Gaius Vibius Volusianus... Caesar?!

[Finn235]

And my second white whale from Naville -

Volusian, as Caesar under Trebonianus Gallus and Hostilian

AE As

Struck ca. June - November (?) 251

Obv: C VIBIO VOLVSIANO CAES, draped bust right

Rev: PAX AVGG S C, Pax sranding left, holding branch and scepter

June 251 was without a doubt one of the most tragic events of the Crisis years for Rome - after tirelessly working to restore the facade of stability for the Roman Empire, Trajan Decius and his recently-elevated co-emperor and son Herennius Etruscus perished in what was supposed to be a low-risk campaign to subdue barbarian aggression on the empire. The desperate troops proclaimed the nearby Trebonianus Gallus as emperor, despite the title legally belonging to the young Caesar Hostilian back at Rome with his mother.

In an unprecedented show of humanity, and perhaps still haunted by the murder of the young Philip II hours after the death of his father just years earlier, Gallus immediately announced that he would adopt Hostilian and elevate him to co-emperor, while his own son Volusian was granted the lesser title of Caesar. This arrangement would not last long, as Hostilian died of natural causes (likely plague) no later than November of 251.

Coins of Hostilian as Augustus are rare

But coins of Volusian as Caesar are very rare, exceeded in rarity only by the incredibly brief issue of coins for Herennius Etruscus as Augustus (which sadly still eludes me). I am positively thrilled to finally cross off Volusian Caesar from my list - and I certainly never hoped to find one in such nice condition, even if somewhat smoothed!

Feel free to show anything related!

And for good measure - my coins of Trebonianus Gallus

And Volusian as Augustus 

[hotwheelsearl]

Volusians of Antioch have some of the most garbled Latin legends I've ever seen.

This one is something like CALVSSIANO

[Orange Julius]

Great coin! Very rare indeed. I’ve not been able to even come close to capturing one of those!

Here are two of my favorite Volusian coins.

[Octavius]

 Very nice win!

here are a few Volusians...

 

 

 

 

[Severus Alexander]

That was a phenomenal auction for you, wasn't it!  I can only find two other Asses on acsearch.  At least one of them appears at first glance to be a double die match:

https://www.acsearch.info/search.html?id=5570581

 

[Spaniard]

@Finn235....Glad you managed to land this one!...Very nice detail. Impressive collection you have Steve!

Congrats.

[Nerosmyfavorite68]

Cool coin!  I'm also interested in that period. My Volusian is a sestertius and a decrepit Viminacium issue.

[Al Kowsky]

On 7/28/2022 at 8:15 PM, Finn235 said:

And my second white whale from Naville -

Volusian, as Caesar under Trebonianus Gallus and Hostilian

AE As

Struck ca. June - November (?) 251

Obv: C VIBIO VOLVSIANO CAES, draped bust right

Rev: PAX AVGG S C, Pax sranding left, holding branch and scepter

June 251 was without a doubt one of the most tragic events of the Crisis years for Rome - after tirelessly working to restore the facade of stability for the Roman Empire, Trajan Decius and his recently-elevated co-emperor and son Herennius Etruscus perished in what was supposed to be a low-risk campaign to subdue barbarian aggression on the empire. The desperate troops proclaimed the nearby Trebonianus Gallus as emperor, despite the title legally belonging to the young Caesar Hostilian back at Rome with his mother.

In an unprecedented show of humanity, and perhaps still haunted by the murder of the young Philip II hours after the death of his father just years earlier, Gallus immediately announced that he would adopt Hostilian and elevate him to co-emperor, while his own son Volusian was granted the lesser title of Caesar. This arrangement would not last long, as Hostilian died of natural causes (likely plague) no later than November of 251.

Coins of Hostilian as Augustus are rare

But coins of Volusian as Caesar are very rare, exceeded in rarity only by the incredibly brief issue of coins for Herennius Etruscus as Augustus (which sadly still eludes me). I am positively thrilled to finally cross off Volusian Caesar from my list - and I certainly never hoped to find one in such nice condition, even if somewhat smoothed!

Feel free to show anything related!

And for good measure - my coins of Trebonianus Gallus

And Volusian as Augustus 

Finn., Congrats on scoring this impressive rarity ☺️! Pictured below is an Antioch tet of Volusian's predecessor, Hostilian, that I felt lucky to win at auction two years ago. My coin has a rough surface like yours but fortunately it wasn't smoothed. As you point out, the young lad held the position of co-emperor for only 4 months before succumbing to the bubonic plague 😩.

Syria-Antioch. Hostilian as Caesar, AD 250-251 (struck before November 251), 7th Officina. Billon Tetradrachm: 11.74 gm, 27 mm, 8 h. McAlee 1160e (not illustrated), Prieur 652 (not illustrated), RPC IX No:1775 (3 examples listed & illustrated). Very rare.

My example is not listed or illustrated by RPC.

 

[Roman Collector]

Coingratulations, @Finn235! What a fantastic find! Perhaps a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

Here's a Volusian bronze in my collection:

 

Volusian as Augustus, AD 251-253.
Roman orichalcum sestertius, 17.26 g, 27. 4 mm 10 h.
Rome, AD 252.
Obv: IMP CAE C VIB VOLVSIANO AVG, laureate, draped and cuirassed bust, right.
Rev: FELICITAS PVBLICA S C, Felicitas standing left, leaning on column, holding caduceus in right hand and transverse scepter in left hand.
Refs: RIC 251a; Cohen 35; RCV 9786; Hunter 39.

[Harry G]

Very nice coin!

I don't have a Volusian as Caesar, but I do have a Hostilian as Augustus.

This is from Rome mint, which appears to be scarcer than the Antioch issue, and is scarcer still with the shortened obverse legend.

[Julius Germanicus]

Here are some Sestertii:

Volusian Augustus

Herennius Etruscus Caesar

Trebonianus Gallus

Hostilian Augustus

Herennia Etruscilla Augusta

[Qcumbor]

On 7/30/2022 at 3:12 PM, Al Kowsky said:

Syria-Antioch. Hostilian as Caesar, AD 250-251 (struck before November 251), 7th Officina. Billon Tetradrachm: 11.74 gm, 27 mm, 8 h. McAlee 1160e (not illustrated), Prieur 652 (not illustrated), RPC IX No:1775 (3 examples listed & illustrated). Very rare.

My example is not listed or illustrated by RPC.

 

And here is a recent acquisition of mine, very similar to the above

 

Syria, Seleucis and Pieria. Antioch. Hostillan. As Caesar, AD 250-251. AR Tetradrachm (26mm, 11.34g). Bare-headed and draped bust right; Rev. Eagle standing r. on branch, holds wreath in beak. McAlee 1159 (b); Prieur 648. Very Rare. Boldly struck, toned.

Q

[Al Kowsky]

3 hours ago, Qcumbor said:

 

And here is a recent acquisition of mine, very similar to the above

 

Syria, Seleucis and Pieria. Antioch. Hostillan. As Caesar, AD 250-251. AR Tetradrachm (26mm, 11.34g). Bare-headed and draped bust right; Rev. Eagle standing r. on branch, holds wreath in beak. McAlee 1159 (b); Prieur 648. Very Rare. Boldly struck, toned.

Q

Q, Nice score on the Hostilian Tet ☺️! The surface on your coin doesn't have the deep surface pitting that mine does, & it has an attractive patina with a touch of verdigris on the reverse. Your coin is also listed & illustrated in the RPC, Volume IX 🤩.

  RPC IX 1718, No. 3. Ex CNG E-Auction 227, lot 383, February 10, 2010.