Double Sesterce - Postume P M TR P COS II PP/ S/C, Trèves

Postumus broke from Gallienus in 260 AD following the capture of Valerian by Shapur I — a catastrophic moment that left the Rhine frontier effectively leaderless. His Gallic Empire was not a secessionist fantasy but a pragmatic military response, and his mint at Trier functioned with striking institutional discipline throughout his reign. The double sesterce was his answer to the near-collapse of bronze coinage in the breakaway territories, a denomination Gallienus himself had largely abandoned in Rome.

RIC V.2 106 corresponds to his second consulship, placing this piece firmly in 261, the first full year of a reign that would last until his murder by his own troops in 269.