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Ulpius Cornelius Laelianus 269 AD

This coin depicts the Roman emperor Ulpius Cornelius Laelianus wearing a radiate crown. It’s only the second of its kind to be discovered on an archeological dig in England. Laelianus was born in 269 AD and that “history has little real knowledge about the gallic emperor”. A number of coins were issued in his name, but his reign was thought to have lasted for just a couple of months before he was executed by his own soldiers. There are only two known from excavations in this country that portray this particular emperor, really is quite significant.

“Roman emperors were very keen to mint coins. Laelianus reigned for just two months, which is barely enough time to do so. However, coins were struck in Mainz, Germania.
”The fact that one of these coins ever reached the shores of Britain demonstrates remarkable efficiency, and there’s every chance that Laelianus had been killed by the time this coin arrived in Cambridgeshire.”