Valens Bronze AE3 RIC IX Thessalonica 18B

Monetary Context and Reform

The monetary landscape of the mid-fourth century AD was defined by systemic adjustments to bronze denominations following the volatile reforms of the Constantinian and Constantian periods. Upon acceding to the purple in February AD 364, Valentinian I swiftly elevated his brother Valens as co-emperor at Mediolanum, dividing the defense and civil administration of the empire. To restore stability to small-denomination transactions, the imperial administration instituted a widespread bronze issue categorized modernly as AE3, featuring a nominal diameter near 17 to 19 mm. Unlike the heavily debased billon of earlier decades, this series was essentially a copper-alloy fiduciary issue intended to circulate alongside gold solidi and silver siliquae without claiming significant precious-metal content. The introduction of SECVRITAS REIPVBLICAE alongside GLORIA ROMANORVM provided a synchronized visual program throughout the empire, reassuring populations on both sides of the administrative partition that public security was firmly preserved under the shared imperial authority.

Production and Thessalonica Mint Operation

The mint of Thessalonica, positioned strategically along the Via Egnatia in Macedonia, played an essential logistical role in supplying currency to the Illyrican and Balkan garrisons. Under the Valentinianic system, production was organized across active operational workshops (officinae). RIC IX Thessalonica 18B was struck across these officinae, indicated in the exergue by the mint signature TES followed or preceded by workshop letters, sometimes flanked by subsidiary control marks such as dots or symbols. Planchets were cast in strips or individual molds before being hot-struck with hand-engraved iron dies. Die alignment tended to cluster around regular six o'clock or twelve o'clock positions, although variations occurred due to rapid wartime output. Mass production led to subtle differences in portrait modeling and letterforms, reflecting the distinct hands of engravers working simultaneously within the Thessalonica workshops during the initial AD 364 to 367 monetary phase.

Obverse Typology and Imperial Iconography

The obverse of RIC IX Thessalonica 18B displays the right-facing bust of Valens, adorned with a pearl diadem, paludamentum (draped mantle), and cuirass. This standardized imperial representation conveyed administrative continuity and martial readiness without individualized physiognomic realism. The pearl diadem, composed of single or double strands of pearls bound at the nape of the neck with fluttering ribbons, was the standard emblem of imperial authority during the late fourth century. The draped and cuirassed torso emphasized the Augustus as both civil magistrate and supreme commander of the legions. The engraving style at Thessalonica is characterized by neat, compact lettering and well-proportioned facial features with straight nose profiles and almond-shaped eyes, maintaining high stylistic coherence relative to more hastily mobilized frontier facilities.

Reverse Typology and Symbolic Representation

The reverse design features the personification of Victory (Victoria) advancing briskly toward the left. In her raised right hand she holds a laurel wreath, the time-honored Greco-Roman symbol of military triumph and divine favor, while in her left hand she cradles a palm frond across her shoulder. This kinetic representation of Victory reflects classical artistic motifs adapted to Christian-era imperial messaging, where the personification functioned primarily as an allegorical abstraction of imperial success rather than a pagan deity receiving cultic veneration. By pairing Valens with the SECVRITAS REIPVBLICAE ('Security of the State') legend, the coinage asserted that the junior emperor's vigilance in the East protected the broader Roman world against external barbarian incursions and internal instability.

Inscriptions and Epigraphic Analysis

The obverse inscription reads D N VALEN-S P F AVG, broken across the upper right portion of the field. The initials expand to 'Dominus Noster Valens Pius Felix Augustus' ('Our Lord Valens, Pious, Fortunate Augustus'), expressing the absolutist terminology adopted during the Dominate alongside the traditional virtues of piety and good fortune. The break in the legend between 'VALEN' and 'S' was deliberately placed to avoid obscuring the diadem and head of the ruler. On the reverse, the legend SECVRITAS-REIPVBLICAE encircles the upper perimeter with an epigraphic break above the head or wreath of Victory. The exergue contains the abbreviated mint signature of Thessalonica, typically appearing as TES, .TES., or accompanied by Greek numerals denoting the striking workshop. Epigraphic letterforms exhibit clean classical capitals, though serifs vary depending on the specific workshop die cutter.

Typological Classification and Chronological Framework

In the standard classification established by J. W. E. Pearce in Roman Imperial Coinage Volume IX, the bronze issues of Thessalonica are divided into sequential chronological groupings. RIC IX Thessalonica 18B belongs to the first main issue period of the reign, spanning from the accession in AD 364 to approximately AD 367. It is classified under type 18 alongside issue 18A (struck for Valentinian I with identical reverse imagery) and is distinguished typologically from the concurrent GLORIA ROMANORVM issues where the emperor drags a captive while holding the labarum. The chronological terminus of AD 367 is defined numismatically by subsequent shifts in control marks, the inclusion of Gratian following his proclamation as Augustus in August 367, and minor adjustments to weight standards and workshop organization across the Balkan mints.

Circulation, Hoards, and Archaeological Context

RIC IX Thessalonica 18B was struck in substantial quantities and entered rapid circulation throughout the Danubian basin, Illyricum, northern Greece, and Thrace. Site finds and hoard evidence demonstrate that these AE3 bronzes circulated vigorously across both eastern and western halves of the empire, facilitated by the mutual recognition of currency decreed by Valentinian and Valens. Hoards from Britain, Gaul, Pannonia, and the Levant frequently contain Thessalonican SECVRITAS REIPVBLICAE specimens alongside products of Rome, Siscia, and Constantinople. The type remained active in retail circulation well into the early fifth century, frequently showing heavy surface wear, clipped flans, or countermarks from subsequent decades of monetary distress prior to the structural bronze reforms of Anastasius I.

References

1. Late Roman Bronze Coinage, A.D. 324-498: Part II. pp. 75-78
2. Roman Coins from the Earliest Times to the Fall of the Western Empire. pp. 228-235
3. Online Coins of the Roman Empire: RIC IX Thessalonica 18B. ric.9.thes.18B
4. The Roman Imperial Coinage, Volume IX: Valentinian I - Theodosius I. pp. 175-176