Obolos 11

Gallienus, 253-268. Aureus (Gold, 22.5 mm, 4.62 g, 12 h), Rome, 267. IMP GALLIENVS AVG Radiate head of Gallienus to right. Rev. DIANAE CONS AVG / E Stag walking to right, head turned back to left. Goebl 728y. cf. Cohen 153 & RIC 176 (both antoniniani). A very interesting and unpublished aureus minted from dies made for antonininiani. Die-clashed on the reverse, and with a probable mount mark at 6' on the obverse, otherwise, good very fine.

From the collection of the late Marcus Weder.

During the sole reign of Gallienus the imperial mints often found themselves under considerable pressure to produce ever more coins. This was certainly due to the huge inflation, the effects of which were felt over all of the empire. Britain, Gaul and Spain had broken away under Postumus, and the Persian invasions in the East led to ephemeral emperors (as Macrianus and Quietus), as well as the spectacular rise of Palmyra. Previously silver/billon coinage became almost pure copper; aes denominations became smaller in size and weight, and, for the most part, were restricted to sestertii; and there seems no longer to have been a standard weight used for the gold coinage. Given the emergency conditions that prevailed during the 3rd quarter of the 3rd century, payments in gold probably had to made in great haste, often when supplies of actual gold aurei were so low that new ones were urgently needed. Thus, there are gold coins in the name of Gallienus, which were clearly struck from dies that were not, as usual, specifically engraved for gold coins, but were actually intended for the infinitely more extensive aes issues: i.e., gold coins were needed with such urgency that whatever dies were available were used to strike them.