Emperor Postumus aureus brings $189k

Topping the sale at a recent Nomos 471-lot public auction May 31 in Zürich was a gold aureus of Romano-Gallic Emperor Postumus, A.D. 260 to 269 that remains virtually as struck. It brought a hammer price of 150,000 Swiss francs. ($189,924 U.S.) Marcus Cassianius Latinius Postumus founded the Gallic Empire (260–274 CE), a breakaway state comprising Gaul, Britain, and Hispania. Proclaimed emperor by his Rhine legions, Postumus assumed the title and powers of Emperor. He ruled for the better part of a decade, defending the frontier from Germanic tribes. He was killed by his own troops in 269 CE after refusing to let them sack Mainz.

The year 268 saw the issuing of the 'Labours of Hercules' series of coins in honour of Postumus's favourite god. A sudden large debasement of his coinage later that year shows that Postumus was facing increasing financial pressure, probably due to a sharp decline of silver and gold production from Spanish mines. The need to buy off an increasingly discontented army compounded those problems.