Tétricus Ier

A senator and governor of Aquitania, Tetricus was the last emperor of the Gauls, proclaimed in 271. He reigned from Trier with his son while the Gallic Empire ran out of breath. In 274, facing Aurelian at Châlons, tradition has it he crossed to the enemy in mid-battle. Spared, he ended his days as an Italian notable: a rare usurper to die in his bed. His plentiful coinage is often a collector's first Roman coin.