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Æ23 - Gordian III P M S COL VIM, AN I
| Issuer | Colonia Viminacium (Moesia Superior) |
|---|---|
| Year | 239-240 |
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| Reference(s) | Varbanov 3688; Pick (AMNG) I/1, 113 |
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| Reverse description | The personification of Moesia stands facing left in the field, her arms extended to either side in a gesture of patronage toward the two animals flanking her. To her left, a bull stands facing right, symbolizing strength and fertility; to her right, a lion stands facing left, representing imperial power and the province's martial spirit. The reverse legend P M S COL VIM records the colonial status of Viminacium, while AN I in the exergual area denotes the first year of the local colonial era, corresponding to 239-240 AD. |
| Reverse script | Latin |
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| Additional information |
Viminacium's colonial bronze coinage is unusual in the Roman provincial series for carrying an explicit year count — the AN I on this piece marks the first year of the colony's own era, inaugurated in 239 AD when Gordian III granted Viminacium the status of a Roman colony. The elevation was almost certainly tied to the city's strategic importance as a legionary base on the Danube frontier, home to Legio VII Claudia, at a moment when Gordian's guardians were scrambling to stabilize the northern borders following the chaos of the Year of the Six Emperors.
The sequential dating system makes Viminacium bronzes unusually trackable across reigns — a rare administrative transparency in provincial coinage.