Æ25 - Maximinus ΒΡΟΥΖΗΝΩΝ (retrograde ΖΗΝΩΝ)

Bruzus was a minor Phrygian civic center whose coins are rarely encountered, and this issue compounds that obscurity with a retrograde ethnic — ΒΡΟΥΖΗΝΩΝ spelled backwards — almost certainly the result of an engraver cutting the die without accounting for the mirror reversal required for striking. Such errors were corrected quickly at most mints, making retrograde-legend dies short-lived and their products correspondingly scarce. The reign of Maximinus Thrax, whom Bruzus was obligated to honor following his elevation in 235, lasted only three years before his murder outside Aquileia in 238, compressing the entire window for civic bronze production under his name.