Valens AE3 RIC IX Thessalonica 26B

Monetary Context and Valentinianic Bronze Currency

The accession of Valentinian I in AD 364, followed immediately by the elevation of his brother Valens as co-Augustus, initiated a profound administrative and monetary restructuring across the Roman Empire. Following the monetary instability that marked the middle of the fourth century AD and the transient currency experiments of Julian and Jovian, the Valentinianic regime sought to re-establish confidence in base-metal coinage through massive, tightly controlled issues. The principal copper-alloy denomination produced during this period was the AE3, a module with a diameter generally spanning 17 to 19 millimeters and an intended weight standard hovering between 2.2 and 2.6 grams. This base-metal denomination functioned alongside a revitalized precious metal system anchored by the gold solidus and the silver siliqua. Unlike earlier periods of uncontrolled bronze billon debasement, the Valentinianic bronze served an essential civic and military utility, underpinning daily market transactions, tax remittances in coin, and local payments across provincial administrative districts. The imperial administration divided the empire into western and eastern spheres, yet both courts coordinated closely on monetary propaganda. Types struck at Balkan mints like Thessalonica reflected this shared political ideology, celebrating imperial triumph and military vigilance to reassure populations exposed to recurring frontier pressures along the middle and lower Danube.

Mint Production and Workshop Organization at Thessalonica

Thessalonica, situated strategically along the Via Egnatia in Macedonia, functioned as one of the preeminent administrative and logistics centers of the Late Roman Empire. The city was ideally positioned to supply currency for civilian trade and troop concentrations deployed along the northern frontiers. Under Valentinian I and Valens, the mint at Thessalonica was organized into two active workshops, or officinae, which were routinely identified on the coinage by Greek numerals in the exergue. The production of RIC IX Thessalonica 26B occurred primarily between AD 367 and AD 375, a chronological period established in modern typology by the elevation of Gratian as a third Augustus in AD 367 and the death of Valentinian I in late AD 375. Engravers at Thessalonica adhered to centralized imperial portraiture norms while maintaining distinct regional carving conventions, such as moderately neat lettering and compact drapery. Blanks were cast in moulds and struck using hardened bronze dies. The mint produced this issue in substantial volume alongside the complementary Securitas Reipublicae reverse type, operating under strict bureaucratic controls to monitor metallurgical composition and output quotas between the first workshop (officina Alpha) and the second workshop (officina Beta).

Obverse Iconography and Imperial Regalia

The obverse of RIC IX Thessalonica 26B is dedicated entirely to Valens, presenting his right-facing bust in formal imperial regalia. The emperor is depicted wearing a pearl diadem, the standard late Roman crown consisting of two parallel strands of pearls interspersed with circular or rectangular jewel ties fastened at the back of the head. His costume comprises both a paludamentum (military cloak) and a cuirass, demonstrating his dual identity as civilian head of state and supreme military commander. The drapery of the mantle is fastened over the right shoulder by a gemmed round fibula with hanging pendilia. Engraving styles at the Thessalonica mint during this phase are noted for their clean execution: Valens is rendered with a neat, stylized facial profile, straight nose, and hair delineated by uniform vertical locks framing the diadem. The portrait embodies the dynastic concept of imperial similitude, wherein the individual physical features of the junior Augustus were subordinated to a generalized, austere representation indistinguishable in majesty from his senior brother Valentinian I.

Reverse Typology: Gloria Romanorum

The reverse of RIC IX Thessalonica 26B depicts the Gloria Romanorum ('Glory of the Romans') type, one of the most prolific propaganda designs of the late fourth century AD. The iconography portrays the Augustus in active military posture, striding purposefully toward the right. In his left hand, the emperor holds the labarum, an imperial military standard topped by a square vexillum cloth bearing the Christian Christogram (Chi-Rho monogram). With his extended right hand, he firmly grasps a kneeling or cowering captive by the hair, dragging the diminutive figure behind him. The captive is conventionally shown with hands tied behind the back or raised in supplication, dressed in barbarian garb to symbolize the subjugation of hostile tribes beyond the frontier. This explicit visual scheme conveyed the sovereign triumph of the Christian Roman state over external adversaries. It served as a direct ideological message directed at soldiers and provincial populations, emphasizing that imperial vigilance, divine favor, and unrelenting martial victory were the ultimate guarantors of Roman civilization.

Inscriptions, Epigraphy, and Exergual Signatures

The epigraphic composition of RIC IX Thessalonica 26B follows strict bureaucratic guidelines. The obverse inscription reads D N VALEN-S P F AVG, representing an abbreviation for 'Dominus Noster Valens Pius Felix Augustus' ('Our Lord Valens, Pious and Fortunate Augustus'). A consistent break occurs within the emperor's name across the top of the portrait, dividing the legend into two distinct arcs: D N VALEN on the left and S P F AVG on the right. This standardized division helped balance the circular legend within the beaded border. The reverse bears the legend GLORIA RO-MANORVM, similarly divided across the imperial figure between the letters RO and MANORVM. In the exergual segment at the bottom of the reverse flan, the mint signature identifies Thessalonica along with its active officina. Common variants for this catalogued type include the primary mint signature TES (Thessalonica), flanked by officina letters such as TES A or TES B, sometimes accompanied by single or flanking pellets such as dot-TES or dot-TES-dot to distinguish specific chronological sub-series and control batches.

Typological Classification and Chronological Placement

In the structural framework established by J. W. E. Pearce in Volume IX of The Roman Imperial Coinage, type 26B at Thessalonica forms part of the large-scale bronze series struck during the second major period of the reign, spanning from the elevation of Gratian on 24 August AD 367 to the death of Valentinian I on 17 November AD 375. The type is categorized under catalog number 26B specifically because it bears the obverse of Valens, whereas 26A represents the identical reverse struck for Valentinian I, and 26C denotes the parallel issue for the youthful Gratian. Within this span, Thessalonica produced the Gloria Romanorum type alongside the Securitas Reipublicae type (Victory advancing left holding wreath and palm branch) in roughly balanced proportions. The internal sequence of these issues is tracked primarily through stylistic shifts in letterforms and progressive modifications to the exergual control marks. While precise annual assignments for every minor exergual dot or letter variant remain debated due to overlapping die usage, the broad eight-year chronological window remains securely bounded by the imperial collegiality evidenced on the coinage.

Circulation, Hoards, and Archaeological Context

RIC IX Thessalonica 26B circulated extensively throughout the Balkan provinces, northern Greece, Moesia, Dacia Ripensis, and Thrace, forming a substantial component of the late fourth-century bronze currency pool. Due to the high mobility of military detachments and regional trade networks along the Via Egnatia and the Danube river system, specimens from Thessalonica also travelled into western Illyricum and across the Aegean Sea into western Asia Minor. Major coin hoards dating to the late fourth and early fifth centuries AD across the central Balkans consistently yield significant quantities of this type, often found in association with sister issues from Siscia, Sirmium, and Constantinople. Archaeological site finds demonstrate that these AE3 coins circulated actively well into the fifth century AD, remaining in commercial use even as edge wear, clipping, and subsequent bronze debasements transformed the currency landscape. The wear patterns documented in urban excavations indicate that the Gloria Romanorum pieces of Valens represented true fiduciary workhorses of daily exchange, experiencing sustained commercial velocity across several decades.

References

1. Catalogue of Late Roman Coins in the Dumbarton Oaks Collection and in the Whittemore Collection. pp. 81-85
2. Roman Coins. pp. 48-52
3. Online Coins of the Roman Empire: RIC IX Thessalonica 26B. Type record ric.9.thes.26B
4. The Roman Imperial Coinage, Volume IX: Valentinian I - Theodosius I. pp. 176-177, no. 26B