Aurélien

A Danubian cavalryman who became emperor in 270, Aurelian stitched the empire back together in five years: Palmyra defeated, Gaul recovered, Rome girdled with a wall that still bears his name. In 274 he reformed the discredited currency and imposed the aurelianus with a guaranteed standard. Restitutor Orbis, restorer of the world: the title proclaimed on his reverses gave this house its name. A frightened secretary had him assassinated in 275.

This coin dates from after the reform of 274: the aurelianus bears the mark XXI guaranteeing its alloy, the mints were brought to heel, and the unconquered Sun dominates the reverses.