Postumus Silver Antoninianus RIC V Postumus 85

Monetary Context and the Gallic Currency System

During the mid-third century AD, the Roman monetary system underwent acute inflationary stress, driven by systemic frontier warfare, civil fragmentation, and fiscal depletion. Following his proclamation as emperor in 260 AD, Postumus governed Britain, Gaul, and parts of Hispania, creating an independent political and monetary sphere. Central to his monetary policy was the production of the radiate coin, conventionally termed the antoninianus or double denarius. While the central Roman emperor Gallienus was forced to lower the silver content of central imperial radiates to less than ten percent silver, and eventually under five percent, Postumus pursued an explicit policy of monetary stabilization. In the early to middle years of his reign, Postumus issued antoniniani with a silver fineness frequently reaching twenty percent or more, accompanied by heavier, broader flans. RIC V Postumus 85 belongs to this strategic effort to establish confidence among legionary forces and regional commercial networks. By providing a relatively reliable silver radiate, Postumus legitimized his regime, secured the frontier armies along the Rhine, and maintained commercial fluidity across the Gallic provinces independently of Rome.

Mint Attribution and Production Techniques

Percy H. Webb's classic classification in Roman Imperial Coinage Volume V, Part II designated Lugdunum as the sole issuing mint for RIC 85. Subsequent mid-twentieth-century scholarship, initiated notably by Georg Elmer, challenged this universal attribution to Lugdunum. Elmer posited that Postumus established his primary mint at Cologne (Colonia Claudia Ara Agrippinensium), the operational capital of the Gallic Empire, and later utilized Augusta Treverorum (Trier). Modern hoard analysis, such as that demonstrated by Roger Bland and Edward Besly in their study of the Cunetio hoard, indicates that Postumus operated two primary mint workshops, generally termed Mint I and Mint II. While OCRE retains the traditional cataloguing classification of Lugdunum under RIC V 85, contemporary numismatists recognize that production of this Salus type most likely took place in northern Gaul or the Rhineland. The coins were struck manually using hinged or handheld bronze dies on cast billon flans. The surviving specimens demonstrate careful engraving standards and balanced die preparation, typical of the disciplined early and middle phases of Postumus's mint administration.

Obverse Portraiture and Regal Iconography

The obverse of RIC V Postumus 85 presents a profile portrait of the emperor facing right, crowned with the radiate solar crown indicative of the double-denarius denomination. Postumus is represented with a mature, square-jawed countenance and a meticulously groomed beard, adhering to the traditional Roman veristic style rather than the abstracted features common in later third-century portraiture. Two principal obverse drapery varieties are documented for this catalogue type: the radiate, draped bust, and the radiate, draped, and cuirassed bust. The cuirass indicates his martial command as supreme protector of the Gallic frontier, while the drapery adds an element of civil dignity. Die cutters captured subtle modulations in the hair, beard, and facial contours, creating an authoritative and recognizable likeness intended to project stability and military discipline across the western provinces.

Reverse Iconography: Salus and the State

The reverse design of RIC 85 portrays the deity Salus standing facing left, dressed in flowing stola and palla. In her right hand, she holds a patera or extends an offering to feed a sacred serpent rising from a low, decorated sacrificial altar set before her feet. In her left hand, Salus supports a vertical ship's rudder, which rests upon the ground or on a globe. This iconographic combination unites two complementary imperial messages. The act of feeding the serpent at the altar references the traditional cult of Salus and Aesculapius, praying for health, deliverance from pestilence, and the physical preservation of the emperor and his citizens. The addition of the nautical rudder, normally an attribute of Fortuna, emphasizes the metaphorical steering and safe navigation of the state through perilous circumstances. Together, the elements form a coherent visual prayer for both physical welfare and guided political survival.

Inscriptional Formulas and Epigraphy

The inscriptions on RIC V Postumus 85 are concise, adhering strictly to established imperial formulas. The obverse legend reads IMP C POSTVMVS P F AVG, expanding to Imperator Caesar Postumus Pius Felix Augustus. This titulature invokes the traditional titles of imperial authority, dutiful piety (Pius), and divine favor or good fortune (Felix), reinforcing Postumus's assertion that he represented the legitimate continuation of the Roman imperial office in the West. The reverse legend is rendered simply as SALVS AVG, an abbreviation for Salus Augusti. This legend translates directly as the health, safety, or salvation of the Augustus. By employing the singular genitive Augusti rather than the plural Augustorum, the coin emphasizes Postumus's solitary imperial claim, distinct from the central joint rule of Valerian and Gallienus or Gallienus and his successors. The lettering is cleanly cut in square Roman capitals, running clockwise along the coin margins.

Typology, Die Sequences, and Chronological Placement

RIC V Postumus 85 is part of a broader series of Salus reverse issues produced under Postumus, distinguished from related types by the specific combination of the serpent at the altar and the rudder. In other contemporary issues, such as RIC 86 or RIC 87, Salus is depicted holding a sceptre or patera without the rudder, or standing in different stances. The broad dating envelope assigned to the type covers Postumus's entire reign from 260 to 269 AD, though numismatic hoard evidence and die-link studies narrow its main production window. Georg Elmer situated this specific Salus issue in his chronological sequence around the middle years of the reign, approximately 262 to 266 AD, prior to the severe monetary debasement and breakdown that characterized Postumus's final year in 269 AD. The high silver content and careful portraiture of standard specimens correlate closely with Elmer's middle phases, aligning with the consolidation of Postumus's authority over the Gallic territories.

Circulation Patterns, Hoard Evidence, and Metallurgy

Antoniniani of the RIC 85 type circulated extensively throughout Gaul, Britain, and the German provinces, serving as vital currency for commercial transactions and troop remuneration along the Rhine limes. Because Postumus maintained a superior billon alloy compared to the contemporaneous debased radiates of the central Roman empire, Gallic radiates were frequently hoarded by provincial populations in accordance with Gresham's law. Significant quantities of this type have been documented in major British and European coin hoards, including the Cunetio hoard in Wiltshire, which contained thousands of Gallic Empire radiates, and the Normanby hoard in Lincolnshire. Metallurgical assays of early to mid-reign Postumus antoniniani reveal silver contents typically ranging between fifteen and twenty-five percent, although debasement accelerated toward the end of his rule. The coins circulated well beyond the death of Postumus in 269 AD, continuing to appear in mixed coin deposits buried as late as the reigns of Tetricus I and Aurelian in the mid-270s AD.

References

1. The Cunetio Treasure: Roman Coinage of the Third Century AD. Cunetio Catalogue, Gallic Empire
2. Die Munzpragung der gallischen Kaiser in Koln, Trier und Mailand. pp. 1-106
3. Online Coins of the Roman Empire: RIC V Postumus 85. RIC V Postumus 85
4. The Roman Imperial Coinage, Volume V, Part II. p. 343, no. 85