Æ22 - Valerian and Gallienus ΤΙΑΝΩΝ

Tium was a minor coastal polis on the Black Sea shore of Bithynia whose civic coinage output was never large, and the joint reign of Valerian I and Gallienus represents one of the few periods when the city struck with any regularity. The co-emperorship itself was born of necessity — Valerian elevated his son Gallienus immediately upon accession in 253, partly to stabilize a frontier situation deteriorating on multiple axes simultaneously. Provincial bronzes naming both rulers were produced across dozens of eastern cities during these years, making attribution to a specific workshop a matter of die linkage rather than obvious typology.

Valerian's capture by Shapur I at Edessa in 260 brought the joint reign to an abrupt end and halted civic issues naming him across the eastern provinces almost immediately.