Salonina Antoninianus — The Empress Who Lost Her Family as Rome Fell Apart

Own a Silver Coin from the Empress Who Lost Her Father-in-Law to Persia, Two Sons to Revolt, and Her Husband to Assassination

A real Roman antoninianus of Salonina—wife of Gallienus, Augusta throughout the height of the Third Century Crisis, and an empress who witnessed the Roman Empire endure capture, rebellion, invasion, and assassination during one of its darkest generations.

From $141.96

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📷 Coin shown is a representative example. You will receive one authentic NGC-certified antoninianus of Salonina. Each coin is unique and will vary in grade, strike, centering, preservation, remaining silvering, and individual appearance.

👑 Wife of Gallienus and Augusta during Rome's most turbulent era, appearing on coinage that projected stability while the empire endured relentless crisis
🏛 Features portraits of the empress alongside reverses honoring Venus, Juno, Fecunditas, Pudicitia, and other traditional Roman virtues associated with the imperial household
🤲 An NGC-certified antoninianus struck during the Third Century Crisis, one of the most dramatic periods in Roman history

Own This Piece of History

Why This Coin Matters

Few Roman empresses endured as much personal tragedy as Salonina.

She became Augusta when her husband Gallienus and his father Valerian I assumed joint rule in AD 253, inheriting an empire already strained by invasion, plague, civil war, and economic collapse. Over the next fifteen years she witnessed crisis after crisis reshape the Roman world.

The greatest shock came in AD 260, when Valerian was captured by the Persian king Shapur I after the Battle of Edessa—the only Roman emperor ever taken prisoner by a foreign enemy. He never returned, dying in Persian captivity while Gallienus struggled to preserve what remained of the empire.

Salonina's own family suffered repeated tragedy.

Her eldest son, Valerian II, died around AD 258 while associated with the Danubian and Illyrian frontier under uncertain circumstances. Separately, her younger son Saloninus was proclaimed Augustus at Cologne during the revolt of Postumus, only to be captured and executed when the city fell. The deaths of both heirs effectively ended Gallienus's hopes for a stable dynastic succession.

Throughout these disasters, Salonina's portrait continued to appear on imperial coinage. Her reverses celebrated fertility, harmony, piety, and prosperity—the timeless virtues expected of a Roman empress—even as the empire itself fragmented into competing states during the height of the Third Century Crisis.

Gallienus himself was assassinated outside Milan in AD 268 during a military conspiracy. What happened to Salonina afterward is uncertain. Ancient sources become largely silent, while later traditions suggest she may also have been executed during the transition of power. Modern historians remain cautious, as the evidence for her ultimate fate is inconclusive.

This authentic silver-washed antoninianus was struck while Salonina still served as Augusta, preserving the image of one of Rome's longest-serving and most resilient empresses during one of the empire's most difficult eras.

More than an ancient coin, it is a tangible connection to a woman whose life reflects the extraordinary human cost of Rome's Third Century Crisis.

Perfect For

• Collectors of Crisis of the Third Century coinage
• Students of Roman imperial history
• Enthusiasts of Roman empresses
• NGC-certified ancient coin collectors
• Anyone looking for a historically meaningful and unique gift

What You'll Receive

• One authentic Roman antoninianus of Salonina
• Civilization: Roman Empire
• Ruler: Salonina (Augusta, AD 253–268)
• Denomination: Antoninianus (billon with original silver wash often partially preserved)
• NGC certified for authenticity and preservation
• Presented in an NGC holder
• Representative example of the type (each coin is unique)

Continue the Story

Salonina's reign spans nearly the entire height of the Third Century Crisis—a period marked by foreign invasions, breakaway empires, economic collapse, and constant civil war. Her coinage preserves the image of an empress who remained at the center of Roman government through nearly fifteen years of unprecedented turmoil.

Explore our other Roman, Byzantine, Biblical, Greek, medieval, and world coin collections to continue your journey through the rulers, civilizations, and events that changed history.

Buy with Confidence

• NGC certified for authenticity and preservation
• Carefully sourced and verified
• 30-day return policy
• Secure shipping from the U.S.

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Learn More

Continue the story in the Kinzer Coins Journal: The Zoo Series of Gallienus.