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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;GinoLR, post: 26503140, member: 128351&quot;][ATTACH=full]1689414[/ATTACH]</p><p>Postumus, AE 22 mm, 5.20 g, somewhere in Gaul 266-270.</p><p>Obv. : illegible legend (mostly off-flan), radiate, draped and cuirassed bust of Postumus right.</p><p>Rev. : illegible legend, draped figure standing left, holding two standards (?) (type <i>Fides militum</i>).</p><p><br /></p><p>In 260 &quot;practically no new bronze coins had reached the western frontier since the Antonine period. By providing a fresh supply of bronze coins, Postumus succeded where the central administration had failed&quot; (Philip Kiernan). Pierre Bastien&#039;s study of the coinage of Postumus distinguished 4 kinds of double-sestertii : The regular mint of Cologne or Trier (260-262), the unofficial important workshop called &quot;Atelier II&quot; (262-266), &quot;Diverse imitations&quot; (266-270) and &quot;cast reductions&quot; produced by impressing larger struck coins in wet clay moulds, which shrank as they dried. </p><p><br /></p><p>It is obvious that the important output of the regular Trier or Cologne mint was badly needed in the &quot;Gallic Empire&quot;. When it stopped producing large bronze coins to concentrate on gold or antoniniani, the unofficial &quot;Atelier II&quot; opened somewhere and its production circulated in Gaul and Germany alongside old worn-out Antonine sestertii and official Postumian bronzes. Progressively other unofficial workshops minted very degraded double-sestertii, until 270 when large bronze was generally abandoned. We don&#039;t know who was behind the unofficial imitative mints but it seems they were not considered illegal.</p><p><br /></p><p>This coin of just 22 mm and 5.2 g must belong to the &quot;Atelier II&quot; or &quot;Diverse imitations&quot;. Several hoards are known containing these Postumus unofficial coins, and &quot;double-sestertii&quot; of this reduced module and weight represented 10-12% of two of these hoards. It may be dated 262-270, probably near 270. </p><p><br /></p><p>Please post your Postumian large bronzes, especially the imitations ![/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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