Valerien I (253-260).
Aureus - Samosate (255-256)
D’une grande rareté et d’une qualité exceptionnelle.
Le plus bel exemplaire connu.
Exemplaire de la vente 51 Gallery du 25 avril 2018, N°123.
3.43g - Calicó 3449
FDC Exceptionnel - GEM MS

Located on the West bank of the Euphrates, the site of Samosata in Turkey, where this coin was struck, was flooded when the Atatürk Dam was built in 1983-1990. It had been Roman since AD 72, after being the capital of the Kingdom of Commage since 160 BC, and Hadrian made it a civil metropolis. It is remembered as the birthplace of the writer Lucian of Samosata (c. AD 120-192), but also of Paul of Samosata who became Bishop of Antioch in AD 260 – not long after this coin was struck, probably to pay soldiers from the Legio VI Ferrato or from the Legio XVI Flavia firma, both based in Samosata. Valerian is memorable for a number of reasons, including his relative old age (he was born c. AD 190), his seizure as prisoner by the Sasanian king Shapur I, and the fact that he was flayed and stuffed after his death.