Maxentius Gold Aureus RIC VI Rome 144

Monetary and Political Context

The production of RIC VI Rome 144 took place against the backdrop of violent political reconfiguration within the Tetrarchic system following the death of Constantius I in July 306 AD. When Severus was promoted to Augustus and Constantine was recognized only as Caesar by the senior Augustus Galerius, disenfranchised elements in Rome seized the opportunity to revolt. In October 306 AD, urban soldiers and Roman citizens proclaimed Maxentius, the son of the retired Augustus Maximian, as ruler. Aware of his precarious constitutional standing and the likely hostility of Galerius, Maxentius adopted the title princeps invictus rather than claiming the full titular authority of Augustus. Through this deliberate restraint, he sought negotiation with Galerius while affirming his military preeminence in Italy. Gold coinage produced during this opening phase of his reign served primarily as ceremonial presentation pieces and high-value payments intended to secure the loyalty of the Praetorian Guard, palace officials, and the civic nobility. Unlike base metal nummi, gold aurei were struck in relatively limited numbers and held intense symbolic weight, communicating imperial legitimacy directly to the military and administrative elites responsible for defending the new regime.

Production and Mint Organization

The issue catalogued as RIC VI Rome 144 was struck exclusively at the urban mint of Rome, the administrative and territorial hub of Maxentius's rebellion. By 307 AD, the mint of Rome operated multiple officinae (workshops), although gold coinage was typically produced within specialized workshops under strict administrative oversight to safeguard bullion integrity and metallurgical purity. Diocletian's monetary reform of 294 AD had fixed the official weight standard of the gold aureus at 1/60th of a Roman pound, which translates to a theoretical mass of approximately 5.45 grams. Surviving specimens of RIC VI Rome 144 adhere closely to this Tetrarchic standard, reflecting careful weight control in the melting, flan preparation, and striking processes. Die cutting was entrusted to the finest master engravers available in the capital, resulting in a refined sculptural relief characterized by classical modeling and sharp lettering. Unlike contemporary bronze nummi, which consistently bear officina marks and mint signatures in the exergue, this aureus issue omits an exergual mint mark, an established convention for certain special ceremonial gold strikings in Rome during this transitional phase.

Obverse Iconography

The obverse of RIC VI Rome 144 presents a classical right-facing laureate portrait of Maxentius. Rendered in clean Tetrarchic realism tempered by Julio-Claudian and Antonine imperial reminiscence, the head showcases the ruler with closely cropped hair, an incised beard along the jawline, and an aquiline facial profile. The laurel wreath sits firmly on the crown, its ties falling along the nape of the neck. The portrait omits the customary military cuirass or imperial mantle, leaving the truncated neck bare in a manner reminiscent of the early Roman Principate. This choice of bare-necked portraiture evokes an image of civic modesty and ancestral gravitas, setting Maxentius apart from the heavy, stylized, block-like physiognomy common to Galerius and the eastern Tetrarchs. The engraving achieves a dignified balance between vigorous military commander and legitimate civic magistrate.

Reverse Iconography

The reverse iconography of RIC VI Rome 144 features Roma, the personification of the Roman state and guardian deity of the capital. She is depicted helmeted and draped, seated facing left upon a circular military shield resting against the ground. In her extended right hand, she cradles a small globe upon which stands a miniature figure of Victory, who holds out a wreath. In her left hand, Roma leans upon an upright sceptre, symbolizing sovereign majesty and unbroken constitutional governance. While Maxentius is renowned for later introducing the iconic hexastyle or tetrastyle temple reverse across his coinage, this earlier seated Roma motif without architecture directly linked the regime to the classical iconography of early imperial aurei. By presenting Roma offering Victory to the viewer, the design visualizes the divine approval of Rome itself toward Maxentius's bid for power and emphasizes the city's primacy over the fractured Tetrarchic empire.

Inscriptions and Epigraphic Variations

The obverse legend reads MAXENTIVS PRINC INVICT, an abbreviation of Maxentius Princeps Invictus. The adoption of the title princeps invictus represents an unusual constitutional compromise, acknowledging the seniority of the reigning Augusti while asserting supreme executive authority within his own territorial sphere. The reverse inscription reads CONSERVATOR VRBIS SVAE, rendered with minor variations in breaks across different reverse dies, notably CONSERVA-T-OR VRBIS SVAE and CONSERVAT-O-R VRBIS SVAE. Translated as 'Preserver of His City', the formula was the cornerstone of Maxentian ideological messaging. Following decades during which Diocletian and his colleagues governed from peripheral frontier residences such as Nicomedia, Sirmium, Mediolanum, and Augusta Treverorum, Rome had suffered diminished political status and the loss of traditional tax exemptions. By branding himself the preserver of Rome, Maxentius positioned his authority as a patriotic restoration of the eternal city.

Typology and Chronological Sequence

Within the typology established by C. H. V. Sutherland in Roman Imperial Coinage Volume VI, RIC VI Rome 144 occupies a precise chronological position dated firmly to 307 AD. It falls into the short window between the initial consolidation of power in late 306 AD and the subsequent spring or early summer of 307 AD, when Maxentius abandoned the title of princeps invictus in favor of Augustus following his alliance with his father Maximian and their joint resistance against the invasion of Severus. RIC VI Rome 144 must be distinguished from neighboring issues such as RIC VI Rome 145, which displays obverse busts draped or cuirassed, as well as subsequent gold issues where Maxentius bears the full title of Augustus (IMP C MAXENTIVS P F AVG) or where Roma is housed within a temple facade. The absence of an exergual mint mark is consistent across verified dies of this specific type, separating it from later gold issues of Rome that incorporate mint designations such as PR.

Circulation, Hoarding, and Preservation

As a high-value gold denomination struck in small quantities, the aureus RIC VI Rome 144 did not circulate extensively within everyday commercial channels. Its primary economic function was as an imperial donative distributed to military officers, urban dignitaries, and allied aristocrats during state celebrations. Gold coins of this period were frequently hoarded as stores of pure bullion wealth or transported across provincial boundaries in private treasuries. Because Maxentius suffered damnatio memoriae following his defeat and death at the Battle of the Milvian Bridge in October 312 AD, many gold coins carrying his image were likely melted down and restruck by the administration of Constantine I to produce new solidi on the 1/72-pound standard. Consequently, extant specimens of RIC VI Rome 144 are scarce today, preserved almost exclusively through ancient hoards concealed during the civil wars of the Fourth Tetrarchy or through individual losses that escaped reclamation.

References

1. The Roman Avrei: An Exhaustive Catalogue of Roman Aurei. Calicó 5057
2. Les monnaies d'or de Dioclétien à Constantin I (284-337). Rome issues
3. Online Coins of the Roman Empire: RIC VI Rome 144. RIC VI Rome 144
4. The Roman Imperial Coinage, Volume VI: From Diocletian's Reform (A.D. 294) to the Death of Maximinus (A.D. 313). p. 367, no. 144