Ticinum—modern Pavia—was an ancient Celtic town when the Romans conquered northern Italy in the third century BC. The nearby city of Medialanum (modern Milan) was the dominant city in the region and was one of the most important cities in the entire empire. Gallienus opened an imperial mint at Mediolanum in 259, but this was moved to Ticinum in 271 by Valerian—perhaps as a consequence of the Alemannic incursions of the period. When Maximianus was appointed co-Augustus in 285, he established his capital at Mediolanum, but left the mint at Ticinum. When Constantius was appointed caesar in 293, the Ticinum mint, along with the other Italian mints, remained under the control of Maximianus.

When Maximianus and Diocletian abdicated in 305, Ticinum and the other Italian mints passed to the control of the new caesar, Severus II. As Maxentius' revolt bubbled up from Rome, Ticinum quickly found itself at the intersection of three different political spheres: Constantine I, who was projecting power from Gaul; Maxentius, from Rome; and Severus II, trying to maintain power from a rapidly shrinking base in northern Italy. Similar to Aquileia, the coinage under Severus reflects these tensions, with a variety of aggressive military themes absent from the other mints. The "Fides Militvm" reverse type—expressing the loyality of the army—was characteristic, and was unique to Ticinum.

Maxentius assumed control of the mint in 307 after the final defeat of Severus II—notwithstanding the message on his coins, his army did in fact desert him—and immediately began striking the "Temple of Roma" coins that were his signature type. However, in a nod to Constantine's burgeoning power to the north, the Ticinum mint also struck several types honoring Constantine that were struck nowhere else. The alliance with Constantine was short-lived, however, and the mint was closed around 310 as Maxentius consolidated his position in Rome and Constantine grew more powerful to his north.

Constantine assumed control of the mint in 312 and quickly brought it in line with his other mints. The mint played an important role in supplying Constantine's forces for his civil wars with Licinius—in 313/314, when Constantine closed the mint at Ostia, the chief die engraver for its gold coins was moved to Ticinum, and Ticinum replaced Treveri in this period as the chief supplier of gold coins in the west. However, its importance receded as Constantine moved his court eastward, and the mint was closed for several years from 321–324, although it reopened for a period in 324–325.

After Constantine's final victory against Licinius, he reorganized his western mints, closing the mints at Ticinum, Lugdunum, and Londinium as his court moved permanently to the east. The Ticinum mint workers probably transferred to Siscia. When a new mint was needed in northern Italy after the empire split again in the 360s, Valentinian re-opened the mint at Mediolanum rather than Ticinum.

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