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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Roman Collector, post: 4107521, member: 75937&quot;]That&#039;s a beauty and with an interesting portrait style. </p><p><br /></p><p>I have a couple that are similar to your coin and possibly from the same issue. Nobody can seem to agree on where and when the first of these was minted. RIC is unable to assign it to a specific city and attributes it to an &quot;Asian mint&quot; and dates it to AD 259. Sear, similarly vague, attributes it to an &quot;uncertain Syrian mint, AD 260.&quot;</p><p><br /></p><p>Robert Göbl identified the issuing mint as Samosata, a city on the river Euphrates in Mesopotamia, the site of which (Samsat in Adiyaman Province, Turkey) today lies under a reservoir. Like Antioch, Samosata played an important role for ancient traders travelling the Eastern trade routes to Damascus and the oasis kingdom of Palmyra. Samosata probably operated as a mint between 255-258, possibly replacing the mint at Antioch which was plundered several times in this period -- in 253 (during the reign of Trebonianus Gallus) or 256 and again in 260: the sources for the period are rather patchy. [see Claire Franklin-Werz, &quot;Gallienus and the East,&quot; <i>Coins Weekly</i>, available <a href="https://www.coinsweekly.com/en/Gallienus-and-the-East/8?&amp;id=770&amp;type=a" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.coinsweekly.com/en/Gallienus-and-the-East/8?&amp;id=770&amp;type=a" rel="nofollow">here</a>]</p><p><br /></p><p>If this is true, it makes assigning a date of the coin to AD 259 or 260 somewhat problematic. I suspect -- but am far from certain -- dating the coin to AD 260 was probably done on the basis of the singular AVG being used on the reverse instead of the plural AVGG that would be expected had it been issued during the joint reign of Valerian and Gallienus, which came to a tragic end with the capture of the senior Augustus by the Persians. One does have to wonder, however, if coinage celebrating victory over the Persians in the east would have been issued shortly after this event. I suspect the coin was issued earlier in the joint reign -- during the operation of the Samosata mint -- and the use of the singular AVG is an enigma.</p><p><br /></p><p><img src="https://www.cointalk.com/attachments/gallienus-oriens-avg-tyche-and-emperor-antoninianus-jpg.810362/" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /> </p><p>Gallienus, AD 253-268.</p><p>Roman AR Antoninianus, 3.56 g, 22.0 mm, 6 h.</p><p>Samosata(?), AD 260 (?).</p><p>Obv: Radiate, draped, and cuirassed bust right / ORIENS AVG, turreted female (the Orient) standing right, presenting wreath to Gallienus standing left in military dress and holding a spear; wreath above. RIC V 445; Göbl 1698b; RSC 705a; RCV 10298; Hunter 71.</p><p><br /></p><p>Note the similarity in style and iconography to this issue, also attributed by Göbl to Samosata, celebrating Roman successes against the Sasanians in the years AD 253-254. It has the same iconography and reverse legend as yours:</p><p><br /></p><p><img src="https://www.cointalk.com/attachments/gallienus-restitvt-orientis-antoninianus-jpg.809837/" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /> </p><p>Gallienus, AD 253-268.</p><p>Roman Billon Antoninianus, 4.40 g, 23.5 mm.</p><p>Samosata, AD 255-256.</p><p>Obv: IMP C P LIC GALLIENVS AVG, radiate and draped bust, right.</p><p>Rev: RESTITVT ORIENTIS, turreted female (the Orient) standing right, presenting wreath to emperor, standing left, who holds spear in left hand.</p><p>Refs: RIC 448; RSC 902; Cohen 902; RCV 10341; Hunter p. xlvii; Göbl 1677m.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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