Coin, Postumus, Medal
Refrappe Aureus - MS(63) - Gold
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7.67 gr.
Postumus
- Emperor of the Gauls / Roman usurper: AD 260–269
- Period: The Thirty Tyrants
Marcus Cassianus Latinius Postumus’ date of birth is unknown to us and his origins remain a mystery (probably Gaul). Governor of a province in Gaul, he helped the emperor Gallienus to repel Frankish attacks on the borders of the empire. Galvanized by his success, his troops proclaimed him emperor in 260.
However, unlike others before and after him, instead of claiming the entire Roman Empire, he was content to create the Gallic Empire and establish its capital at Cologne. And the Roman Empire was sufficiently unstable so that in the absence of recognizing a certain legitimacy to him, Gallienus granted him a certain peace. While the army made him emperor, it was also the army that assassinated him in 269 following a sedition when he tried to dissuade his troops from looting the city of Mainz.
Economy and currency
Although his reign was partial and its legitimacy altogether relative, Postumus proved relatively active where money was concerned. The emperor of the Gauls was quite Roman in spirit, and so was his currency. Having at his disposal silver mines in Spain and his territory containing two large mints at Cologne and Trier, he issued aurei and Constantinian coins of superior quality to those struck by Rome. This allowed him to curb, for a time at least, the rampant inflation. On the other hand, his double sestertius in bronze was a failure, proving not heavy enough compared to the “simple” sestertius.
Picture: Engraving from the book "Portraits of Roman Emperors" by Giovanni Battista de'Cavalieri (1592)
Gold
Although nowadays gold enjoys a reputation as the king of precious metals, that was not always the case. For example, in Ancient Greece, Corinthian bronze was widely considered to be superior. However, over the course of time, it has established itself as the prince of money, even though it frequently vies with silver for the top spot as the standard.
Nevertheless, there are other metals which appear to be even more precious than this duo, take for example rhodium and platinum. That is certain. Yet, if the ore is not as available, how can money be produced in sufficient quantities? It is therefore a matter of striking a subtle balance between rarity and availability.
But it gets better: gold is not only virtually unreactive, whatever the storage conditions (and trouser pockets are hardly the most precious of storage cases), but also malleable (coins and engravers appreciate that).
It thus represents the ideal mix for striking coins without delay – and we were not going to let it slip away!
The chemical symbol for gold is Au, which derives from its Latin name aurum. Its origins are probably extraterrestrial, effectively stardust released following a violent collision between two neutron stars. Not merely precious, but equally poetic…
The first gold coins were minted by the kings of Lydia, probably between the 8th and 6th century BC. Whereas nowadays the only gold coins minted are investment coins (bullion coins) or part of limited-edition series aimed at collectors, that was not always the case. And gold circulated extensively from hand to hand and from era to era, from the ancient gold deposits of the River Pactolus to the early years of the 20th century.
As a precious metal, in the same way as silver, gold is used for minting coins with intrinsic value, which is to say the value of which is constituted by the metal from which they are made. Even so, nowadays, the value to the collector frequently far exceeds that of the metal itself...
It should be noted that gold, which is naturally very malleable, is frequently supplemented with small amounts of other metals to render it harder.
The millesimal fineness (or alloy) of a coin indicates the exact proportion (in parts per thousand) of gold included in the composition. We thus speak, for example, of 999‰ gold or 999 parts of gold per 1 part of other metals. This measure is important for investment coins such as bullion. In France, it was expressed in carats until 1995.
An “MS(63)” quality
As in numismatics it is important that the state of conservation of an item be carefully evaluated before it is offered to a discerning collector with a keen eye.
This initially obscure acronym comprising two words describing the state of conservation is explained clearly here:
Mint State(63)
This means – more prosaically – that it is very unlikely that the coin has circulated, even among few and careful hands. Traces of any manipulations are practically imperceptible and no patina or other form of oxidation has altered the object’s brilliance.