Flavius Victor Silver Siliqua RIC IX Mediolanum 19B

Monetary and Political Context

The siliqua catalogued as RIC IX Mediolanum 19B belongs to a pivotal moment of crisis and administrative reconfiguration in the late fourth-century Western Roman Empire. Magnus Maximus, who had seized control of Britannia, Gaul, and Hispania following the fall of Gratian in AD 383, elevated his infant son Flavius Victor to the rank of Augustus around AD 384. Although Maximus initially reached an uneasy truce with the Eastern emperor Theodosius I and the juvenile Western emperor Valentinian II ruling from Milan, this arrangement broke down in late summer AD 387 when Maximus led an army across the Alps into northern Italy. Upon taking control of Mediolanum, Maximus immediately reorganized the administrative organs of the imperial court, including the mobile and palatine mint operations. Striking silver coin in the name of Flavius Victor served as an urgent political priority: it signaled to both military commanders and civilian bureaucracies that the dynasty was firmly established and fully sovereign. In the fourth-century monetary system, the silver siliqua functioned as an indispensable fractional unit alongside the gold solidus. While gold was predominantly reserved for massive military payments, tributary arrangements, and high-level tax collection, the siliqua provided the necessary silver liquidity for official donatives, bureaucratic stipends, and day-to-day administrative disbursements in Italy.

Production Standards and Minting at Mediolanum

Production of RIC IX Mediolanum 19B was confined to the imperial mint situated in Mediolanum, the capital and administrative hub of the Western prefecture during this period. The mint had operated intermittently under previous rulers and became intensely active upon Maximus's arrival in AD 387. The coins were produced under the standard reduced siliqua metric established during the reign of Constantius II and maintained through the late fourth century. Under this standard, the siliqua was struck at approximately 1/216 of a Roman pound (libra), yielding a theoretical mass of approximately 1.52 grams, although surviving pieces typically range between 1.10 and 1.45 grams due to minor manufacturing variance and subsequent clipping. The metallurgical purity of the issue is exceptionally high, adhering to the late Roman refinery requirements designated by the suffix 'PS' (pusulatum or purum) in the mintmark, signaling refined silver with a fineness routinely exceeding 95 percent. The exergual inscription MDPS stands for Mediolanum Pusulatum, confirming that the workshop adhered to the strict fiscal controls imposed by the comes sacrarum largitionum. Striking occurred with carefully engraved dies characterized by neat late-antique lettering and crisp portraiture executed by experienced palatine die-engravers.

Obverse Design and Portraiture

The obverse of RIC IX Mediolanum 19B presents a right-facing bust of Flavius Victor. He is rendered as a youthful figure, reflecting his status as a young boy during his father's reign, yet styled with the full attributes of imperial majesty. His head is adorned with a pearl diadem consisting of two parallel bands of pearls tied at the back with flowing ribbons. The portrait is draped and cuirassed, combining the paludamentum (the imperial general's cloak) pinned at the right shoulder over a visible military cuirass. The die-cutting reflects the refined classicizing manner of the Mediolanum palatine artists: the facial features are compact, with rounded cheeks, a straight nose, and large almond-shaped eyes that convey the solemn, aloof dignity expected of an Augustus in Late Antiquity. The bust truncation is neat and rests cleanly above the inner rim of the coin without encroaching upon the surrounding text.

Reverse Iconography and Symbolism

The reverse iconography features Roma, the divine embodiment of Roman imperial power and civic continuity. She is seated facing forward on a throne with backrest, her head turned to her left in profile. Roma is depicted in traditional classical drapery, wearing a helmet and a long stola that cascades to her feet. In her extended right hand she supports a globe, symbolizing universal dominion (dominium mundi) and the global mandate of the imperial office. In her left hand she holds a long, reversed spear, oriented vertically or diagonally with the point resting downward on the ground, a standard numismatic signifier of victory achieved and peace restored. The throne on which Roma rests is depicted in schematic perspective, occasionally showing ornate legs or a solid panelled seat depending on individual die execution. The design emphasized ideological legitimacy; by invoking Roma in the heart of northern Italy, the regime of Magnus Maximus sought to reassure the senate, army, and populace that traditional Roman order was upheld under the new joint Augusti.

Epigraphy and Legend Structure

The obverse inscription reads D N FL VIC-TOR P F AVG, which expands in Latin as Dominus Noster Flavius Victor Pius Felix Augustus. The title Dominus Noster ('Our Lord') was the standard late imperial form of address, followed by Victor's personal and familial names, and the twin honorific epithets Pius Felix ('Pious and Blessed'), concluding with Augustus. The legend is cleanly divided behind and before the portrait's diademed head (VIC-TOR), a convention designed to balance the visual space around the bust. The reverse legend reads VIRTVS RO-MANORVM, translatable as 'Virtue (or Valour) of the Romans'. This inscription, common across late fourth-century western silver, explicitly linked the regime's legitimacy to the collective bravery and endurance of the Roman military and people. In the exergue at the base of the reverse, the mintmark MDPS identifies the workshop and purity standard. Letterforms are slender, clear, and uniform, typical of high-quality dies prepared for the precious-metal officinae.

Typology and Chronological Placement

In the standard classification established by J. W. E. Pearce in Roman Imperial Coinage, Volume IX, the type is designated Mediolanum 19B, belonging to an integrated silver series that includes parallel issues struck for Magnus Maximus (RIC IX Mediolanum 19A). Both types share the identical reverse design of Roma seated on a throne holding a globe and reversed spear, accompanied by the VIRTVS ROMANORVM legend and the MDPS exergual mark. The chronological envelope for RIC IX Mediolanum 19B is exceptionally narrow: it could only have been issued between late summer AD 387, when Maximus occupied northern Italy and established his administrative control over the Milan mint, and late August AD 388, when Theodosius I defeated Maximus at the battles of Siscia and Poetovio. Following Maximus's surrender and execution near Aquileia, Victor was seized and executed in Gaul by the Frankish general Arbogast on Theodosius's orders. Consequently, the issue was brought to an immediate halt. Variations within the type are limited primarily to subtle stylistic differences in portrait features and minor spacing in the reverse legend breaks.

Hoard Evidence and Circulation Patterns

Although struck in northern Italy, siliquae of Flavius Victor circulated widely throughout the Western Roman provinces, carried by military personnel, administrative redeployments, and routine commercial transfers. Significant concentrations of late fourth-century western siliquae have been recovered from major hoards in Roman Britain, Gaul, and the Rhine frontier, such as the Hoxne and Stanchester hoards. In these contexts, coins of Victor struck at Mediolanum appear alongside earlier Trier issues of Maximus and later Italian issues of Valentinian II and Theodosius I. Because silver siliquae remained active in currency pools long after the fall of their issuing authority, specimens of RIC IX Mediolanum 19B frequently exhibit signs of wear and, in fifth-century British find contexts, deliberate edge-clipping. Clipping reduced the coin's diameter and weight to create supplemental silver bullion while allowing the core coin to continue circulating at a conventional nominal value.

References

1. Fifth Century Silver Coinage in the Western Roman Empire. pp. 285-294
2. The Hoxne Late Roman Treasure: Gold Jewellery and Silver Plate. pp. 88-92
3. Online Coins of the Roman Empire: RIC IX Mediolanum 19B. RIC IX Mediolanum 19B
4. The Roman Imperial Coinage, Volume IX: Valentinian I to Theodosius I. pp. 79-80