Maximinus Thrax Sestertius RIC IV Maximinus Thrax 64

Monetary Context and Imperial Policy

The accession of Maximinus I in March AD 235 represented a profound shift in imperial administration, placing a veteran Thracian soldier at the helm of the Roman Empire after the overthrow of the Severan dynasty. In this volatile transitional environment, the mint of Rome was charged with rapidly disseminating the new ruler's image and administrative program across the provinces. Although the silver denarius remained the primary denomination for military stipends, the large bronze sestertius retained immense commercial and symbolic significance. As the largest base-metal coin in standard daily circulation, the sestertius served as an expansive visual medium for senatorial and public consumption throughout Italy and the western provinces. Maximinus doubled military remuneration to secure the loyalty of the army while preparing for extensive operations against Germanic coalitions along the northern frontiers. Sustaining this heightened expenditure exerted intense strain on the imperial treasury, prompting heavy coin production during the opening months of the reign. Bronze coinage, struck under nominal senatorial oversight denoted by the formula S C, helped maintain domestic liquidity while reassuring the Roman populace and the Senate of administrative continuity and public stability.

Production and Mint Organization

RIC IV Maximinus Thrax 64 was struck exclusively at the imperial mint of Rome, which operated through several organized officinae to service the diverse denominational needs of the state. Bronze sestertii of this period were produced from orichalcum or mixed copper alloys, cast into thick, circular flans that were subsequently hot-struck between engraved iron dies. The physical standard for the denomination maintained an average target weight between 19 and 22 grams, with diameters commonly spanning 29 to 32 millimeters, though individual surviving flans demonstrate considerable variation due to manual blank-preparation techniques. Die alignment was predominantly oriented at twelve or six o'clock, reflecting the disciplined workshop standards maintained by the capital's celators. The initial emissions of AD 235-236 demonstrate tight logistical control, as identical reverse themes, including Salus, were simultaneously prepared for precious-metal denarii and base-metal denominations like the sestertius and dupondius. The dies for RIC IV 64 exhibit crisp, bold relief, engineered to withstand the forceful strikes required to execute broad, high-volume base-metal coinage.

Obverse Iconography and Veristic Portraiture

The obverse of RIC IV Maximinus Thrax 64 features a right-facing bust of the emperor, laureate, draped, and cuirassed. In the earliest strikings of this issue in early AD 235, Rome mint engravers, lacking first-hand access to the emperor who was campaigning along the Rhine, initially adapted portrait conventions inherited from the final coinage of Severus Alexander. These early dies presented somewhat softer, idealized features. Rapidly, however, official models arrived in Rome, leading to the development of Maximinus's hallmark veristic style. On typical specimens of RIC IV 64, the portraiture showcases a mature commander with deeply furrowed brow lines, prominent nasal features, a heavy jaw, and an exceptionally protruding chin. The laurel wreath symbolizes imperatorial triumph and sovereignty, tied at the occiput with hanging fillets, while the military cuirass and mantle underscore Maximinus's identity as a soldier-emperor elevated directly from the ranks of the legions.

Reverse Iconography of Salus

The reverse design presents Salus, the Roman personification of health, well-being, and public salvation, seated left upon an ornate, high-backed throne or stool. She is fully draped in a traditional stola and mantle, conveying modesty and divine dignity. In her extended right hand, Salus holds a shallow patera from which she offers nourishment to a sacred serpent that rises upward in graceful coils from a low, garlanded altar standing before her feet. Her left arm rests comfortably at her side or cradles additional folds of her drapery. In the left and right fields flanking the figure, the large letters S and C proclaim the formal decree of the Senate (Senatus Consulto). The motif of feeding the sacred serpent directly invokes the ancient ritual traditions of Salus and Aesculapius. In imperial iconography, Salus served a twofold purpose: she symbolized both the physical preservation of the reigning emperor amid military danger and the spiritual guarantee of collective welfare, peace, and domestic order for the Roman commonwealth.

Epigraphic Structure and Titulature

The obverse inscription reads IMP MAXIMINVS PIVS AVG, oriented clockwise from the lower left. This compact titulature captures the fundamental components of Maximinus's early imperial identity: Imperator (IMP), his personal name Maximinus, Pius (pious or dutiful), and Augustus (AVG). Notably absent are the victory titles that would characterize his later issues, such as Germanicus Maximus, which was officially adopted in late AD 236 following his campaigns across the Rhine. The epithet Pius reflects deliberate political continuity, aligning the new ruler with the religious and filial pietas prized under preceding dynasties. On the reverse, the circumferential legend reads SALVS AVGVSTI, meaning 'the Health (or Salvation) of the Augustus.' This dedicatory genitive form directly binds the divine figure of Salus to the living emperor. The abbreviature S C (Senatus Consulto) confirms that the issue was struck under the traditional authority vested in the Roman Senate for bronze coin production, even while the emperor himself governed from distant frontier headquarters.

Typology and Chronological Classification

In the structural framework of Roman Imperial Coinage, RIC IV Maximinus Thrax 64 is classified within the emperor's First Issue, securely dated between March AD 235 and late AD 236. This placement is confirmed by the short obverse legend IMP MAXIMINVS PIVS AVG and the complete absence of tribunician numbering or the Germanicus title. The type exists alongside concurrent issues depicting Pax, Fides Militum, and Victoria, which together formed a unified ideological suite designed to introduce the new regime to the empire. Within the catalogue type, minor stylistic variations occur among individual dies, particularly in the rendering of the throne back, the height and ornamentation of the altar, and the degree of veristic exaggeration in the imperial bust. A closely related variant, RIC IV 65, features a bust that is laureate and draped without the cuirass, distinguishing it typologically from the draped and cuirassed bust specified for RIC IV 64. By late AD 236, this first substantive emission was superseded by issues carrying the extended titulature MAXIMINVS PIVS AVG GERM, bringing the production of RIC IV 64 to a formal close.

Circulation, Hoards, and Archaeological Context

Sestertii of RIC IV Maximinus Thrax 64 entered a multi-tiered currency system in which bronze coins moved actively through everyday market transactions while silver denarii and double-denarii satisfied institutional and military obligations. Archaeological recoveries indicate that specimens of this type circulated heavily across the Italian peninsula, the Gallic provinces, and the Rhine-Danube military corridors where Maximinus's troops were concentrated. Because sestertii of the mid-third century retained substantial purchasing power compared to minor fractional bronzes, they were routinely pooled in bronze hoards or retained in long-term circulation alongside worn Severan and Antonine issues. Wear patterns on surviving examples reveal that many pieces remained in commercial use for decades, circulating until the monetary crises and hyper-inflationary bronze demonetizations of the 260s and 270s AD. As a result, while high-grade specimens from early hoards exist, many surviving examples display moderate to heavy surface wear consistent with sustained circulation.

References

1. Coins of the Roman Empire in the British Museum, Volume VI: Severus Alexander to Balbinus and Pupienus. Maximinus, Rome mint, bronze issues
2. Online Coins of the Roman Empire: RIC IV Maximinus Thrax 64. ric.4.max_i.64
3. The Roman Imperial Coinage, Volume IV, Part II: Macrinus to Pupienus. p. 142, no. 64