coinage we can say that they may have been better emperors than those of the Pax Romana because they had a much tougher job with the Empire being beset by the Barbarians from all sides, with a few of their own usurpers frustrating all their efforts to throw the enemy away from the gates of Rome. For those reading this who might want to learn a bit more about this period, let me recommend a recent publication of a book titled, "The Reign of Emperor Gallienus, the Apogee of Roman Cavalry" by Ilkka Ayvanne. As for the coinage of the time period, I have here four of my coins from this period. From the upper right a double denarius of Valerian, the father, and for a while, the co-emperor of Gallienus. It is of decent fabric and design and the reverse is a most interesting re-do of a denarius of Augustus showing Lucius and Gaius. Why? I have no idea. It is Sear 2891 and weighs 3.5 grams The Alexandrine tetra next to Valian is of Gallienus, himself, and is a good portrait and strike, as far as these coins go. It weighs 11.72 grams and is supposed be of about 4% silver. It was struck in the year 5 of his reign, so about 258 AD. He reigned for some 15 years. Not bad when a number of emperors did not last 15 months. The third coin is a double denarius of Lady Salonina, his wife, weighing 4.1 grams showing that some celators could still cut it (sorry, couldn't resist). With Ceres on the reverse it is RIC 590 and was probably minted about 260 AD. Last is another double denarius of Emperor Probus who might have proved to be among the very best emperors, if he had not insisted that his soldiers do repair and reclamation work while awaiting the Barbarian hordes. From this time on, for several decades, the coinage seems better struck and of a better fabric. This coin comes in at 4.2 grams and seems to have a better coating of silver than the coins of a few decades earlier. It shows the "Adventus Probus", the arrival of the emperor about 280 AD. It is Sear 3340 or variant close to that. I hope readers enjoyed the write up and have some more coins of this period to show what the coinage looked like when the bottom almost saw the bottom fall out.

[kevikens]

21 hours ago, Orange Julius said:

I have a real soft spot for coins of this era too, Gallienus through… Probus. As for great portraits (from also a hit-and-miss mint), Alexandria has some great ones too.

A pensive portrait.

[kevikens]

5 minutes ago, kevikens said:

A pensive portrait.

And I love that reverse, maybe the best I have ever seen onan Alexandrian tet.

[DonnaML]

Here's a not-so-bad portrait from the joint reign:

Gallienus (son of Valerian I), Billon Antoninianus, 260-261 AD [Sear], 260 AD [Reinhardt], 258 AD [RIC], Mediolanum [Milan] Mint, 2nd emission (Göbl and Reinhardt), Legionary Issue. Obv. Radiate and cuirassed bust right, two ribbons behind, GALLIENVS AVG / Rev. Capricorn springing right, LEG I ADI VI P VI F ( = Legio I Adiutrix [“Rescuer”] [based in Brigetio, Pannonia], VI Pia, VI Fidelis [see fn.]). RIC V-1 315j [joint reign], RSC IV 447 (ill. p. 77), Sear RCV III 10252, Göbl MIR [Moneta Imperii Romani] Band 36, No. 982r [ill. with other legionary series coins at http://www258.pair.com/denarius/cgi-bin/erfind.pl?sstring=legio+milan (Ed Flinn’s site Coinage of Gallienus and Family), and at Reinhardt p. 180, no. 5 (Frank Reinhardt, José de Sousa, & Heidemarie Bieker, Gallienvs Antoninianii, The Antoninianii Collection of Gallienus by Frank Reinhardt (Eng. trans. 2022), available at https://www.academia.edu/77282280/GALLIENUS_ANTONINIANII_English_version_PDF )]. 22 mm., 2.8 g, 12 h.  Purchased from Leu Numismatik AG, Winterthur, Switzerland, Web Auction 21, 19 Jul 2022, Lot 4869; ex Collection of Dipl.-Ing. [ = Engineering Master’s Degree] Adrian Lang, b. Germany 1956 [see https://leunumismatik.com/source/images/auction/36/pdf/b2acb9be-1e8d-4395-a863-6c5c7c37ed4b.pdf for biography]; ex Jesus Vico Auction 133, 15 Nov. 2012, Lot 2549.

 

And a couple from Gallienus's sole reign that I don't think are terrible:

Gallienus, Billon Antoninianus, 267-268 AD, Rome Mint, 11th Officina, 10th emission (Göbl & Reinhardt). Obv. Radiate head right, GALLIENVS AVG /Rev. Bull standing right, head three-quarters right, SOLI CONS AVG [off flan: XI in exergue, for 11th Officina]. RIC V-1 285, RSC IV 983, Sear RCV III 10363, Wolkow 28a11 [Cédric Wolkow, Catalogue des monnaies romaines - Gallien - L'émission dite "Du Bestiaire" - atelier de Rome (BNumis, édition 2019)], Göbl MIR [Moneta Imperii Romani] Band 36, No. 749b [ill. at http://www258.pair.com/denarius/coinage.htm (Ed Flinn’s site Coinage of Gallienus and Family) & in Reinhardt at p. 140, no. 1 (Frank Reinhardt, José de Sousa, & Heidemarie Bieker, Gallienvs Antoninianii, The Antoninianii Collection of Gallienus by Frank Reinhardt (Eng. trans. 2022), available at https://www.academia.edu/77282280/GALLIENUS_ANTONINIANII_English_version_PDF )]. 21 mm., 3.12 g, 11 h. Purchased from Leu Numismatik AG, Winterthur, Switzerland, Web Auction 21, 19 Jul 2022, Lot 4907.

Gallienus, Billon Antoninianus, 267-268 AD, Rome Mint, 2nd Officina, 10th emission  (Göbl & Reinhardt). Obv. Radiate head right, GALLIENVS AVG /Rev. Tigress walking left, LIBERO P • CONS AVG; B in exergue. RIC V-1 230, RSC IV 586, Wolkow 19a2, Sear RCV III 10281, Göbl MIR  Band 36, No. 713b [ill. at http://www258.pair.com/denarius/coinage.htm (Ed Flinn's site) & in Reinhardt at p. 121, no. 1]. [Tigress variety of these catalogue numbers: see http://www.forumancientcoins.com/numiswiki/view.asp?key=Liber Pater; see also description of type as tigress at Ed Flinn’s website, at http://www258.pair.com/denarius/coinage.htm .] 19 mm, 2.83 g., 6 h. 

Finally, this portrait would be OK if his nose didn't look so smushed:

Gallienus, Billon Antoninianus, 267-268 AD, Rome Mint, 6th Officina, 10th emission (Göbl & Reinhardt). Obv. Radiate head right, GALLIENVS AVG /Rev. Goat standing right, looking directly right at horizon, IOVI CONS AVG; in exergue, ς (digamma/stigma, representing numeral “6”) [6th Officina]. RIC V.1 Gallienus 297 (sole reign); RSC IV Gallienus 344; Sear RCV II 10236; Wolkow 18a6 (ill. p. 75 & Pl. XXX) [Cédric Wolkow, Catalogue des monnaies romaines - Gallien - L'émission dite "Du Bestiaire" - atelier de Rome (BNumis, édition 2019)]; Göbl MIR [Moneta Imperii Romani] Band 36, No. 731b [ill. at http://www258.pair.com/denarius/coinage.htm & in Reinhardt at p. 128 [incorrectly identified as 2nd officina] (Frank Reinhardt, José de Sousa, & Heidemarie Bieker, Gallienvs Antoninianii, The Antoninianii Collection of Gallienus by Frank Reinhardt (Eng. trans. 2022), available at https://www.academia.edu/77282280/GALLIENUS_ANTONINIANII_English_version_PDF ]. 23 mm., 3.37 g., 12 hr. Purchased at Roma Numismatics Ltd. E-Sale 106, 16 Feb. 2023, Lot 1072.   

[Postvmvs]

@Claudius_Gothicus thanks for sharing, I was unaware of this fancy bust style of Gallienus.

Here is a Gallienus I have attributed to Trier, which I find appealing, or at least a step above the grape-bearded cartoon Gallienus on some other mints:

[kevikens]

Postumus, was there a date attached to the attribution as coming from Trier? I would have thought Trier to have been within the bailiwick of Postumus so I am guessing an early date to this coin. ??? or if not an early date, not coming from Trier? What do you think?

[Postvmvs]

Yes, based on the most agreed upon dating, this Gallienus is from 259-260AD and Postumus would take Trier in 260AD. There is still some debate whether the main mint of Postumus for most of his reign was Cologne or Trier. Mairat, whose Ph.D. thesis was the basis for the newly revised RIC volume covering the Gallic empire, makes a strong case for Trier being the main mint (with Cologne being opened late in Postumus' reign and Milan producing coins in Postumus' name under Aureolus).

The rare earliest coins of Postumus are interesting as they a) have a portrait of Postumus significantly different from later depictions (sort of a cross between Saloninus if-he-had-a-beard and Gallienus) and b) all feature his long name with the emperor's name misspelled POSTIMVS.

Here my nicest early Postumus from Trier:

Postumus, antoninianus, Trier 260AD

Obverse: IMP C M CASS LAT POSTIMVS(sic) P F AVG, radiate, draped and cuirassed bust right

Reverse: SALVS PROVINCIARVM, river god Rhine (with horns) reclining left, resting on urn with left arm, right hand on forepart of boat.

Edited May 13 by Postvmvs

[kevikens]

Thanks, Posthumus. I had no idea of this recent research.

[Ancient Coin Hunter]

Here's both an antoninianus (martial type) with cuirass, spear, and shield hailing Gallienus as GERMANICVS MAX V and a FIDES MILITVM sestertius from my collection.

 

Edited October 3 by Ancient Coin Hunter