AR24 - Trebonianus Gallus L - Γ

Trebonianus Gallus came to power after Decius and his son Herennius Etruscus were killed at the Battle of Abritus in 251 — the first time a reigning emperor had died in battle against a foreign enemy. His reign was further destabilized by a catastrophic plague, almost certainly the same epidemic that had begun under Decius, which ravaged the empire's population and military capacity through his entire time in power. The Alexandrian mint continued striking tetradrachms on its own regnal calendar, with the Γ (year 3) placing this piece in the final months before Gallus was murdered by his own troops in favor of Aemilian.