A fascinating coin

Oh I like that one, @Spaniard Looks like Salvador Dali designed the reverse Good portrait too.

Have you guys noticed that it often looks like the die has been clogged with metal on these late ants? Can the purity of the metal have anything to do with this?

 

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..........Or maybe the engraver was an X farmer?

 

Gallienus Billon Antonianus Antioch 257-258 Rv. VICTORIA GERMAN Victory presenting wreath to emperor who is facing left 3.39 grms 21 mm

 

This is a subject of interest to me. Certainly this was the time when the billon dropped to a low enough level that someone invented silver washing for official coins. It had been done before by counterfeiters etc. I am not always in agreement with some of you as to whether a specific coin has lost its silver wash or never had any so what we see is just poor billon. The change seems to have occurred very late in the reign of Valerian and certainly in the early period of the sole reign of Gallienus. I wish I could tell you either truth or my firm opinion on some coins during the changeover period but I am not as certain as some that my ideas are correct. I do consider the two below rightly placed.

Valerian billon not silvered


Gallienus silvered


In Gaul, Postumus was slower to adopt the poor metal of Gallienus. His coins remained better silver for a few years longer. I do not have a soft and porous Postumus matching the late Valerians but the one below does seem to have retained silver wash.


I am less than certain that the Gallic mints actually did silvering and that what I have seen is not an artifact of cleaning. Certainly there are later coins of Postumus that are brown but I do not have one that I consider certainly silvered and partly peeling. I would be interested in seeing examples that are certainly washed (modern improvements by collectors do not count).

 

first one looks of lower fineness then the second one



Different mints with different silver percentage.




second one looks to have a better silver percentage

 

Here's a Valerian I coin I have, apparently from 257 AD, that looks like it has a decent amount of silver color. Whether that's due to content (25% according to the table posted above), or a silver wash, or both, I can't tell you: Valerian I, Silvered Billon Antoninianus, 257 AD, Milan Mint. Obv. Radiate, draped, cuirassed bust right, IMP VALERIANVS P AVG/ Rev. Virtus standing left, holding Victory and spear, resting left hand on shield, VIRTVS AVGG. RIC V-1 267 var. 22.5 mm., 3.4 g.