Marcus Aurelius Claudius was part of the Illirian cabal the plotted the murder of the emperor Gallienus, along with another future emperor, Aurelian. After the murder he was hailed as the new emperor on 24 March 268. Due to the propaganda need to demonize the previous regime, Claudius was regarded as a hero, and was remembered as such even to the reign of Constantine - in fact, Constantine even claimed Claudius was an ancestor. Many modern historians are also guilty of blindly following ancient propaganda, rather than looking at the events themselves.
Claudius was an excptional military man, and rose to the highest ranks of the army eventually serving as deputy commander and chief-of-staff under Gallienus. His primary achievements as emperor were continuing the consolidation efforts of Gallienus which were later completed by Aurelian. He also retained the military reformations, such as the strategic cavalry corps created by Gallienus which had proved to be such an asset. However, it was during his reign that Queen Zenobia revolted against the Romans, and Syria, Asia Minor, and Egypt were lost to the Romans under the Palmyrene Secessionist Empire until 272, when they were reconquered under the emperor Aurelian.
During his reign his primary battles were fought against various Gothic tribes, for which the senate named him "Gothicus". He died from the plague in Sirmium in January of 270. His coins are usually fairly easy to spot by the head: He normally is shown with a very pointed chin, and short straight hair.
AE Antoninianus
AE Antoninianus minted in Cyzicus 269-270
AE Antoninianus
AE Follis, posthumously minted in SisciaThe younger brother of Claudius, Marcus Aurelius Claudius Quintillus was also a military commander. He was elevated as Augustus by the senate upon the death of his brother and seemed to have briefly ruled unchallenged. In April the highly popular general Aurelian staged a revolt in their homeland of Illyricum, and armies across the empire joined to his cause. Seeing the futility of fighting against this Quintillus took his own life soon afterwards.
The coins mostly follow the pattern of Claudius and have the pointed chin which must have been a family trait, but can be differentiated by the curly hair. Some ancient historians claim that he only ruled for 17 days, though this seems unlikely based on the numbers of his coins. Though uncommon, his coins are still fairly easy to acquire. A rule of a couple of months would seem the minimum.
Silvered Antoninianus minted in RomeIf you have an comments, questions, or corrections, please email me.
All coins from the author's collection. Not a commercial site, these coins are not for sale.