Victorinus
269 - 271 AD
MS - 60
Roman Bronze AE Antoninianus Coin, Slabbed and Graded
Marcus Piavonius Victorinus was emperor of the secessionist Gallic Empire from 269 to 271, following the brief reign of Marius. He was murdered by a jealous husband whose wife he tried to seduce.
Hailing from Gaul, Victorinus was born to a family of great wealth, and was a soldier under Postumus, the first of the so-called Gallic emperors. He showed considerable ability, as he held the title of tribunus praetorianorum (tribune of the praetorians) in 266/267, and rose swiftly to become co-consul with Postumus in 268. It is also possible that Postumus then elevated him to the post of praetorian prefect.
After engineering the death of Marius, Victorinus was declared emperor by the troops located at Augusta Treverorum in the fall of 269. His principal concern was to prevent the secessionist provinces from rejoining the Roman Empire, a fact made clear to him from the first few weeks when only the provinces of Gaul, Germania and Britain recognised him.
Victorinus was murdered at Colonia Claudia Ara Agrippinensium in early 271 by Attitianus, one of his officers, whose wife Victorinus had supposedly seduced. Since the motive was personal and not political, Victorinus' mother, Victoria (or Vitruvia), was able to continue to hold power after the death of Victorinus and she arranged for his deification and, after considerable payment to the troops, the appointment of Tetricus I as his successor..
The antoninianus was a coin used during the Roman Empire thought to have been valued at 2 denarii. It was initially silver, but was slowly debased to bronze. The coin was introduced by Caracalla in early 215 and was a silver coin similar to the denarius except that it was slightly larger and featured the emperor wearing a radiate crown, indicating that it was valued at twice as much.
The reverse of the coin depicts the radiate and cuirassed bust of Victorinus facing right, while the obverse shows a representation of Virtus standing facing right, holding a spear and shield. From the Trier Mint circa 270/271
Reverse legend : "IMP C VICTORINVS PF AVG"
Obverse Legend : "VIRTVS AVG"
The coin is listed in the following major references :
RIC 78
Cohen 113
Sear - 11185
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