Classical Numismatic Group, LLC
Triton XXIV 19-20 Jan 2021
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Diva Paulina. Died before AD 235. AR Denarius (20mm, 3.52 g, 12h). Consecration issue. Rome mint. 2nd emission of Maximinus I, AD 236. DIVA PAVLINA, veiled and draped bust right / CONSECRATIO, peacock standing facing, head left, tail spread. RIC IV 1 (Maximinus I); BMCRE 135 (Maximinus I); RSC 1. Perfectly centered, with light tone over lustrous surfaces. EF. A stunning coin in hand.
Ex Phil Peck (Morris) Collection.
As with many other empresses of the later Roman Empire, virtually nothing is known about Caecilia Paulina, wife of the imposing soldier-emperor Maximinus I Thrax ("the Thracian"). Her name recalls the aristocratic Caecilia gens, but at this late remove she could have been descended from freed servants of that family. Maximinus rose through the ranks of the army to the pinnacle of power; she must have married him at least 15-20 years before this as their son, Maximus, was a young man in his mid-teens in AD 235, when he was named Caesar. Maximinus is said to have worn his wife's bracelet as a ring on his thumb, an anecdote intended to emphasize his enormous size. But it also points to a sincere affection for his wife, as does a later passage by the fourth century historian Ammianus that suggests Paulina, by "feminine gentleness," on occasion led Maximinus " back to the paths of truth and mercy." Paulina died either before her husband's accession or shortly thereafter, as all her coins are posthumous and name her as Diva, or goddess.
Ex Phil Peck (Morris) Collection.
As with many other empresses of the later Roman Empire, virtually nothing is known about Caecilia Paulina, wife of the imposing soldier-emperor Maximinus I Thrax ("the Thracian"). Her name recalls the aristocratic Caecilia gens, but at this late remove she could have been descended from freed servants of that family. Maximinus rose through the ranks of the army to the pinnacle of power; she must have married him at least 15-20 years before this as their son, Maximus, was a young man in his mid-teens in AD 235, when he was named Caesar. Maximinus is said to have worn his wife's bracelet as a ring on his thumb, an anecdote intended to emphasize his enormous size. But it also points to a sincere affection for his wife, as does a later passage by the fourth century historian Ammianus that suggests Paulina, by "feminine gentleness," on occasion led Maximinus " back to the paths of truth and mercy." Paulina died either before her husband's accession or shortly thereafter, as all her coins are posthumous and name her as Diva, or goddess.