Postumus - Galley double sestertius populair coin! (N2192)

Rare variety with 3 oarsmen. POSTUMUS, 259-268. d=32 mm, Cologne

POSTUMUS, 259-268. Double sestertius. 25 mm AE 12,03 g. IMP C M CASS LAT POSTVMVS PIVS F AVG Radiate, draped and cuirassed bust r. Rev. LAETITIA / AVG / SC Galley l. with four oarsmen and steerman. RIC V/2, 349, 143. Schaaff, Schiffe 9, 64. aVF

The type of galley depicted on the reverse of the present coin could be a navis lusoria, which was a type of a small military vessel of the late Roman Empire that served as a troop transport. It was smaller and narrower than similar earlier vessels, and ideally suited to the rivers close to the Limes Germanicus; the presence of this type of vessel in the Classis Germanica is shown through the discovery of the Mainz Roman ships in 1981-2, thus proving that they operated on the Rhine and Danube.