Name/Title
CE 0253 – 0268 Roman Empire, Gallienus Antoninianus, Apollo and Centaur ReverseDescription
Antoninianus of Gallienus with Centaur
Roman Empire, Rome mint
Gallienus, sole reign, CE 267–268
Billon antoninianus
22.51 mm; 3.00 g
Reference: RIC V.1 164; Sear RCV III 10178
Obverse: GALLIENVS AVG — radiate head of Gallienus facing right.
Reverse: APOLLINI CONS AVG — centaur walking left, holding globe and trophy; mintmark in exergue.
This antoninianus was struck during the sole reign of Gallienus, who ruled jointly with Valerian from CE 253 to 260 and then alone until CE 268. The type belongs to the late issues of his reign, when the Roman Empire was under heavy military, political, and monetary pressure.
The reverse legend, APOLLINI CONS AVG, invokes Apollo as protector or preserver of the emperor. The centaur belongs to Gallienus’s so-called “zoo series,” a collector term for a group of coins that paired protective deities with animals or mythological creatures. In the Apollo group, the centaur and griffin appear as Apollo-associated figures.
The radiate crown on the emperor’s portrait marks the denomination as an antoninianus, a coin introduced under Caracalla in CE 215. By Gallienus’s later reign, the denomination had become heavily debased; MER-RIC notes that between AD 238 and 268 the antoninianus declined sharply in both weight and silver content, and that Gallienus’s late coinage was part of this monetary deterioration.Create Date
May 20, 2026Update Date
June 4, 2026
