Gallienus, Billon Antoninianus
Dublin Core
Title
Gallienus, Billon Antoninianus
Subject
Gallienus, Billon Antoninianus. 254-268 CE.
OBVERSE: GALLIENVS AVG (Gallienus Augustus), radiate head right.
REVERSE: AEQVITAS AVG (Justice of Augusutus), Equity standing left with scales cornucopia.
OBVERSE: GALLIENVS AVG (Gallienus Augustus), radiate head right.
REVERSE: AEQVITAS AVG (Justice of Augusutus), Equity standing left with scales cornucopia.
Description
Gallienus’ reign was plagued with almost every calamity that could befall an empire. There were revolts, invasions and disease. Though faced with these problems, he still successfully ruled the empire for 15 years, when he was finally killed by a conspiracy in 268 CE.
Billon was an alloy used to address inflation issues of the later Roman empire. The continued debasement of Roman coins, especially those of silver, was continually a problem which Caracalla tried to fix by issuing a new coin: what we now call the Antoninianus. It was valued at 2 denarii but initially contained only 1.5 denarii’s worth of silver. It eventually debased to bronze, and by the late third century, was basically worthless.
Billon was an alloy used to address inflation issues of the later Roman empire. The continued debasement of Roman coins, especially those of silver, was continually a problem which Caracalla tried to fix by issuing a new coin: what we now call the Antoninianus. It was valued at 2 denarii but initially contained only 1.5 denarii’s worth of silver. It eventually debased to bronze, and by the late third century, was basically worthless.
Source
Gift of James and Aneta McIntyre, Hallie Ford Museum of Art, Salem, OR. 2006.010.053
Date
ca. 254-268 CE
Rights
Hallie Ford Museum of Art
Format
0.840 in
0.110 oz
0.110 oz
Language
Latin
Type
Coin
Coverage
This item is on view at Hallie Ford Museum of Art, in the Mark and Janeth Sponenburgh Gallery.
Citation
“Gallienus, Billon Antoninianus,” Hallie Ford Museum of Art Exhibits, accessed December 26, 2024, https://library.willamette.edu/hfma/omeka/items/show/104.