Æ23 - Gordian III P M S COL VIM, AN IIII

Viminacium's civic bronze coinage operated on a local year count — AN IIII marks the fourth year of the colony's era, which began in 239/240 AD when Philip the Arab's predecessor Gordian III granted the settlement colonial status, likely as a reward for its strategic importance as the primary legionary base on the middle Danube frontier. The two legions garrisoned there, Legio VII Claudia and Legio IIII Flavia, provided both the political leverage for the promotion and the ready economy that made a local bronze coinage viable.

Varbanov 3290 falls within a well-documented but modestly varied sequence; die alignment inconsistencies are common across this year's issues.