Supplies for the Army

Bithynian Coins in the Balkans in the 3rd Century AD

Abstract

This paper addresses the still unresolved problem of interpreting the exceptional presence of civic coins from Bithynia, especially from Nicaea, in the Balkan peninsula during the late Severan period. Drawing mainly upon the extensive set of archaeological data from excavations in Serbia and Romania published in the last twenty years, it re-considers this phenomenon against the wider background of the 3rd century civic coin production in the Balkans and in northern Asia Minor. Looking in particular at the geographical distribution of coin finds along the Danube settlements and at the categories of issues that were involved, this study infers that a specific class of Nicaean coins from the reign of Severus Alexander to that of Gordian III was not simply supplied but also intentionally minted for circulation in this region as a response to the shortage of small change used in daily transactions. The fact that these small bronze denominations were supplied specifically to the territories where Roman legions were based, such as Viminacium and Singidunum, and that only issues featuring military standards were used to fulfil this task, suggests that the army was the main recipient of this targeted production. In the last part of the paper further aspects of this phenomenon that can’ t be unequivocally explained are also discussed, such as the ways in which these Nicaean issues were supplied, also in relation to the military pay, the possible authorities involved in this process, whether military, provincial or imperial, and the reason why a Bithynian civic workshop was in charge of the coin supply to a completely different region of the empire.