Ancient Roman Bronze Coin of Empress Salonina (Wife of Emperor Gallienus)

Own a Bronze Coin from the Empress Who Witnessed the Roman Empire Nearly Collapse Around Her

A real bronze antoninianus of Salonina — wife of Gallienus, mother of three princes, and an imperial woman who lived through her father-in-law's capture by Persia, her son's execution during the Gallic revolt, and fifteen years of the Third Century Crisis before her husband was assassinated in AD 268. NGC certified.

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👑 Wife of Gallienus through fifteen years of Rome's most catastrophic era — witnessing the empire fragment, her sons die in revolts, and her father-in-law rot in Persian captivity
🏛 Reverse depicts Venus, Juno, Fecunditas, or Concordia — traditional Roman feminine virtues, with some coins suggesting unusual themes of intellectual pursuits reflecting Salonina's personal influence
🤲 Struck AD 253–268 — bronze coinage from Rome's most economically collapsed era, from an empress some scholars connect to the tolerant religious policies of Gallienus's reign. NGC certified.

Own This Piece of History

Why This Coin Matters

Salonina's coins are among the most historically layered of any empress of the Crisis era. While most imperial women's reverses follow predictable patterns of divine virtue imagery, Salonina's coinage includes types that scholars have associated with intellectual and cultural pursuits — suggesting an empress who exercised genuine personal influence over her own numismatic representation, and perhaps over the court culture of Gallienus's reign more broadly.

That cultural dimension is significant context for the religious policies of the period. Gallienus reversed the persecutions of Christians that had characterized his father Valerian's reign, issuing an edict of toleration that returned confiscated property to Christian communities and allowed the faith to practice openly. Some scholars have theorized that Salonina's sympathies may have influenced that policy shift — though direct evidence remains elusive, the toleration itself was real and consequential for the early church.

Her personal losses during these years were extraordinary even by Crisis-era standards. Her father-in-law Valerian I was captured by Shapur I of Persia in AD 260 — the only Roman emperor ever taken prisoner by a foreign enemy. That same year, her son Saloninus, proclaimed Augustus in Cologne as a counter to the Gallic usurper Postumus, was executed when Postumus's forces captured the city. Her other son Valerian II had already died in Illyria years earlier. She bore all of this as Augusta, her portrait circulating across the fragmenting empire on bronze coins like this one. Certified by NGC.

Perfect for:

• Collectors of Crisis of the Third Century, imperial women, and Roman bronze antoniniani
• History lovers drawn to Salonina, Gallienus, and the personal and political tragedies of the Third Century
• Roman empress portrait, unusual reverse type, and NGC certified Crisis-era bronze enthusiasts
• Anyone seeking a historically nuanced piece from one of Rome's most intellectually and personally significant empresses

What You'll Receive

• One authentic bronze antoninianus of Salonina
• Denomination: Bronze Antoninianus (silver-washed bronze — debased currency of the era)
• NGC certified for authenticity and preservation
• Struck AD 253–268 — similar to examples shown (each coin is unique)

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• Guaranteed authentic ancient coin
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• 30-day return policy
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