Victorinus Antoninianus Æ RIC V 61 IMP C VICTORINVS P F AVG / PROVIDENTIA AVG

Description: RIC V Victorinus 61 Date: A.D. 269 - A.D. 271 Denomination: Antoninianus Mint: Southern Gallic Mint Obverse: IMP C VICTORINVS P F AVG: Bust of Victorinus, radiate, cuirassed, right Reverse: PROVIDENTIA AVG: Providence standing left, holding cornucopia in left hand & baton (wand) in right hand pointing at globe at feet. Weight: 3.23 Diameter: 18.00mm This Roman coin features the image of Victorinus on one side and the goddess Providentia on the other. It is made of bronze and minted in Germany in the year 269 during the Imperial period of Rome. The certification for this coin is uncertified and its provenance is not available. It belongs to the denomination of Antoninianus and is a great addition to any ancient coin collection. Marcus Piavonius Victorinus - was emperor in the Gallic provinces from 268 to 270 or 269 to 271, following the brief reign of Marius. He was murdered by a jealous husband whose wife he had tried to seduce. Reign - Hailing from Gaul, Victorinus was born to a family of great wealth & was a soldier under Postumus, the 1st 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 & 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. Shortly after putting down a rebellion by Laelianus in 269, Postumus was murdered by his own troops, who appointed Marius as emperor in his place. After engineering the death of Marius, Victorinus was declared Emperor by the troops located at Augusta Treverorum (Trier) in the fall of 69. His principal concern was to prevent the western provinces from submitting to the central authority of the Roman Empire, a fact made clear to him from the 1st few weeks when only the provinces of Gaul, Germania &Britain recognized him. Hispania deserted the Gallic Empire & declared its loyalty to Claudius Gothicus. Claudius then sent his trusted general Placidianus to south-east Gaul with instructions to bring over as many of the wavering cities as he could. Very quickly Placidianus captured Cularo (Grenoble), but did not proceed any further. The presence of Placidianus inspired the city of Augustodunum Haeduorum (Autun) to abandon Victorinus & declare its intention to declare for Claudius Gothicus. This forced Victorinus to march south & besiege it, where it fell after 7 months, after which Victorinus’ troops plundered & destroyed the city. Victorinus returned to Colonia Claudia Ara Agrippinensium (Cologne) in triumph. It remains a mystery just why Claudius did not authorize Placidianus to go to the relief of Augustodunum; however, it is speculated that Claudius, who was fully engaged either in Italy against the Alamanni or in the Balkans against the Goths, did not wish to open a 2nd theatre of operations in Gaul, which would not only have involved a major military effort, but would also have required Claudius to assume responsibility for the defense of the Rhine frontier had he been successful. There is evidence to suggest that Claudius was having some difficulties in the East, which also occupied his attention. Victorinus was murdered at Colonia in early 271 by Attitianus, one of his officers whose wife Victorinus had supposedly seduced. Since the motive was personal & not political, Victorinus' mother, Victoria (or Vitruvia), was able to continue to hold power after the death of Victorinus & she arranged for his deification & after considerable payment to the troops, the appointment of Tetricus I as his successor.Another military commander appears to have been proclaimed as the emperor Domitianus II, but was soon eliminated. Victorinus is listed among the 30 Tyrants in the Historia Augusta. The dubious Historia Augusta equally has a short description of Victorinus Junior, allegedly the son of Victorinus, who was appointed emperor by his family the day his father was murdered & would have been killed immediately afterwards by the troops. The Historia Augusta also says that both father & son were buried near Colonia Claudia Ara Agrippinensium in marble tombs. Some of the inscriptions record his name as M. Piavvonius Victorinus, as does the 1st release of coins from the Colonia mint. A mosaic from Augusta Treverorum (Trier) lists him as Piaonius.

Price: 35 USD

Location: Williamsburg, Virginia

End Time: 2024-03-09T14:36:36.000Z

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