Billon Antoninianus Of Gallienus RIC 283

Billon Antoninianus (21mm 2.51g) Struck AD 264-268 Rome

Obv: GALLIENVS AVG Radiate bust right

Rev: SOLI CONS AVG Pegasus right spring heavenward H in exergue

RIC 283, Sears 10362
Uncleaned coin find

The Front (Obverse)

• The Text: GALLIENVS AVG (Short for Gallienus Augustus—basically, "Emperor Gallienus").
• The Portrait: You see Gallienus looking to the right. He is wearing a radiate crown (a crown with spiky sunbeams shooting out of it). In Roman coin language, that spiky crown is a shortcut to tell the user: "Hey, this coin is worth two of the regular ones!"

The Back (Reverse) — The Fun Part!

• The Text: SOLI CONS AVG (An abbreviation for Soli Conservatori Augusti, which translates to "To the Sun, Conservator/Protector of the Emperor").
• The Image: A beautiful Pegasus, the mythical winged horse, rearing up or springing forward. The original catalog description notes it is springing "Elysiumward" (toward the heavens/the afterlife).
• The Secret Code: See that little letter H at the very bottom? That is the mint mark. It is the Greek letter Eta (the 8th letter of the alphabet), which tells us it was minted by the 8th workshop (officina) of the imperial mint in Rome.

Why was this coin made? (The Historical Context)

This coin belongs to a famous series known to collectors as the "Zoo Series" or "Animal Series."

During the later years of his reign, everything was going wrong for Gallienus. The Roman Empire was splitting apart, plagues were tearing through the population, and enemies were attacking the borders. In a desperate bid for divine help, Gallienus launched a massive coin campaign dedicating issues to various gods and their sacred protector animals (like Pegasus for Apollo/Sol, lions, panthers, stags, and even griffins).

By putting the mythical Pegasus on this coin and dedicating it to Sol (the Sun God), Gallienus was sending a loud propaganda message to his people: "The gods are on my side, they are protecting me, and they are going to carry Rome out of this dark crisis and up into the light."