Claudius II Gothicus, 268-270. Antoninianus (Silver, 19 mm, 3.19 g, 2 h), a contemporary imitation of an issue of Claudius II from Rome and of Postumus from Treveri, respectively. Irregular mint, after 268. CVA SVIDVΛLC C PIIIII Radiate and cuirassed bust of Claudius II to left, holding spear over his shoulder in his right hand. Rev. CΛSTOR Postumus, in military attire, standing front, head to left, holding transverse spear in his left hand and leading horse standing behind him to left with his right. Cf. RIC V.1 online 122-3 (for prototype of obverse) and RIC V.4 387 (for prototype of reverse). An exceptional and surprising piece and of great numismatic interest. Some traces of corrosion, otherwise, about very fine.


This is probably the most unusual imitation this cataloguer has ever worked with. It is fascinating in several ways. For one, it combines a very rare military bust type of Claudius II (see lot 2399 below) from Rome with an exceptionally rare Castor reverse of Postumus - a type known from only a single die. The fact that an ancient forger managed to bring together such a rare obverse type from the central empire with an extreme rarity from the breakaway Gallic Empire raises the question: how did he even get access to both prototypes?

Even more remarkable is the coin’s composition: it was struck in unusually high-quality silver at a time when official antoniniani were merely given a thin silver wash. And then there’s the legend: while the reverse inscription is accurate, the entire obverse legend appears in reverse order - yet with correctly oriented letters! The curious CVA SVIDVΛLC C PIIIII, when read from right to left, despite its crude execution, unmistakably spells IMP C CLAVDIVS AVG. This combination of types, craftsmanship, and oddity undoubtedly makes it one of the most intriguing imitations of its time.