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Aureus - Victorinus Cologne
| Issuer | Gallic Empire (Roman splinter states) |
|---|---|
| Year | 271 |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
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|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Standing figure of Laetitia facing left, depicted as a draped female deity wearing a crested helmet, holding a wreath in her extended right hand and resting her left hand upon a rudder set on a globe at her feet. The composition is rendered in a fluid, classical style within a beaded border. The encircling Latin legend LAETITIA AVG identifies the personification of joy and prosperity, an emblematic reverse type employed by Victorinus to assert imperial legitimacy. The figure's drapery falls in naturalistic folds, consistent with the better-quality die work produced at the Cologne mint. |
| Reverse script | Latin |
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| Additional information |
Victorinus ruled the Gallic Empire for less than two years before being murdered in 271 AD — reportedly by one of his own officers, possibly motivated by a personal grievance rather than any political conspiracy. His Cologne mint continued producing aurei of respectable gold quality even as the broader Roman monetary system was collapsing into the catastrophic debasement of the antoninianus. The aureus itself, by this period, had become almost a prestige denomination, struck in limited quantities for donatives and high-level transactions rather than everyday exchange.
RIC V.2 #10 places this among the earliest issues of his reign.