Roman Imperial
Trebonianus Gallus (251-253), Antoninianus 251-253, Rome mint
Obverse: radiate, draped and cuirassed bust right
IMP C C VIB TREB GALLVS AVG
Reverse: Pietas standing facing, head left, both hands raised, at her feet, altar
PIETAS AVGG
Weight 4,20 g.
Trebonian Gallus was proclaimed emperor by the army when his predecessor Trajan Decius, along with his older son, Herennius Etruscan, died in the Battle of the Goths at Abrittus in late 251. The election was quickly accepted by the Senate, elevating the younger son of Decius Hostilian to Augustus. Hostilian was soon killed by the plague, and the Trebonians with their son Volusian, co-ruler raised to the rank of Augustus after Hostilian's death, ruled only until August 253, when they were killed by their own soldiers. The proclamation on the reverse of "universal happiness" is here only wishful propaganda - in fact the situation of the Roman Empire, threatened by the Germans from the north and the Sassanids from the east, was extremely difficult.
