Featured Salus Provinciarum: Postumus and the Rhine Border

This antoninianus is neither the best preserved nor the most skillfully engraved coin of Postumus in my collection – but it probably is the most historically interesting one:

Postumus, Gallic Roman Empire, AR antoninianus, mid–end 260 AD, Trier mint. Obv: IMP C POSTVMVS. P. F. AVG; bust of Postumus, radiate, draped, cuirassed, r. Rev: SALVS PROVINCIARVM; river god reclining l., head horned, r. hand resting on knee, and holding pitcher and anchor in l. hand; to rear, l., forepart of boat. 23mm, 3.15g. Ref: Mairat 14; RIC V Postumus 87.

On the reverse of this coin struck in the first months of Postumus' reign, we see a bearded and horned river god reclining in front of a ship. He holds a pitcher, symbolizing a river source, and an anchor. The anchor typically is an attribute of Laetitia and points to safety and stability. Its horns allow us to identify the main figure as Rhenus, the personification of the river Rhine, which constituted a natural border between the Roman Empire and the territories held by the Germanic tribes:

(Yes, this map does not accurately reflect the Roman borders in the 3rd century and most importantly doesn't show the Upper Germanic-Rhaetian Limes and the agri decumates in south-western Germany. But anyways, these were abandoned in 260 when the Romans after the Limesfall retreated to the Rhine and Danube. You get the gist of it.)

Although horns originally were an attribute of river gods in general (@Nicholas Molinari knows more), they appear to have become increasingly associated with Rhenus. Vergil, for example, writes of the “two-horned Rhine” (Rhenusque bicornis, Aeneis VIII, 727). When Ovid describes Tiberius’ triumph, he mentions a horned image of Rhenus being carried in the triumphal procession: “This with broken horns badly covered with green sedge, is the Rhine himself discoloured with his blood.” (cornibus hic fractis viridi male tectus ab ulva decolor ipse suo sanguine Rhenus erat; Tristia IV,2,41–2). Martial, referring to military victories in Germany, also writes of the “Rhine, whose presumptious horn has now been shattered for the third time” (fractusque cornu iam ter improbum Rhenus, Epigrammata VII,7). In the 4th/5th century, Servius even explained Rhenus’ horns as a reference to the geography of the bifurcated Rhine delta (Servius Grammaticus, Commentarius in lib. VIII,727).

This stone carving, part of a 2nd century epitaph found at Bonn, shows Rhenus as a horned and bearded man:


But why did Postumus chose to show Rhenus on one of his very first coins and add the legend SALVS PROVINCIARVM (“welfare/safety of the provinces")?

To understand this, it is helpful to have a brief look at the circumstances of his rise to power. In 260 AD, the Roman Empire was under attack from all sides. In the battle of Edessa, Rome suffered a catastrophic defeat against the Sasanian Empire and Valerian I was taken captive. On the Danube, the now sole emperor Gallienus had to campaign against the usurper Ingenuus. To face this new threat, Gallienus recalled troops from the Rhine border, leaving Rome’s permanently unstable border with the Germanic tribes vulnerable.

The Alamanni and Franks immediately started to raid Roman territory. Saloninus, Gallienus’ 18-year old son who had been appointed commander of the Rhine army, wasn’t able to handle this situation. Roman troops had to withdraw from the Limes Germanicus back to the rivers Rhine and Danube, and the Agri Decumates were abandoned. Raiding parties advanced far into Gaul. According to the much later historian Zosimus, the discontent of the Roman army escalated when Saloninus forbade his soldiers to keep spoils they had taken from a defeated band of Juthungi raiders (see Historia nova, 1.37.2). Though the exact course of the ensuing events is lost to history, the gist of it seems clear: “The Rhine army had no confidence in the ability of the legitimate Emperor to protect the provinces from invasion, and chose the man whom the soldiers thought most capable of doing so” (Southern 2001, 97). Somewhen between May and July 260, the acting governor of Lower Germany, Postumus, was proclaimed emperor by the army, and this hapless caesar got killed by his own troops:

Saloninus, Roman Empire, AR/BI antoninian, 258/9 AD, Cologne mint. Obv: SALON VALERIANVS CAES; bust of Saloninus, radiate, draped, r. Rev: SPES PVBLICA; Spes, draped, walking r., holding flower in r. hand and raising robe with l. hand. 22mm, 4,56g. Ref: RIC V Saloninus 13; MIR 36, 915e.

Postumus, who likely was of Batavian origin and had risen through the ranks of the Rhine army, found much local support: “By the end of the summer Postumus controlled not only the provinces of the Rhineland, but also the inland provinces of Gaul (excepting Narbonensis in the south) and Britain” (Potter 2004, 257). This support for the revolt stemmed from the expectation that Postumus, in contrast to Gallienus, would repulse Germanic raids and strengthen the Rhine border. These aims indeed became programmatic for Postumus’ reign: “His immediate concern, indeed his raison d’être and the basis of his power, was the reparation and defence of the Rhine frontier and the hinterland” (Southern 2001, 98).

The depiction of Rhenus in combination with the legend salus provinciarum on my coin thus can be read as a political statement. With this coin, Postumus ensured his subjects that he was going deliver on the promise of keeping the Rhine border and thus the western provinces safe.

Please show your coins of Postumus!

Sources:
David Stone Potter, The Roman Empire at Bay, AD 180-395, London/New York: Routledge 2004.
Pat Southern, The Roman Empire from Severus to Constantine, London/New York: Routledge 2001.

 

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Very informative and interesting write-up!

Was the Salvs Provinciarvm type used by any of the other Gallic emperors?

I've always wondered if the S-P fieldmark, used in Britain by Carausius and Allectus, and also later (c.316 AD) by Constantine, might mean this too.

 

Thanks for the compliment!

Concerning your question, the Rhenus reverse is unique to Postumus. It is certainly unusual considering that most of his other coins copy issues by earlier emperors.

I haven’t thought about a possible connection to the S-P field mark yet. Certainly an intriguing idea!

 

It is difficult to find this type well struck. I didn't manage it:



23 mm. 3.38 grams.
RIC 329. Sear III 10991.
This example is better than Sear's plate coin, which is almost proof that it is hard to find well struck.

 

Interesting bust style - looks rather like Gallienus!

 

Very instructive presentation! I have a Mairat 13 "head hornless" and still looking for a Mairat 3 or 4 with the full name: IMP C M CASS LAT POSTIMVS PF AVG :

 

Here's one of mine that I purchased recently. MONETA AVG reverse is flatstruck. Seller's photos; I have zero photography skills but it is better in hand.

I find that coins of this Gallic emperor are fairly common and affordable in decent condition (for the time being). This one was 13 euro including shipping.

 

Orielensis, This is an interesting article on the "River God issue" of Postumus . Earlier this year I did an article on the coinage of Postumus .


A Brief Look at the Coinage of Postumus | Coin Talk

 

@Al Kowsky possibley my favorite archetype is what I call the "Spaghetti Victory."

I got one of these are one of the first 10 ancient coins I ever bought. The veristic portrait on the obverse is stunning but evidently the reverse celator was either the new guy, or the locals figured the best way to make the coin was to honor the emperor as realistic as possible based on the presumed imago provided - but use their local, native artistic flair for the reverse.


A month ago I managed to find a second one. The obverse is less refined, and unlike the one above this appears to be silver-washed on a bronze core (as opposed to silver washed on a "billon-ish" core).


I cannot get enough of the Spaghetti Victories. I yearn for a sestertius such as yours.

 

In the spirit of the OP: my most "unusual" Postumus is probably this FIDES MILITVM example. For some odd reason, FIDES MILITVM coins of just about any emperor range from slightly to majorly harder to find, proportionally, of that specific emperor.


Ain't the prettiest coin, but these only come along once in a blue moon so I'll take it!

 

Very informative write-up on this interesting issue @Orielensis . This one doesn't even pretend to be silver (or else the silver plating got worn off):


Gallic Empire Antoninianus
Postumus
(260 A.D.)
Trier Mint
IMP C POSTVMVS P F AVG, radiate, draped & cuirassed right / SALVS PROVINCIARVM, river god Rhine, horns on head, reclining left, elbow on urn, hand on prow, holding anchor.
RIC 87; RSC 355; Sear 10990.
(2.78 grams / 24 x 21 mm)
eBay Nov. 2018

 

h.w.earl, Your label "Spaghetti Victory" seems to fit well . It's not unusual to see a difference in quality between obverse & reverse since the portrait side is more important, but this issue goes beyond that . It's hard to reconcile or explain the disparity between the obverse & reverse of this issue . There is a naïve charm to the reverse . Maybe the engraver was related to Postumus, & everyone decided to keep a tight lip about it ...

 

What a great post @Orielensis!

I shall post a picture of my Postumus with Salus Provinciarum reverse later.

Given Postumus' role in stabilizing the Rhine frontier and protector or restorer of Gaul, I find it surprising that he minted only very few coins refering to VICTORIAE GERMANICAE. I find this scarcity of Germanic war references on Postumus' coins espcecially surprising given that his rival Gallienus celebrated numerous victories.

It seems that the only victory that Postumus celebrated (by erecting an triumphal arch) was his victory over Saloninus and Silvanus at the seige of Cologne. Maybe Postumus stabilized the border but never scored a decisive victory against the Germanic tribes?

 

Maybe the fact that Postumus came from Germen barbarian stock (Batavian ethnicity) had something to due with that .

 

This is easily the best example I have ever seen.

 

Here is my exemplar
IMP C POSTVMVS PF AVG // SALVS PROVINCIARVM

The coin is quite well struck for the issue. Especially the reverse die was rather fresh when the coin was struck.
The coin is somewhat discoloured. In some parts the metal looks like pure copper, in others it looks like silver.

 

I wonder what the source is for Postumus' Batavian origins. I read that he was likely from Gaul.

 

Here is a common VICTORIA AVG:


And another one, which may be from an unofficial mint:

 

Postumus - Wikipedia