I'm late to the party, but... after trading "up" through 3 different Valerian portraits I finally stopped when I got this one. In hand his moustache really pops. Valerian I, (Publius Licinius Valerianus), AD 253-260. Antioch mint; silver Antoninianus. Obv.: IMP C P LIC VALERIANVS P F AVG; Radiate draped cuirassed bust, right. Rev.: RESTITVT ORIENTIS; Valerian standing, receiving wreath from Orient. Diam.: 21 mm. Weight: 3.3 gr. Attrib.: Cohen 189. RIC 287, page 60. (Scarce.) Perhaps it goes without saying, but in this period (the start of the Crisis of the Third Century) the silver content really took a nosedive. Unfortunately, the silver content was so low that not many nice examples are extant -- and several of those that do remain have surface/metal issues.
VALERIAN I AE20 OBVERSE: IMP LICI VALERIAN, laureate, draped and cuirassed bust right REVERSE: VCOL AVG TRO, horse grazing right Struck at Alexandria Troas, 253-60 AD 4.86g, 21mm SNGCop 191v
I agree that really nice Valerian portraits are hard to come by. Some nice ones in this thread, though! (Including the OP sestertius and the ants posted by @Cucumbor, @Mat, and @Alegandron. @gsimonel's is pretty impressive for Antioch!) I bought this Viminacium first issue for the portrait, and I haven't seen many (except in gold) that I like better:
There are some splendid coins of Valerian in this thread! I have been on the same search as @Clavdivs , and this is the best portrait I could find: Valerian I, Roman Empire, AR antoninianus, 253-254 AD, Rome mint. Obv: IMP C P LIC VALERIANVS AVG; bust of Valerian, radiate, draped, cuirassed, r. Rev: APOLINI PROPVG; Apollo, nude except for cloak flying behind, standing r., drawing bow. 22mm, 3,58. Ref: RIC V Valerian 74; Göbl 44d.
To summarize: sad looks, poor portraits, taken captive. Looks like the poor man never got a break... And to add insult to injury, his nemesis made great coins! I hope it's all right to post this one here, @Clavdivs. The thread's not about him, but, well, he's the elephant in the room. And it's only appropriate since it was you who pointed the guy out to me. So here we go: (ok, mine's not the best example, but he made some really great coins!). I'll probably never buy gold, (for one thing, it's cost-prohibitive), but if I would, a Shapur I dinar would be on top of my want list.
This sestertius has a better portrait than any of my antoniani Valerianus I (253-260). AE Sestertius (), Rome, 253/254 AD. Obv. IMP C P LIC VALERIANVS AVG, Laureate and cuirassed bust to right. Rev. VIRTVS AVGG / S - C, Virtus standing left. RIC 182; Göbl 38k
Great coins all, this is probably my most life-like portrait on a coin. And this is probably my best example of "eastern style" which is not life-like and stylized. A pretty consistent feature in all portraits is a jowly face, saggy neck, with somewhat of a recessed chin, maybe a bit overweight.
This one is the only coin of Valerian I have owned to date. It was purchased from Incitatus in 2007 for my first novice collection of Romans.
Many attractive coins of Valerian I were struck at provincial mints, unfortunately too many of these coins have been impaired by wear & striking weakness; the coin pictured below is a good example. I bought this coin because of the interesting reverse composition & because it's dated . I removed the coin from the slab but kept the NGC insert.
I just picked up this inexpensive example.. reverse isn't great but the portrait is on the nicer side .. Obverse: IMP C P LIC VALERIANVS P F AVG, radiate, cuirassed bust right Reverse: FELICI-TAS AVGG, Felicitas standing left, holding caduceus and scepter Size: 21.56mm Weight: 3.21 grams