Maximinus Thrax Sestertius, RIC IV Maximinus Thrax 81

Monetary Context and Imperial Policy

The sestertius remained the principal heavy base-metal denomination of the Roman Empire into the mid-third century AD, functioning as the backbone of everyday urban commerce and large-scale retail transactions. Although traditionally minted in orichalcum, the metallic composition of sestertii under the Severans and their immediate successors shifted toward bronze and mixed copper alloys with declining zinc content. Maximinus Thrax inherited an economy under immense fiscal pressure, primarily driven by substantial military expenditures and pay increases initiated under Severus Alexander. To finance his prolonged and aggressive campaigns along the Rhine and Danube frontiers, Maximinus demanded immense outputs from the imperial treasury and minting facilities. The striking of substantial sestertius issues such as RIC IV Maximinus Thrax 81 provided the necessary volume of token coinage to sustain civic markets and administrative disbursements while silver denarii were channeled heavily toward military stipends. The production of sestertii under Maximinus thus reflects both financial strain and an urgent need to disseminate state messages across Italy and the provinces.

Production Standards and Mint Organization

RIC IV Maximinus Thrax 81 was manufactured exclusively by the central imperial mint in Rome. During the third century AD, the Rome mint operated with distinct workshops, known as officinae, that divided the workload of preparing flans, engraving dies, and striking coins for each denomination. Sestertii of this period were struck on thick, cast copper-alloy blanks that varied noticeably in thickness and diameter, generally averaging between 28 and 32 millimeters, with typical weights spanning approximately 18 to 24 grams. Striking heavy bronze required substantial mechanical force, often utilizing hinged tongs or multiple hammer blows to bring up the relief of both the imperial portrait and the full reverse design. Die axes were predominantly aligned close to twelve o'clock, reflecting careful technical supervision within the mint, although slight rotations occurred naturally during high-volume production runs.

Obverse Iconography and Imperial Portraiture

The obverse of RIC IV Maximinus Thrax 81 features a commanding portrait of Maximinus I facing right, wearing a laurel wreath and draped with a military cuirass. Numismatic scholars divide the portraiture of Maximinus Thrax into three broad chronological phases: an initial phase closely imitating the youthful features of Severus Alexander, a transitional phase emphasizing his mature appearance, and a definitive realistic phase. This coin belongs firmly to the mature, third portrait style, characterized by a prominent brow, an exaggerated, protruding chin, deep nasolabial furrows, and closely cropped hair and beard rendered with fine, short chisel marks. This style intentionally discarded the refined, classical elegance of the Severan court in favor of an imposing, veristic representation of soldierly fortitude, discipline, and uncompromising martial authority.

Reverse Iconography: Pax Augusti

The reverse depicts Pax, the divine personification of peace, standing draped and facing left. In her outstretched right hand she holds an olive branch, the universal ancient symbol of pacification and concord, while her left arm cradles a transverse sceptre, denoting divine protection and imperial sovereignty. Flanking her figure in the fields are the letters S and C, denoting Senatus Consulto. The depiction of Pax on an issue bearing the title of Germanicus Maximus is a classic example of Roman imperial ideology: peace was not regarded as a passive state of quietude, but as the direct outcome of violent, decisive subjugation of Rome's enemies. Pax Augusti represents the imperial peace won through the emperor's victories in the swamps and forests of Germania, reassuring the Roman populace and senate that stability had been restored along the borders.

Epigraphy and Titulature Analysis

The obverse legend reads MAXIMINVS PIVS AVG GERM, a condensed Latin formulation translating as 'Maximinus Pius Augustus Germanicus'. The addition of the victory title GERM distinguishes this issue from the earlier emissions of AD 235 and early AD 236, which bore the shorter legend MAXIMINVS PIVS AVG. Maximinus was voted the title Germanicus Maximus by the senate following his successful military crossing of the Rhine and Danube, and the mint systematically updated the coin dies across all metals to advertise this honor. The reverse legend, PAX AVGVSTI, translates to 'The Peace of the Emperor'. Combined with the Senatus Consulto mark (S C), the epigraphy preserves the traditional constitutional fiction that large bronze coinage was produced by the authority of the Senate, even while the obverse proclaimed the absolute military dominance of a soldier-emperor.

Typology and Chronological Classification

In the structural framework established by Harold Mattingly and Edward A. Sydenham in Roman Imperial Coinage, RIC IV Maximinus Thrax 81 represents the definitive Germanicus sestertius with the Pax standing left reverse type. It succeeds RIC IV Maximinus Thrax 58, which featured the same reverse motif but retained the earlier obverse legend lacking GERM. The introduction of the Germanicus title took place during the second emission of AD 236, fixing the earliest date of RIC 81 to that year. Production continued steadily through AD 237 and into the early months of AD 238, until Maximinus was declared a public enemy by the senate and subsequently murdered by his own troops during the siege of Aquileia. Related parallel issues with identical legends and iconography were simultaneously struck in silver as denarii and in smaller bronze denominations such as dupondii and asses.

Circulation, Hoarding, and Survival

Because sestertii possessed intrinsic base-metal value alongside a high fiduciary purchasing power, RIC IV Maximinus Thrax 81 circulated widely across Italy and throughout the western and Danubian provinces. Archaeological excavations and hoard finds demonstrate that these coins remained active in circulation well beyond Maximinus's death in AD 238. However, the political turmoil of the Year of the Six Emperors and the subsequent demonetization or defacement of his memory did not cause an organized recall of his bronze coinage, as the empire could ill afford to retire good bronze during severe monetary shortages. Many specimens survived in third-century hoard contexts, such as those recovered in Britain, Gaul, and the Balkans, often displaying moderate to heavy wear consistent with several decades of continuous commercial circulation prior to final deposition.

References

1. Coinage in the Roman Economy, 300 B.C. to A.D. 700. pp. 126-135
2. Coining Images of Power: Representations of the Roman Emperor on Imperial Coinage, A.D. 193-284. pp. 177-190
3. Coins of the Roman Empire in the British Museum, Volume VI: Severus Alexander to Balbinus and Pupienus. pp. 234-237
4. Online Coins of the Roman Empire: RIC IV Maximinus Thrax 81. ric.4.max_i.81
5. The Roman Imperial Coinage, Volume IV, Part II: Macrinus to Pupienus. p. 144, no. 81