Valerian was descended from a good Roman family. He held various offices in the service of the state until, in the reign of Decius, he was appointed Ceasar. He became emperor after the death of Gallus, and the murder of Aemilian.
The reign of Valerian was marked by many frontier troubles and in AD 256 the emperor left Rome for the East in order to deal with the threat from Persia. He soon established his headquarters at Antioch and achieved a number of successes against the Persians. In AD 260, however, in the course of an advance through Mesopotamia, the army of Valerian was surrounded and the emperor himself made prisoner. He spent the remainder of his life in miserable captivity in Persia, the date of his death being uncertain.
Our example shows the emperor on the obverse whilst the reverse shows Victory standing left, leaning on a shield.
