280, Lot: 306. Estimate $100. Sold for $95. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

Valerian I. AD 253-260. Antoninianus (23mm, 2.87 g, 12h). Samosata mint. 1st emission, AD 255-256. Radiate, draped, and cuirassed bust right / Two Victories hanging shield inscribed S C on a palm tree. RIC V 295; MIR 36, 1688e; RSC 279. Good VF, reverse slightly rough.

While Valerian’s coinage presents a confident view of Rome’s welfare, in reality the empire was experiencing tremendous military onslaught both in the east and west. This would culminate in the humiliating abduction and enslavement of Valerian by the Sasanian king Shapur I.