The Battle of Naïssus

408, Lot: 516. Estimate $100. Sold for $160. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

Claudius II Gothicus. AD 268-270. Antoninianus (20mm, 3.08 g, 6h). Rome mint. 1st emission, late AD 269. Radiate and cuirassed bust right / Emperor standing left, holding olive branch and scepter; –/–//–. Normanby 603; RIC V 10; RIC Online 301 (this coin cited). Choice EF, brown patina, traces of silvering.

From the Finn Johannessen Collection, purchased from Koen de Pooter, 8 July 2002.

According to RIC Online, this issue was struck in commemoration of the victory at Naïssus (modern Niš, Serbia). While very little is known about the details of the battle, it was a resounding victory for the Romans, with perhaps as many as 50,000 Goths either killed or taken captive.