Ancient Rome: Postumus,Billon Antoninianus (260-269 AD)

Ancient Rome: Postumus, silver "Billon" Antoninianus (260-269 AD) 

Obverse: IMP C POSTVMVS P F AVG, radiate, draped and cuirassed bust right.
Reverse: LAETITIA / AVG (in exergue), Galley going left.
3,40 gm and 21mm.

Marcus Cassianius Latinius Postumus (died 269) was a Roman general of Batavian origin who seized power in 260 and ruled the breakaway Gallic Empire encompassing Gaul, Hispania, and Britannia as its first emperor until his death. A commander under Emperor Gallienus, Postumus exploited the chaos of the Crisis of the Third Century, including Germanic invasions and central imperial weakness, to proclaim himself emperor after besieging Cologne and executing Gallienus's son Saloninus and governor Silvanus.

Postumus's reign focused on military defense and provincial stabilization, repelling Frankish and Alemannic incursions along the Rhine frontier, which earned him the title Germanicus Maximus by late 261.He conducted campaigns into Germania Magna around 262-263, celebrated imperial anniversaries including his decennalia in 268, and maintained traditional Roman administrative titles and coinage motifs despite the secession.Though Gallienus launched an unsuccessful invasion in 265, Postumus avoided aggression toward Italy, prioritizing western security over reunification.

His rule ended violently in early 269 when, after defeating the usurper Laelianus at Moguntiacum (modern Mainz), Postumus refused his troops permission to sack the city, prompting them to lynch him; he was briefly succeeded by Marcus Cassianius Marius. Postumus's Gallic Empire endured until 274 under Aurelian's reconquest, underscoring both the effectiveness of his frontier governance and the empire's underlying fragmentation.

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