Series: Empire - Balbino
Reference: RIC 8 BALBINO

Gens and monetary:Crisis of the 3rd century - Balbino
Year and mint:From 238 AD to 238 AD - Rome
Obverse:Bust of Balbino, laureate, draped, with cuirass, right - IMP C D CAEL BALBINVS AVG
Reverse:Victoria, winged, draped, standing in front, head to the left, holding a crown in the right hand and the palm in the left hand - VICTORIA AVGG

Grade:FDC/EF - 3.61 g - 12h
Origin:Naumann 2025

Comment:
The year 238 AD It was one of the most chaotic years of the Roman Empire, known as the Year of the Six Emperors. The crisis was sparked by discontent with the tyrannical Maximinus the Thracian, an emperor of military origin who ruled with a heavy hand from the Rhine border. In Africa, Gordian I and his son Gordian II rebelled and were proclaimed emperors by the local elite, but their attempt was quickly put down.
Faced with a power vacuum, the Senate intervened directly and appointed Pupieno and Balbino as co-emperors. Balbino was an elderly man, from an aristocratic family, with administrative experience but without military charisma. His figure represented the desire of the Senate to restore civil authority against the rule of the generals.
However, their power was fragile: while they tried to rule from Rome, the Praetorian Guard, hostile to the Senate and favorable to a younger candidate, supported Gordian III. In July of the same year, Balbinus and Pupieno were assassinated by the Praetorians themselves, giving way to the young Gordian III as the new emperor.
Balbino’s denarii are scarce, issued during a very brief mandate of approximately three months, between April and July of the year 238 AD. In them he appears with a solemn and mature portrait, a symbol of traditional order.