Recently picked up an ant of Volusian, a dude that has been on my list for a while. Volusian, 251-253 AD, AR Antoninianus O: IMP C C VIB VOLVSIANVS AVG, radiate, draped and cuirassed bust right R: FELICITAS PVBL, Felicitas standing left, long caduceus in right, cornucopia in left hand. Rome mint. 20x 23 mm, 3.9 g. Does anyone else have a rough time keeping all the crisis of the 3rd century cats straight? When I got this coin I was thinking he was the kid of Trajan Decius, but he is the son of old TBONE gallus! Decius had Hostilian and H. Etruscus. Feel free to post you coins of any of those dudes !
VOLUSIAN AE30 OBVERSE: AVTOK K G AFIN GAL OVEND OVOLOCCIANOC CEB, radiate and draped bust right REVERSE: ANTIOXEWN MHTRO KOLWN D-e, SC below, Tyche seated facing within tetrastyle temple, the river-god Orontes swimming beneath her, ram leaping right above Struck at Syria-Antioch, 251-253 AD 17.1g, 30mm SNGCop 295 VOLUSIAN AR Antoninianus OBVERSE: IMP CAE C VIB VOLVSIANO AVG, radiate, draped and cuirassed bust right REVERSE: CONCORDIA AVG G - Concordia seated left, holding patera and two cornucopiae Struck at Serdica, 251-253 AD 3.4g, 20mm RIC 168 (Trebonianus Gallus), C 25
I've got a H. Etruscus. Syria, Seleucis and Pieria. Antiochia ad Orontem. Herennius Etruscus. As Caesar, A.D. 250-251. Æ octassarion.31mm // 16,30g. Obv: ЄPЄNN ЄTPOV MЄ KV ΔЄKIOC KЄCAP, bare-headed and draped bust of Herennius Etruscus right. Rev: ANTIOXЄΩN MHTPO KOΛΩN, Tyche seated within tetrastyle temple, the river-god Orontes swimming at her feet; above shrine, ram leaping right, head left; in exergue, S C. McAlee 1158.
Here's one with a rather pedestrian reverse type and ridiculously irregular lettering in the obverse inscription: Volusian, 251-253. Roman billon antoninianus; 3.21 g, 20.6 mm. Rome, AD 253. Obv: IMP CAE C VIB VOLVSIANO AVG, radiate, draped and cuirassed bust, right. Rev: P M TR P IIII COS II, emperor standing left, sacrificing over altar and holding short scepter. Refs: RIC 141; Cohen 94; Sear 9793; Hunter 3.
A recently acquired T-Bone and Volusian pair. Trebonianus Gallus Obv:– IMP C C VIB TREB GALLVS P F AVG, Radiate, draped cuirassed bust right Rev:– MARTEM PROPVGNATOREM, Mars, walking right holding spear and shield Minted in Antioch. A.D. 251 - 253 Ref:– RIC 84. RSC 70 Volusian Obv:– IMP C C VIB VOLVSIANVS AVG, Radiate, draped cuirassed bust right Rev– MARTEM PROPVGNATOREM, Mars, walking right holding spear and shield Minted in Antioch. A.D. 251 - 253 Reference:– RIC 219 (R). RSC 60
I sold the Volusian tet from Antioch pictured below at a Heritage auction, 14.58 gm, 27 mm, Prieur 703 (only 1 cited by prieur in the McAlee collection). The coin sold for a pitiful amount of money .
Nice wholesome coin, Chris! My only Volusian is a Pisidia provincial from a mixed lot bought in 2013.
Here's a sestertius of Volusianus I got for $200 Volusian (251-253 A.D.) AE Sestertius, 26mm 16 grams, Rome mint Obverse: IMP CAE C VIB VOLVSIANO AVG, laureate, draped and cuirassed bust right Reverse: FELICITAS PVBLICA S-C, Felicitas standing left, leaning on column, holding caduceus and sceptre. Reference: RIC 251a, Cohen 35, Sear 9786.
I think the celator who cut the obverse on Bing's bronze coin may have also cut the obverse die on my Antioch tet . What do you think ?
If I were to describe Volusian's time as emperor, I'd say the dude is comparable to white bread. Bland and totally forgettable. Still, he was emperor, so I suppose that's something.
Congrats on the new acquisition! Great portrait, though! My sestertius has some issues, but I'm very attached to it for the portrait:
I just sold all of my extra Volusian and Gallus ants. Several people got stellar deals on them, but I'm happy to have the best two for myself Volusian T-Bone On the lookout for a Volusian as Caesar while Hostilian was still alive - those are quite rare, but not as popular as others like Gordian III as Caesar. Of all the emperors who aren't "ephemerals" (Quintillus) I feel like the least is known of Volusian - just that he was the son of Gallus and perished alongside him.
Trebonianus Gallus facing Volusian. Reverse has tetrastyle temple with Tyche inside, river god at her feet. Antioch- BMC 656.
If I had better computer skills, I'd Photoshop this on my Volusian coin. It would be a huge improvement on his portrait. Volusian's motto should have been: "Volusian, the other white bread," or "Volusian, as interesting as plain white toast." That's how influential and significant he was on Roman history. Honestly, he was never on my list of emperors I wanted, but my coin of his was so cheap I couldn't pass up the bargain. Sometimes a coin is so cheap that you'd have to be a fool to pass it up.
My Volusian sestertius suffers from poor surface texture. I don't think his AE circulated much. You see more corroded ones than worn. My Antioch, Pisidia bronze is like TIF's but very different style. The legends on these tend to have spelling problems and excessive abbreviations. Because they are not the easiest to read, it is an easy way to pick up a misidentified Aemilian. They are not particularly scarce.
Nice new Ant! I recently picked up this Sestertius of Volusian (was mislabeled as Severus Alexander, so got it for a steal) to go with my As: Volusian, Ruled 251-253 AD AE Sestertius, Struck early 253 AD, Rome Obverse: IMP CAE C VIB VOLVSIANO AVG, bust of Volusian, laureate, draped, cuirassed, right. Reverse: FELICITAS PVBLICA, Felicitas, draped, standing left, leaning on column, holding caduceus in right hand and transverse sceptre in left hand, S-C across field. References: RIC IV 251a Size: 29mm, 14.03g (It appears that Felicitas is a common Sestertii type for Mr. VibVol?) Volusian, Ruled 251-253 AD AE As, Struck 251-253 AD, Rome Mint Obverse: IMP CAE C VIB VOLVSIANO AVG, Bust of Volusian, laureate, draped, cuirassed, right. Reverse: PAX AVGG, Pax, draped, standing left, holding branch in right hand and transverse sceptre in left hand, SC across field. References: RIC IV 256b Size: 22mm, 7.5g
