Pupienus Copper-Alloy Sestertius

Monetary Context and Senatorial Authority

The brief joint reign of Pupienus and Balbinus in AD 238, known historically as the Year of the Six Emperors, produced an intense burst of senatorial coinage. Following the suppression of Gordian I and Gordian II by Capelianus in Numidia, the Senate declared Maximinus Thrax a public enemy and appointed Pupienus and Balbinus as joint Augusti to defend Italy and the senatorial order. Although Pupienus took military command against Maximinus while Balbinus managed civil administration in Rome, both emperors issued parallel coin series across gold, silver, and base metal denominations. The sestertius remained the premier civic denomination of the imperial monetary system, valued at one quarter of a silver denarius or one eighth of the newly reintroduced double denarius (antoninianus). Despite the severe inflationary trends and debasement affecting the silver coinage during the third century, the sestertii of Pupienus maintained substantial orichalcum module standards, affirming traditional senatorial prerogatives over the base-metal currency through the formulaic formula Senatus Consulto.

Production Standards and Mint Organization

All imperial base-metal coinage for Pupienus was produced at the mint of Rome. The imperial workshops operated under significant logistical pressure, needing to supply immediate cash for the civil conflict and the placation of the urban plebs and Praetorian cohorts. Die studies across third-century coinage suggest the Rome mint was organized into distinct officinae (workshops), which divided the striking of gold, silver, and aes issues between Pupienus, Balbinus, and their youthful appointed Caesar, Gordian III. Sestertii of Pupienus were struck from brass or orichalcum alloys containing predominantly copper and zinc, with variable amounts of tin and lead typical of recycled bronze stocks of the mid-third century. Individual flans show considerable variance, generally falling within a weight bracket of 18 to 26 grams and diameters between 28 and 32 millimeters, prepared through cast disc flans hammered between engraved iron dies.

Obverse Iconography and Imperial Portraiture

The obverse of the sestertius features a dignified, mature portrait of Pupienus executed in the classicizing, realist portrait style favored by the Roman Senate. Pupienus is depicted with a heavy square jaw, closely cropped military beard, broad brow, and determined expression, visually contrasting with the more portly and aristocratic physiognomy seen on contemporary issues of Balbinus. Unlike silver radiates (antoniniani) where the emperors wear the radiate solar crown denoting double tariffing, the sestertius consistently presents the Augustus wearing a laurel wreath. The bust is typically shown draped and cuirassed, viewed from the side or slightly from behind, projecting the severe martial virtus expected of a senator tasked with confronting Maximinus Thrax at Aquileia.

Reverse Iconography and Senatorial Propaganda

The reverse designs on Pupienus sestertii conveyed specific ideological themes vital to the survival of the fragile dual regime. Primary types include Concordia seated, holding a patera and double cornucopiae, symbolizing the harmony between the two co-emperors. Pax is depicted seated holding an olive branch and sceptre, evoking the restoration of peace within Italy after Maximinus was assassinated at Aquileia. Providential guidance is commemorated via Providentia standing with a wand directed toward a globe at her feet alongside a cornucopiae, attributing the regime's accession to divine foresight. Other attested sestertius reverses include Victoria standing holding a wreath and palm branch, Felicitas standing with caduceus and long sceptre, and Liberalitas holding an abacus and cornucopiae to commemorate imperial distributions of grain or coin. Nearly all reverses bear the prominent letters S C in the fields or exergue.

Inscriptional Typology and Formulas

The obverse legends on sestertii of Pupienus are remarkably standardized, adhering strictly to official senatorial titicature. The dominant legend is IMP CAES M CLOD PVPIENVS AVG (Imperator Caesar Marcus Clodius Pupienus Augustus), occasionally expanded with minor epigraphic spacing variants. The reverse inscriptions mirror the ideological program of the co-rule: CONCORDIA AVGG (Concordia of the Augusti), PAX PVBLICA (Public Peace), PROVIDENTIA DEORVM (Providence of the Gods), FELICITAS TEMPORVM (Felicity of the Times), and VICTORIA AVGG (Victory of the Augusti). The double G in AVGG specifically emphasizes the twin Augusti reigning concurrently, an institutional check against individual tyranny celebrated by senatorial historians.

Typological Sequences and Relative Chronology

Because Pupienus ruled for less than one hundred days in AD 238, his sestertii represent an extremely compressed chronological horizon. Scholars generally divide the coinage into two phases based on political developments. The first phase corresponds to the immediate mobilization following senatorial election in the spring of AD 238, featuring types focused on Concordia, Providentia, and Felicitas. The second phase developed after the demise of Maximinus at the siege of Aquileia and Pupienus's return to Rome, marked by the celebration of Pax and Victoria. Due to the brief window of production, die re-use and shared reverse dies between Pupienus and Balbinus demonstrate the rapid, interconnected output of the workshops right up until both Augusti were dragged from the Palatine and slain by the Praetorians.

Circulation, Hoard Evidence, and Survival

Pupienus sestertii were struck in substantial numbers to satisfy immediate urban and military obligations, but the brevity of the reign limited their absolute volume compared to prolonged reigns of the Severan era. Hoard evidence from Roman Britain, Gaul, the Rhine frontier, and Italy demonstrates that these sestertii entered normal circulation channels alongside earlier Flavian, Antonine, and Severan bronzes. Because the bronze denominations experienced slow velocity and gradual wear rather than rapid demonetization, surviving specimens frequently exhibit moderate to heavy wear from third-century circulation. By the late 260s AD, the virtual collapse of the imperial bronze coinage under Gallienus and Postumus caused older sestertii to disappear from hoard horizons, leaving these issues as important historical benchmarks for the crisis of the third century.

References

1. I grandi bronzi imperiali, Vol. IV.3. Pupienus, nos. 1-24
2. Coins of the Roman Empire in the British Museum, Vol. VI: Severus Alexander to Balbinus and Pupienus. pp. 106-115
3. Description historique des monnaies frappées sous l'Empire romain, Tome V. pp. 13-18
4. The Roman Imperial Coinage, Vol. IV, Part II: Macrinus to Pupienus. pp. 177-182