IMP C P LIC VALERIANVS PF AVG, Radiate, draped bust right / AETERNITATI AVGG, Sol standing left, right hand raised, left holding globe. 21mm, 3.61 grams. Mint of Antioch or Viminacium. RIC 211; Cohen 9.

Uncleaned.

Valerian I (253–260 CE) was Roman emperor during the turbulent Crisis of the Third Century, ruling jointly with his son Gallienus. His reign was dominated by invasions and warfare, particularly against the Sasanian Empire under Shapur I. In 260 Valerian was defeated and captured at Edessa, becoming the only Roman emperor known to have been taken alive as a prisoner by a foreign enemy; he subsequently died in Persian captivity.