Classical Numismatic Group > Electronic Auction 555Auction date: 7 February 2024
Lot number: 620

Price realized: 425 USD   (Approx. 396 EUR)   Note: Prices do not include buyer's fees.
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Lot description:


Gallienus. AD 253-268. Antoninianus (22.5mm, 2.48 g, 12h). "Legionary series" issue. Mediolanum (Milan) mint. 2nd emission, AD 260-circa 262. Radiate and cuirassed bust left, viewed from front, holding spear pointing downwards, and shield on left shoulder / LEG I ADI VI P VI F, Capricorn to right. RIC 315; MIR 36, 982q (this coin illustrated); RSC 448. Toned. Near VF. A very rare bust type. Only five examples cited in MIR with this example serving as the plate coin.

Ex Centurion Collection (Classical Numismatic Group Electronic Auction 484, 27 January 2021), lot 867; N. M. McQ. Holmes Collection (Classical Numismatic Group Electronic Auction 442, 17 April 2019), lot 341; Jacquier FPL 16 (Autumn 1994), no. 529.

Legio I Adiutrix ("Helper") was initially raised in AD 68. The recruitment was likely begun by Nero and completed Galba, using a core of sailors and marines from the Misenum fleet. It remained in Italy and fought on the losing side for Otho during the AD 68-69 Civil War before being posted to Germany circa AD 70, where it remained at the fortress of Mainz in double-billet with Legio XIV Gemina. It saw plenty of action during the reigns of Domitian, Nerva, and Trajan, and was moved by Hadrian in AD 118 to a new permanent base of Brigetio in modern Hungary. In the tumultuous third century, I Adiutrix was in the thick of the action on the vulnerable Danube frontier, battling barbarian invasions and the legions of rival Roman usurpers alike. The Notatia Dignitatum attests to its survival at Brigetio into the fifth century AD. Its symbol was Capricorn, the birth sign of Galba.

Estimate: 200 USD