Antoninus Pius Dupondius, RIC III Antoninus Pius 993

Monetary Context and Denominational Function

During the Antonine era, base-metal coinage constituted the backbone of everyday commercial transactions in Italy and the western provinces. Within the Augustan trimetallic system as maintained into the mid-second century AD, the dupondius stood as a vital intermediate denomination tariffed at two copper asses, one-half of a brass sestertius, and one-eighth of a silver denarius. While the sestertius served as the principal large-denomination brass piece for significant expenditures and prestigious civic disbursements, dupondii and asses met the daily liquidity requirements of urban markets, local toll collections, and retail trade. Metallurgically, the dupondius was designed as an orichalcum or brass piece, differentiating it chemically and aesthetically from the red-copper asses of comparable size. To avoid confusion as wear muted the distinctive golden hue of fresh orichalcum, imperial mint practice systematically assigned the radiate crown to the portrait of the emperor on dupondii, contrasting with the laureate wreath reserved for sestertii and asses. In the administrative landscape of AD 157 to 158, Antoninus Pius oversaw a peaceful and economically stable realm. The issue catalogued as RIC III Antoninus Pius 993 represents an integral part of this stable monetary baseline, offering reliable weight and standard brass alloy to facilitate continuous commercial activity while conveying state ideological priorities.

Mint of Rome and Manufacturing Techniques

Production of RIC III Antoninus Pius 993 took place exclusively at the central imperial mint in Rome, which handled virtually all regular aes issues for the western empire during this period. The mint employed organized officinae staffed by specialized personnel, including scalptores who engraved the iron dies and signatores who oversaw striking operations. Blanks for the dupondius were cast in open or two-part molds before being heated and hand-struck between an engraved anvil die and a hand-held punch die. Dupondii of Antoninus Pius typically demonstrate an intended target weight range between 11.50 and 14.50 grams, with typical diameters measuring between 25 and 28 millimeters, though variations across individual specimens reflect manual flan casting and trimming rather than deliberate fractional standards. The alloy used in Antonine dupondii was orichalcum, nominally composed of copper with a zinc content frequently ranging from ten to twenty percent, although contemporary scrap melting and recycling sometimes introduced minor lead and tin traces into the melt. Die axes for this emission generally adhere to regular alignments, predominantly displaying a six-o'clock or twelve-o'clock orientation characteristic of Rome's mechanical discipline under Antoninus Pius.

Obverse Iconography and Imperial Portraiture

The obverse of RIC III Antoninus Pius 993 exhibits a mature portrait of Antoninus Pius, facing to the right and wearing the radiate crown. By the late 150s AD, the imperial engravers at Rome had perfected a dignified, naturalistic style that portrayed the emperor with a full, neatly trimmed beard, undulating waves of hair, and a serene, philosophic countenance reflecting imperial gravitas and composure. The corona radiata, which originated in the Hellenistic royal tradition and Roman deification motifs before becoming a practical denominational badge under Nero, is rendered with well-defined spikes projecting outward from the head. Engravers carefully modulated the relief of the bust, leaving the neck bare or terminating in clean truncation curves at the base of the throat. The stylistic consistency of this portrait type reflects tight central artistic control across the workshops of the Rome mint, where master models ensured that the likeness of Antoninus Pius remained coherent across multiple denominations, metals, and production runs.

Reverse Iconography: Annona and Maritime Provisioning

The reverse of the type features the standing figure of Annona, the divine personification of the grain harvest and the imperial provisioning system that sustained the population of Rome. Draped in a stola and palla that fall in naturalistic folds around her limbs, Annona stands facing left. In her extended right hand, she holds ripe ears of corn over a modius, the traditional dry-measure basket of the Roman grain administration, from which additional ears of corn project. Her left hand rests upon a nearly vertical steering rudder that is placed atop the prow of a maritime cargo ship. This rich constellation of attributes synthesized the key logistical stages of the imperial grain distribution, the annona civica. The modius and corn-ears symbolized the physical grain and its measured allocation to the Roman plebs, while the rudder and prow emphasized the maritime transport networks linking the grain-producing provinces of Egypt and Africa to the ports of Ostia and Portus. Flanking the lower fields of the design are the large letters S and C, denoting Senatus Consulto, the formal formula recording senatorial sanction for base-metal emissions.

Epigraphy and Titulature

The inscriptions on RIC III Antoninus Pius 993 provide precise historical, chronological, and constitutional documentation. The obverse legend reads ANTONINVS AVG PIVS P P IMP II, progressing clockwise along the perimeter. Here, ANTONINVS designates the emperor's adopted imperial nomen; AVG abbreviates Augustus, the quintessential title of imperial majesty; PIVS records the cognomen awarded to him by the Senate for familial filial devotion and religious propriety; P P abbreviates Pater Patriae, Father of the Fatherland; and IMP II indicates his second imperial acclamation, achieved early in his reign following military operations in northern Britain. The reverse inscription reads TR POT XXI COS IIII, framed alongside the letters S C across the lower fields. TR POT XXI denotes the twenty-first annual renewal of his tribunician power (Tribunicia Potestate XXI), an authority fundamental to the civil executive and legislative prerogative of the princeps. COS IIII records his fourth consulship (Consul IV), which he held beginning in AD 145 and chose not to renew. The letters S C (Senatus Consulto) acknowledge the formal constitutional role of the Roman Senate in validating brass and copper coinage for circulation.

Typology and Chronological Classification

The chronological placement of RIC III Antoninus Pius 993 is established with precision through the interaction of its epigraphic formulas. Antoninus Pius renewed his tribunician power annually in December; hence, Tribunicia Potestate XXI extended from December 10, AD 157 to December 9, AD 158. Within this brief interval, the Rome mint executed a series of related civic and religious themes, of which the Annona type was among the most prominent. In the typology established by Harold Mattingly and Edward Sydenham in The Roman Imperial Coinage, this specific combination of radiate head right, Annona standing left with corn-ears over a modius and rudder on prow, and the titular formula TR POT XXI COS IIII forms entry 993. Similar iconographic programs were struck simultaneously on sestertii (such as RIC III 980) and copper asses, but RIC 993 is distinguished by its specific dupondius weight standard, orichalcum metal, and radiate crown. The type exemplifies the programmatic coherence of Antoninus Pius's third decade of governance, reaffirming administrative reliability rather than military triumphalism.

Circulation, Hoards, and Archaeological Distribution

Following its production at Rome, RIC III Antoninus Pius 993 entered broad circulation throughout Italy and the western provinces of the Roman Empire, including Gaul, Britannia, Germania, and the Danube frontier. Because dupondii carried an intrinsic metal value moderately lower than their nominal token value relative to silver, they moved freely through internal provincial trade networks and military camp markets. Archaeological finds and excavation hoards demonstrate that second-century base-metal coins experienced prolonged periods of physical use, often circulating for decades alongside both earlier Flavian and later Severan issues. Many surviving specimens display moderate to heavy surface abrasion, reflecting extensive passage through hand-to-hand transactions. Secondary treatments observed across mid-second-century dupondii occasionally include minor countermarking or intentional flattening in provincial contexts, though RIC 993 primarily survived as standard currency. By the third century AD, as monetary debasement accelerated under the Severan dynasty and the subsequent military emperors, earlier brass dupondii such as RIC 993 were progressively removed from circulation, hoarded for their superior copper-alloy content, or remelted to supply later provincial and imperial foundries.

References

1. Coins of the Roman Empire in the British Museum, Volume IV: Antoninus Pius to Commodus. pp. 341-344
2. Online Coins of the Roman Empire: RIC III Antoninus Pius 993. ric.3.ant.993
3. The Roman Imperial Coinage, Volume III: Antoninus Pius to Commodus. p. 149, no. 993
4. Untersuchungen zur romischen Reichspragung des zweiten Jahrhunderts, Teil III: Die Reichspragung zur Zeit des Antoninus Pius. pp. 110-115