Valens Bronze AE3 RIC IX Rome 24B

Monetary and Administrative Context

The monetary landscape of the mid-to-late fourth century AD was characterized by a multi-tiered currency system dominated by high-purity gold solidi, scarce silver fractions, and massive outputs of base metal nummi or centenionales. Following the accession of Valentinian I in AD 364 and the immediate elevation of his brother Valens as co-Augustus, the Roman monetary system underwent administrative tightening. The imperial brothers sought to stabilize the purchasing power of state currency, collect taxation rigorously in precious metals, and supply the empire's cities and military garrisons with dependable low-value bronze denominations. In AD 367, following the elevation of Valentinian's young son Gratian to the rank of Augustus, the coinage reflected a triad of legitimate rulers across all operating mints. RIC IX Rome 24B was issued under the direct authority of Valentinian I at the ancient administrative center of Rome, functioning as collegial bronze struck on behalf of his eastern colleague Valens. The denomination, categorized modernly as an AE3 due to its module of approximately 17 to 19 millimeters, served everyday domestic transactions, market commerce, and the small-scale retail needs of the western populace. While gold paid the army and settled major state obligations, base metal types such as RIC IX Rome 24B facilitated daily economic life and broadcast imperial ideology to the broad urban public.

Mint Operations and Production at Rome

The mint of Rome maintained a sophisticated departmental structure during the Valentinianic era, organized into several sequentially numbered workshops known as officinae. Although the primary administrative capitals of the western empire had shifted closer to the northern frontiers, Rome retained substantial minting facilities capable of striking immense quantities of copper-alloy coinage. For the issue designated as RIC IX Rome 24B, dies were cut by local celators working within established metropolitan stylistic traditions. The flans were cast as blank discs, frequently displaying slightly irregular contours and bevelled edges typical of rapid late Roman mass production, before being hand-struck between fixed iron dies. Operating workshops at Rome marked their products in the exergual field using abbreviated mint and officina indicators. In the Securitas Reipublicae series, the Rome mint commonly deployed four distinct officinae, typically designated in exergue with prefixes such as R PRIMA, R SECVNDA, R TERTIA, and R QVARTA, or abbreviated variants like SMRP, SMRS, SMRT, and SMRQ. The production of RIC IX Rome 24B was carefully balanced alongside companion issues bearing the portrait of Valentinian I (RIC IX Rome 24A) and the youthful Gratian (RIC IX Rome 24C), demonstrating systematic quota allocations across the workshop system.

Obverse Iconography and Imperial Image

The obverse of RIC IX Rome 24B presents the right-facing portrait bust of Valens, rendered in the formal, hieratic style characteristic of fourth-century imperial art. The emperor is depicted wearing a pearl diadem, the definitive insignia of autocratic legitimacy introduced during the Constantinian period, consisting of two parallel rows of pearls secured at the nape of the neck with an ornamental clasp and pendant ribbons. He is shown draped and cuirassed, combining the paludamentum (the military cloak of a Roman commander) with breastplate armor, projecting both civic majesty and active martial leadership. In contrast to the naturalistic portraiture of the early Principate, the features of Valens are stylized and standardized. Large, almond-shaped eyes directed forward, a straight profile, and neatly arranged hair emphasize the timeless, sacred authority of the imperial office rather than a candid personal likeness. This visual convention ensured that the three Augusti appeared virtually interchangeable in official iconography, reinforcing the ideological doctrine of Concordia Augustorum (harmony among the emperors) despite individual physiological differences.

Reverse Iconography and Political Symbolism

The reverse of the type features the personification of Victory advancing toward the left. Victory is portrayed as a winged female figure, lightly draped in a fluttering chiton, stepping briskly with her left foot forward. In her extended right hand, she holds out a circular laurel wreath, the time-honored Roman emblem of triumphant military achievement. In her left hand, cradled over her shoulder or held downward against her torso, rests a leafy palm branch, symbolizing enduring peace and divine favor won through successful warfare. The visual language of Victory advancing with wreath and palm had deep roots in classical Roman numismatics, but in the Christianizing empire of the late fourth century, the motif functioned primarily as an abstract celebration of state resilience. The Securitas Reipublicae design formed a conceptual pair with the Gloria Romanorum type, which depicted the emperor dragging a captive while holding the labarum. Together, the two designs articulated the dual priorities of the Valentinian dynasty: the vigorous defense of the imperial frontiers against barbarian incursions and the preservation of internal civic safety for the Roman commonwealth.

Epigraphy and Legends

The obverse inscription of RIC IX Rome 24B reads D N VALEN-S P F AVG, broken around the crown of the imperial head. The initial letters abbreviate Dominus Noster ('Our Lord'), a standard monarchical title that had fully replaced the earlier Princeps formulas. This is followed by the emperor's personal nomen, VALENS, divided across the upper field. The concluding formula P F AVG represents Pius Felix Augustus ('Pious, Blessed, and August'), expressing religious rectitude, good fortune, and sovereign imperial rank. The reverse inscription reads SECVRITAS-REIPVBLICAE ('The Security of the Commonwealth'), typically divided after SECVRITAS with the final elements continuing down the right field. This legend explicitly promises safety, order, and freedom from external danger. Below the groundline in the exergual area, the mint signature identifies the urban origin of the strike and the specific officina. The epigraphy across both faces is executed in late Roman square capitals, with letter forms displaying varying degrees of serif detail and neatness depending on die cutter skill and the wear of individual punch sets.

Typology and Chronological Classification

In the standard reference classification of Roman Imperial Coinage Volume IX, the Securitas Reipublicae AE3 issues of the Rome mint are grouped under catalog number 24, subdivided by the ruler honored on the obverse. Subtype 24A corresponds to Valentinian I, subtype 24B to Valens, and subtype 24C to Gratian. The entire emission spans the period between the elevation of Gratian in August AD 367 and the death of Valentinian I in November AD 375, after which a new political constellation led to reorganized mint marks and subsequent bronze issues. Within RIC IX Rome 24B, numismatists recognize minor chronological and workshop varieties distinguished by field marks and exergual formulas. Some sub-phases include auxiliary control marks, such as a star, cross, or wreath in the reverse fields, which served internal administrative accounting purposes within the Rome mint. In the late 360s and early 370s, the AE3 module settled at an average weight range of 2.0 to 2.8 grams with a diameter between 17 and 19 millimeters, representing a slight downward drift from the initial bronze standards introduced at the beginning of Valentinian's reign.

Circulation, Hoarding, and Archaeological Context

The Securitas Reipublicae bronze coinage was one of the most prolific currency emissions of the late Roman Empire, circulating in massive volumes throughout the Mediterranean basin and the European provinces. Although struck specifically at Rome, specimens of RIC IX Rome 24B were not restricted to the city or central Italy; they moved freely along military supply networks, trade routes, and administrative channels. Archaeological excavations across Italy, Gaul, Raetia, and Illyricum frequently recover these coins in both stratified urban deposits and rural peasant settlements. Hoard evidence demonstrates that AE3 coins of Valens and his colleagues formed the bulk of everyday petty cash in circulation right up to the fifth century, often remaining in active use alongside later Theodosian bronzes long after their initial issue. The high rate of die wear, minor striking off-centers, and extensive wear on excavated pieces attest to intensive velocity of circulation. In economic terms, RIC IX Rome 24B fulfilled the essential role of small-denomination token money, supporting everyday market exchanges across all strata of late Roman society.

References

1. Catalogue of Late Roman Coins in the Dumbarton Oaks Collection and in the Whittemore Collection. pp. 95-102
2. Roman Imperial Coinage: The Family of Constantine to Theodosius. pp. 84-96
3. Online Coins of the Roman Empire: RIC IX Rome 24B. ric.9.rom.24B
4. The Roman Imperial Coinage, Volume IX: Valentinian I - Theodosius I. pp. 119-122