Interesting 'persecusion coin' from Maximinus (305-313)

[Coinmaster]

Hi all,
Recently I bid on a lot, mainly because I was triggered by one coin with no emperor on it (top right corner on the photos). It was sold as 'Set of five folles from the Constantinian and Valentinian dynasty period.' To my surprise I won the whole lot for only 28,50 Euro. What I could find about the coin (the coin looks better in hand and is party covered by deposits):
Production under Galerius Valerius Maximinus ('Daia') (305-313 A.D.), 14x15 mm.
Obverse: IOVI CONSERVATORI. Jupiter seated left holding globe and scepter.
Reverse: VICTORIA AVGG. Victory hovering left, holding wreath and palm; S (officina no. ?) in right field, ANT from the mint place Antioch in exergue.

It seems the issue was struck during the campaign of persecution against local Christians by Maximinus, which reached its height during 310-313. I read that idea was that the coins were produced to spread the word that paganism was still the law of the land. I guess this is the reason why Jupiter and Victoria are on this coin instead of the emperor Maximinus.

Maximinus was a fervent pagan. In 306 and again in 308 he ordered a general sacrifice to the pagan gods; Christian recusants were mutilated and sent to the mines and quarries. (Outside of Egypt there were few executions.) In 311 he grudgingly accepted Galerius’s edict of toleration for Christians but still endeavoured to organize and revitalize paganism. Cities and provinces were encouraged to petition for expulsion of Christians from their territories, and the Acts of Pilate, an anti-Christian forgery, was taught in the schools. In the autumn of 312 Maximinus relaxed his persecutions somewhat, and shortly before his death in 313 he granted full toleration and the restoration of the confiscated church property. On Galerius’s death in 311, Maximinus occupied Asia Minor. In 313 he invaded Licinius’s dominions in Thrace but, defeated at Tzurulum, was forced to retreat into Asia Minor, where he committed suicide in Tarsus.

Sources: DIR & Britannica

I found a nice thread here. Please let me know if you have anything to add and please share your 'persecusion coins'!

[Roman Collector]

I have a couple! Here's one ex- @dougsmit.

Anonymous issue under Maximinus II.
Roman billon quarter follis, 1.23 g, 14.3 mm, 11 h.
Antioch, 311-312 CE.
Obv: IOVI CONS-ERVATORI, Jupiter seated left, holding globe and scepter.
Rev: VICTOR-IA AVGG, Victory advancing left, holding wreath and palm; ANT in exergue, Γ in right field.
Refs: RCV 14932; Van Heesch 2; Cohen (Julian II) 53; Vagi 2955.
Notes: Ex @dougsmit collection.

Anonymous issue under Maximinus II.
Roman billon quarter follis, 1.35 g, 16.3 mm, 11 h.
Antioch, officina 6, 311-312 CE.
Obv: GENIO ANTIOCHENI, Tyche of Antioch seated facing; river god Orontes swimming below.
Rev: APOLLONI SANCTO, Apollo standing left holding patera and lyre; S in right field, SMA in ex.
Refs: RCV 14927; Vagi 2954; Van Heesch 3(a); McAlee 170f.

Edited April 13 by Roman Collector

[John Conduitt]

Yes I also have one of these, and I was also unaware of them until I got it.

Anonymous AE4 (Maximinus II), 312

Antioch. Bronze, 16mm, 1.24g. Genius of Antioch, turreted, veiled, seated facing, the river god Orontes swimming below; GENIO ANTIOCHENI. Apollo standing left, holding patera and lyre; APOLLONI SANCTO; officina Z in right field; mintmark SMA (Van Heesch 3). Found Carlisle, Cumbria.

[JAZ Numismatics]

Here's one I currently have in my store...

 

However, I find the whole "persecution issue" interpretation dubious. It sounds like something a dealer made up to sell the coin to collectors of Christian themes. I've never found anything in the numismatic literature that even discusses a possible link between this particular coin type and the persecution of Christians. Christians were indeed being persecuted at the time, but there was a long-standing tradition of civic coinage that featured Roman deities alone, without reference to a ruler. In fact, it's an entire collecting specialty. More likely the coin was produced for a feast of Apollo in conjunction with the Olympic Games of AD 312 - a limited-run festival issue. We need to have a better discussion about these types, and I would suggest this thread at Cointalk as a start. David@PCC took a close look at these coins and offered a very intriguing analysis.

Edited April 12 by JAZ Numismatics

[Coinmaster]

Very interesting @JAZ Numismatics, thanks for sharing!

In addition there are these links:

https://www.cointalk.com/threads/antioch-civic-coinage-part-ii-1000th-post.338722/

https://allcoinage.com/anonymous_civic.php

https://allcoinage.com/anonymous_series2.php

So it seems a connection to a religious festival (and Olympic Games?) is a better explanation. Of interest is that the author mentioned only officina A till I is known, while on my coin a S is visible. I'm not sure I understand completely what is said about the production years.

Edited April 12 by Coinmaster

[DonnaML]

38 minutes ago, Coinmaster said:

Very interesting @JAZ Numismatics, thanks for sharing!

In addition there are these links:

https://www.cointalk.com/threads/antioch-civic-coinage-part-ii-1000th-post.338722/

https://allcoinage.com/anonymous_civic.php

https://allcoinage.com/anonymous_series2.php

So it seems a connection to a religious festival (and Olympic Games?) is a better explanation. Of interest is that the author mentioned only officina A till I is known, while on my coin a S is visible. I'm not sure I understand completely what is said about the production years.

More recently, see my post showing my examples of the two main types, together with a writeup discussing the various interpretations at length: https://www.numisforums.com/topic/5169-deo-sancto-nilo-not-festival-of-isis/#comment-75620 . See also the responses in the same thread by @Heliodromus and @Celator [ = David Kalina].

 

Edited April 12 by DonnaML

[Nerosmyfavorite68]

Perhaps it was some kind of token for making the public sacrifice?

[Coinmaster]

Very interesting @DonnaML, thanks!

Is it correct an article is on its way? Who is the author?

After a night of sleep I was wondering if both options could be applicable? So both festivities and a link with/to the persecution?

[JeandAcre]

@Coinmaster, your hypothesis makes immediate intuitive sense.  I only have the broadest handle on the late persecutions, but the impression I got was that for the members of the Tetrarchy, the religious issues themselves were at the top of the agenda.  Maybe in contrast to the emperors of the earlier centuries, whose emphasis was more on the ultimately political dynamics around veneration of the emperor himself.  But really, this is speculation, based on acquaintance with the context which, compared to lots of people here, is decidedly fragmentary.

[Valentinian]

I have a webpage on these types:
http://augustuscoins.com/ed/MaximinusII/



17 mm. 1.45 grams.
No legend, either side.
Veiled and turreted head of Tyche right
Apollo standing left holding patera and lyre.
The obverse and reverse designs are very similar to the reverse of the GENIO CIVITATVS/APOLLOINI SANCTO type, suggesting it is from Antioch.
Vagi 2957. Sear IV 14929. van Heesch type 5, plate 11.8 (2 examples)
[This type without legend was first published, as unique, in August 1986 in the sale catalog Elsen 91, lot 366]
Vagi 2956, van Heesch type 4, plate 11.4 has the same designs on both sides, however with legends on both sides:
GENIO CIVITATVS/APOLLOINI SANCTO, confirming the similarity with the previous reverse.
 

Again, the webpage is
http://augustuscoins.com/ed/MaximinusII/

[Coinmaster]

Many thanks for the link to your great website @Valentinian, very helpful!!

I have now also read the article from Van Heesch. The die axes part is a bit vague to my taste, the rest very interesting. On page 75, he noted an important issue: the economic impact Christians had on the income of the cities and - because of the tax - of Maximinus himself. However, I don't think that these coins were ONLY intended as anti-Christian propaganda as Van Heesch stated. Surely they were related to economic transactions and/or to emphasize buying the products/goods/statues related to the many gods and to spend the coins during the festivals. So, in my opinion, the coins were not minted (only) as anti-Christian propaganda, but mainly to promote both the gods and the related economic exchanges.

[dougsmit]

On 4/12/2024 at 1:34 PM, Coinmaster said:

Of interest is that the author mentioned only officina A till I is known, while on my coin a S is visible. I'm not sure I understand completely what is said about the production years.

What you are missing here is that these are the Greek numerals for one through ten.  In that series S is six; I is ten.  Greek numerals used the archaic Greek alphabet but they went to nine before starting again with ten, twenty, thirty.......  That meant you don't add in columns the way we do.  S was an archaic letter dropped from the Greek alphabet long before this coin but retained as a numeral. 

My favorite is the number nine coin which avoided the unlucky numeral theta (alone by itself suggested death) by adding delta four to epsilon 5.  The series of the two common varieties includes a couple error coins so you need more than just the ten each of two types.  There are quite a few interesting sidelights on these if you read all the links. 

[Furryfrog02]

I have the Victory issue. I find the whole "persecution" aspect dubious at best. But I guess it makes for a good story 🙂

 

[Coinmaster]

4 hours ago, dougsmit said:

What you are missing here is that these are the Greek numerals for one through ten.  In that series S is six; I is ten. 

Yes, you're absolutely right, thanks!