Antioch AE – Anonymous “Persecution Issue” (time of Maximinus II)

Bronze Roman Provincial Coin of Autonomous Issue Under Maximinus II –  Antioch

Obv: Laureate head of Zeus right.

Rev: APOLLONI SANCTO, Apollo standing to left, holding patera and lyre; I in right field, SMA in exergue.

Minted during the Great Christian Persecution under Maximinus II

310 – 313 AD. · Antioch · McAlee 170j

1,4g · 15.0mm

During the reign of Maximinus II, a vigorous campaign of persecution against local Christians escalated significantly in Nicomedia, Antioch, and Alexandria. Churches were shut down, properties were confiscated, and Christians were expelled from numerous cities. In these three prominent mint cities, a series of small bronze coins was issued to honor the traditional Greco-Roman deities, including Jupiter, Apollo, Tyche, and Serapis. The intensity of the persecutions diminished in AD 313, likely due to the interventions and concerns raised by Constantine and Licinius, the emperors of the western regions.