IMP C CLAVDIVS AVG, radiate draped bust right // NEPTVN AVG, Neptune standing left with dolphin and trident, A in exergue. 21mm, 3.67 grams. Antioch mint. RIC 214, Cohen 183.
Billon coin with much of the original silvering still intact. Scarce quality for Claudius II.
Claudius II Gothicus (268–270 CE) was Roman emperor during the turbulent Crisis of the Third Century. A successful military commander, he is best remembered for his decisive victory over the Goths at the Battle of Naissus, which earned him the title Gothicus Maximus. His brief reign ended when he died during an epidemic, probably of plague, and he was succeeded by Quintillus and shortly afterward by Aurelian.