Emperor Gallienus Roman coin, 3rd century ancient Antoninianus, Fides reverse

This is a great coin from the late Roman empire, minted in the 3th century under emperor Gallienus who ruled from 253 to 268 with the god Fides on the reverse. It was minted during the crisis of the third century which began in 235 with the assassination of Emperor Severus Alexander by his own troops. During the following 50-year period, the empire saw the combined pressures of barbarian invasions and migrations into Roman territory, civil wars, peasant rebellions and political instability, with multiple usurpers competing for power. This led to the debasement of currency and economic collapse. Originally the Antoninianus had a value of 2 denarii as shown by the radiate crown on the emperor with a good weight of silver but at this time of unrest the coins had hardly any silver content and so have a basic bronze look to them. A very interesting time in history to collect.

It has some great details still with some original silvering and wouldn't be far off how a roman would have seen their coins in their hands over 1700 years ago!
Size: 20mm
Weight: 3.51g
Please look closely at the photos for the condition and get in touch if you have any questions.

If you like these then please check out my other listings, I have plenty of great coins to choose from.