After the deaths of Emperors Gordianus I and II, the Roman Senate had a major problem. It had not long before declared soldier emperor Maximinus I Thrax an enemy of the people, and this Maximinus meanwhile marched with his army to Rome. In an emergency session of the Senate, Pupienus and Balbinus were then elected emperors. The people, however, did not take this lightly, and became restless. By appointing the later Gordianus III as Caesar, worse was prevented.

Pupienus, the more militarily experienced of the two emperors went to Ravenna to build up an army and take on Maximinus. This went surprisingly well, as Pupienus was able to get many soldiers from Germania, and Maximinus’ supplies ran out. Maximinus was then killed by his soldiers, who otherwise kept quiet after a commutation.

Pupienus returned to Rome, where Balbinus did not control the situation. However, peace returned somewhat with the arrival of Pupienus. However, the emperors among themselves did not trust each other one bit. Pupienus therefore wanted his Germanic troops with him. The Praetorian Guard did not like this and killed both emperors. Caesar Gordianus became emperor.

The reverse of this coin bears the inscription “Caritas mutua avgg” which means “mutual benevolence of the emperors”, which couldn’t be further from the truth; their loathing and distrust for each other directly led to their demise. The use of coins as propaganda vehicles was, by this time, a well-established tactic in administrating the empire.