IMP C P LIC GALLIENVS PF AVG, radiate, draped bust right / VIRTVS AVGG, Valerian standing right, holding globe and sceptre, facing Gallienus, standing left, holding Victory and sceptre. Wreath in upper centre. 22mm, 3.30 grams. Mint of Antioch or Samosata, minted 255-256 CE. RIC V-1, Antioch 456 (J); Goebl 1687m Samosata; Sear 10414.

Gallienus (r. 253–268 CE) was Roman emperor during the height of the Crisis of the Third Century, first ruling jointly with his father Valerian I and then alone after Valerian’s capture by the Sasanians in 260 CE. Faced with near-constant invasions, usurpations, economic collapse, and plague, Gallienus nonetheless proved an innovative and resilient ruler, successfully defending the Danube and Rhine frontiers while preventing the total disintegration of the empire. He carried out important military reforms, emphasizing mobile cavalry forces and excluding senators from army commands in favor of professional officers, changes that later emperors would build upon. Although his reign saw the temporary loss of territories to breakaway states such as the Gallic Empire, Gallienus stabilized the Roman core, promoted cultural and philosophical life, and laid crucial foundations for imperial recovery before his assassination by officers in 268 CE.