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Aureus - Victorinus Cologne
| Issuer | Gallic Empire (Roman splinter states) |
|---|---|
| Year | 271 |
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| Technique | Hammered |
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| Obverse description | Laureate head of Victorinus facing right, with slight drapery visible on the far shoulder, rendered in the vigorous late Roman style characteristic of Gallic Empire coinage. The effigy is portrayed with strong facial features typical of military emperor portraiture of the third century. The encircling legend is incuse in Latin capitals within the outer field. |
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| Reverse description | Jupiter standing facing, head turned to left, his nude figure rendered in the classical tradition; he holds a long sceptre upright in his right hand and a thunderbolt in his lowered left hand. At his feet to the left, a capricorn advances toward him, serving as the legion's emblematic device. The reverse legend, referencing Legio XXX Ulpia Victrix, is inscribed in Latin capitals within the surrounding field, attesting the military associations of this issue. |
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| Additional information |
Victorinus ruled the Gallic Empire for less than two years before being murdered in 271 AD — reportedly by an officer whose wife he had seduced. His gold coinage is exceptionally rare precisely because the Cologne mint had little time to produce it, and whatever political legitimacy his regime projected through these aurei evaporated almost immediately upon his death. Control passed to Tetricus, not through military conquest, but through the influence of Victorinus's own mother, Victoria, who engineered the succession.