Maximinus Thrax Silver Denarius, RIC IV Maximinus Thrax 16 (denarius)

Monetary and Political Context

The accession of Maximinus I in March of AD 235 marked a definitive watershed in Roman imperial governance, traditionally seen by historians as inaugurating the military crisis of the third century. Elevated to the purple by soldiers on the Rhine frontier following the assassination of Severus Alexander at Mogontiacum (modern Mainz), Maximinus faced immediate challenges to his authority from the Roman senatorial aristocracy. In response, imperial fiscal operations focused heavily on military expenditures, requiring vast outpourings of silver coin to satisfy generous accession donatives and sustain logistical preparations for planned trans-Rhenane campaigns. The silver denarius remained the primary coin for state disbursements and legionary pay, despite the earlier introduction of the double denarius (antoninianus) under Caracalla, which had ceased regular production under Severus Alexander and had not yet been revived. Struck under the sole authority of the emperor between AD 235 and early AD 236, RIC IV Maximinus Thrax 16 represents one of the foundational issues designed to announce the regime's military agenda. Maximinus never set foot in Rome; nevertheless, the state apparatus in the capital orchestrated the production of this denarius to project an aura of established martial competence, aligning imperial legitimacy directly with divine victory.

Production Standards and Mint Organization

The manufacture of RIC IV Maximinus Thrax 16 took place entirely at the imperial mint of Rome, which operated with multiple specialized workshops (officinae). During the early months of AD 235, the Rome mint was tasked with transforming Severan silver reserves and incoming bullion into currency bearing the new ruler's portrait and titles. The physical specifications of the denarius under Maximinus maintained the broad metrological standard inherited from Severus Alexander. Specimens of this specific type typically exhibit weights clustered between 2.70 and 3.30 grams, with a median weight around 3.00 grams, struck on flans measuring roughly 19 to 21 millimeters in diameter. Metallurgical analyses of early imperial silver from this period demonstrate a silver fineness fluctuating near 40 to 45 percent, balanced by copper alloys. Because the moneyers in Rome had no direct access to the emperor's actual appearance when production commenced, the earliest obverse dies employed an artistic treatment heavily reliant on late Severan conventions, rendering Maximinus with youthful or softened proportions. Within months, however, official master models or sketches arrived from the northern frontier, prompting engravers to introduce deeply cut, muscular facial modeling, a prominent chin, and a heavy brow.

Obverse Iconography and Modeling

The obverse of RIC IV Maximinus Thrax 16 displays a right-facing bust of Maximinus, laureate, draped, and cuirassed. The imperial laurel wreath (corona triumphalis) encircles his cropped military hairstyle, tied at the back with ribbons (taeniae) falling across the nape of his neck. Maximinus is depicted in military dress: the paludamentum (general's cloak) is gathered at the shoulder and draped over protective body armor, visible around the collar and chest. This combination of civic honors and battlefield attire was conventional for soldier-emperors, visually confirming both constitutional majesty and active generalship. Numismatists distinguish between early and transitional obverse portrait varieties within this issue. The earliest dies preserve a comparatively compact, idealized profile, while subsequent dies render his physiognomy with remarkable verism, emphasizing a large hooked nose, protruding jaw, prominent cranium, and furrowed brow. The cuirass details vary subtly across different dies, from smooth leather surfaces to carefully delineated metal scales or gorgoneion decorations.

Reverse Iconography and Symbolism

The reverse iconography of RIC IV Maximinus Thrax 16 features the goddess Victory (Victoria), personified as a winged, draped divine figure advancing rapidly to the right. In her outstretched right hand, she presents an open laurel wreath, symbolizing triumph, while in her left hand she supports a palm branch resting diagonally against her shoulder. Her drapery billows backward to convey forward momentum, and her wings are rendered with delicate parallel feathering. This representation is deeply anchored in Roman victory symbolism dating back to the Republic. Unlike specific commemorative types that record a formal triumph over a named foreign nation, the inscription and imagery here invoke Victory in an ongoing, programmatic sense. By deploying an advancing Victory during his first and second regnal years, Maximinus framed his upcoming campaigns in Germania as already sanctified by divine blessing. The type reassured both the army and the citizens of Rome that the border crisis that claimed the life of Severus Alexander would be met with overwhelming martial retaliation.

Inscriptions and Epigraphy

The legends on RIC IV Maximinus Thrax 16 are straightforward, adhering to standard third-century epigraphic conventions. The obverse legend reads IMP MAXIMINVS PIVS AVG, arranged continuously clockwise around the bust, beginning from the lower left: 'Imperator Maximinus Pius Augustus'. The omission of consular (COS) or tribunician (TRIB POT or P M) designations in this obverse title reflects the standard early titular formulation used by the mint of Rome before expanded titles were introduced. The epithet Pius ('Dutiful' or 'Pious') was an established element of imperial nomenclature, conveying religious devotion and respect for Roman traditions, while Augustus confirmed supreme authority. On the reverse, the legend reads VICTORIA AVG, standing for Victoria Augusti ('Victory of the Emperor'). This formula associates the abstract concept of divine victory directly with the person and office of the reigning princeps. Die engravers executed the letters using neat, upright serifs, though spacing between letterforms can vary slightly depending on the die-cutter and the diameter of the flan.

Typology and Chronological Classification

In the standard classification scheme of Roman Imperial Coinage, RIC IV Maximinus Thrax 16 is placed within the first issue group of Maximinus I, struck between early AD 235 and early AD 236. It is catalogued as Cohen 99 and forms part of an initial thematic series produced by the Rome mint that included reverses celebrating Pax (PAX AVGVSTI), Providentia (PROVIDENTIA AVG), and Fides Militum (FIDES MILITVM). The VICTORIA AVG advancing right type must be distinguished from related catalogued varieties, such as issues bearing the later obverse legend MAXIMINVS PIVS AVG GERM, which was adopted in AD 236 following the emperor's official assumption of the victory title Germanicus Maximus. It is also distinct from reverse types where Victory is depicted standing stationary, walking to the left, or seated on a cuirass with captives. The retirement of the advancing Victory type with the unheralded IMP MAXIMINVS PIVS AVG legend corresponds precisely to the mint's reorganization of imperial titulature following the conclusion of the German campaigns.

Circulation, Hoard Evidence, and Survival

Because RIC IV Maximinus Thrax 16 was struck in substantial volume to meet military obligations, it entered active circulation immediately throughout the western and Danubian provinces. Large third-century hoards discovered across Britain, Gaul, the Rhineland, and the Balkans regularly contain specimens of this type, often exhibiting moderate wear consistent with several years of transit through military and civilian hands. When the double denarius was revived under Gordian III and subsequent emperors, older denarii of Maximinus remained in general circulation until the catastrophic debasements of the mid-250s AD under Valerian and Gallienus. During that period, older Severan and early crisis denarii were systematically withdrawn, melted down, or hoarded for their comparatively superior bullion content. Surviving examples of RIC IV 16 are well represented in major museum holdings and private collections, providing modern numismatists with an abundant corpus for die-link studies and metallurgical investigations.

References

1. Coins of the Roman Empire in the British Museum, Vol. VI: Severus Alexander to Balbinus and Pupienus. pp. 222-225
2. Coinage in the Roman Economy, 300 B.C. to A.D. 700. pp. 125-132
3. Coining Images of Power: Representations of the Roman Emperor on Coinage, A.D. 193-284. pp. 165-178
4. Online Coins of the Roman Empire: RIC IV Maximinus Thrax 16 (denarius). ric.4.max_i.16_denarius
5. The Roman Imperial Coinage, Vol. IV, Part II: Macrinus to Pupienus. p. 139, no. 16