Augustus Bronze As, RIC I (second edition) Augustus 158

Monetary Context and Denominational Function

During the reign of Augustus, the reorganization of the Roman monetary system created an urgent need for dependable supplies of base-metal small change throughout the western provinces. While the centralized imperial mint at Rome and later the provincial branch at Lugdunum provided regular issues of aes coinage in copper and orichalcum, vast regions of Gaul and the northern military zones along the Rhine faced chronic shortages of low-value currency. In southern Gaul, the Latin colony of Colonia Augusta Nemausus possessed a longstanding civic tradition of bronze production. Under Augustus, Nemausus received an expanded monetary privilege, striking vast quantities of bronze fractions and asses to support both regional commerce and border army supply. Catalogued as RIC I (second edition) Augustus 158, this coin represents the colonial as, functioning denominationally within the bimetallic base-metal framework of the Principate. Although struck under colonial authority and bearing civic legends, its weight standard and broad regional circulation closely approximated the official imperial as. The abundance of this coinage in archaeological strata demonstrates that colonial bronze from Nemausus was not restricted to civic transactions within Gallia Narbonensis; it was thoroughly integrated into interprovincial trade, circulating at face value alongside imperial issues.

Production and Mint Organization at Nemausus

The mint responsible for RIC I (second edition) Augustus 158 operated at Nemausus, modern Nimes, in the province of Gallia Narbonensis. While early numismatic scholarship in the nineteenth century debated whether these coins were produced in the East or at a mobile military mint, modern hoard analyses and metallurgical studies have confirmed local mass production at Nemausus itself. The production scale of this second series was immense, requiring multiple parallel workshops, numerous active obverse and reverse dies, and an organized supply of copper-tin alloy rather than the pure unalloyed copper typical of contemporary Roman imperial asses. Technically, these coins were produced from cast flans struck with hand-cut iron dies. Flans frequently exhibit beveled edges, evidence of sprue detachment, and slight irregular contours resulting from rapid colonial manufacture. The metal standard is bronze, composed primarily of copper with minor percentages of tin and lead, distinguishing it metallurgically from the red unalloyed copper asses and golden-yellow orichalcum dupondii produced concurrently at Rome. Die alignment in this series predominantly clusters around twelve o'clock or six o'clock, reflecting consistent mint discipline despite high manufacturing volumes.

Obverse Iconography and Imperial Dualism

The obverse of RIC I (second edition) Augustus 158 features the back-to-back (adosseed) busts of Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa on the left and Augustus on the right. This dual portrait composition visually expresses the concept of concordia and shared dynastic responsibility, even though the issue was struck several years after Agrippa's death in 12 BC. Agrippa faces left, portrayed with mature, rugged facial features, and is crowned with a distinctive hybrid headgear: a rostral crown adorned with miniature ships' prows intertwined with a laurel wreath. This specific numismatic attribute commemorates Agrippa's decisive command at the naval battles of Mylae, Naulochus, and Actium. Augustus faces right, depicted in a classicizing, ageless style characteristic of early imperial court portraiture. He wears the corona civica, an oak wreath granted to him by the Roman Senate in 27 BC for preserving the lives of Roman citizens during the civil wars. The paired heads emphasize the complementary military and constitutional achievements that formed the bedrock of the new regime. The balanced, back-to-back arrangement was an artistic invention derived from Hellenistic dual portrait traditions, adapted here to celebrate imperial collegiality.

Reverse Iconography: The Chained Crocodile of Egypt

The reverse type of RIC I (second edition) Augustus 158 depicts a Nilotic crocodile chained to an upright palm shoot, with the tip of the palm curving toward the right. Suspended above the crocodile on the upper left field is a celebratory laurel wreath with long, fluttering ribbons. The palm tree is laden with fruit clusters beneath its fronds, adding pastoral and exotic detail to the central composition. This iconography functions as an allegory of the conquest and annexation of Egypt following the Battle of Actium in 31 BC and the fall of Alexandria in 30 BC. The crocodile, the quintessential beast of the Nile, embodies Egypt itself, securely shackled and subdued by Roman power. The palm represents the fertile wealth of the newly conquered eastern realm, while the hovering laurel wreath proclaims military triumph. Although struck in southern Gaul decades after the events of 30 BC, the imagery remained deeply resonant, particularly because veteran legionaries who had participated in the eastern campaigns were settled in the newly founded colony of Nemausus.

Epigraphy and Legend Readings

The legends on RIC I (second edition) Augustus 158 are concise and strictly partitioned between obverse and reverse dies. The obverse legend reads IMP DIVI F, divided evenly around the central portraits, with IMP appearing behind the head of Agrippa and DIVI F behind that of Augustus. This formula abbreviates Imperator Divi Filius ('Emperor, Son of the Divine'), asserting Augustus's status as the adopted son of the deified Julius Caesar. Notably, Agrippa is unnamed in the legend, identified solely through his recognizable portraiture and rostral crown. The reverse bears the civic colonial inscription COL NEM, split across the lower horizontal field on either side of the palm trunk, reading COL to the left and NEM to the right. This abbreviates Colonia Nemausensis, formally asserting the civic origin of the issue under municipal charter. The lettering is rendered in clean, square Roman capitals, demonstrating competent provincial die-engraving. Unlike later series from the mint, this issue does not incorporate the letters P P (Pater Patriae), which helps delimit its chronological framework to the period before Augustus assumed that title in 2 BC.

Typology and Chronological Classification

The colonial coinage of Nemausus is structured into four primary chronological series, among which RIC I (second edition) Augustus 158 belongs squarely to Series II. Series I, struck circa 27 BC to 9 BC, featured bareheaded portraits of Augustus and Agrippa without wreaths. Series II introduced the oak wreath for Augustus and the combined rostral and laurel wreath for Agrippa, accompanied by a smaller laurel wreath in the upper reverse field. Scholars such as Colin M. Kraay and Jean-Baptiste Giard assigned Series II to the approximate span between 9 BC and 3 BC. The terminus post quem of roughly 9 BC is established by stylistic evolution, hoard compositions, and the synchronization of production with Augustus's visits to Gaul and the intensive military campaigns of Drusus and Tiberius in Germania. The terminus ante quem of circa 3 BC is firmly indicated by the introduction of Series III, which includes the honorific title P P (Pater Patriae) following Augustus's formal acclamation in February of 2 BC. RIC 158 is distinguished from related sub-variants by the palm shoot having its tip oriented right, a standard wreath with long ties, and the absence of extraneous field marks or mint control letters.

Circulation, Countermarking, and Halving

Although minted in Gallia Narbonensis, RIC I (second edition) Augustus 158 enjoyed an extraordinarily broad circulation pattern. Extensive finds from military camps along the Rhine frontier, such as Haltern, Oberaden, and Kalkriese, demonstrate that these colonial asses served as primary currency for legionaries stationed in northern Europe. Their heavy weight and dependable metal quality made them acceptable across provincial boundaries where official Roman aes was scarce. Because small-denomination bronze fractions like semisses and quadrantes were rarely struck in adequate numbers during this period, circulating specimens of this series were frequently halved or quartered by cutting them with chisels to produce change. Halved specimens routinely severed the dual obverse portraits down the vertical axis, dividing Agrippa from Augustus. Furthermore, many surviving coins exhibit countermarks applied by military authorities or regional administrators, such as DD (Decreto Decurionum), IMP, or VAR (traditionally linked to Publius Quinctilius Varus), validating their continued circulation and tariffing in the frontier zones well into the reign of Tiberius.

References

1. Catalogue des monnaies de l'Empire romain, I: Auguste. pp. 82-88, nos. 422-445
2. The Chronology of the Coinage of Colonia Nemausus. Numismatic Chronicle, Ser. 6, Vol. 15 (1955), pp. 75-87
3. Online Coins of the Roman Empire: RIC I (second edition) Augustus 158. ric.1(2).aug.158
4. The Roman Imperial Coinage, Volume I: From 31 BC to AD 69 (Revised Edition). p. 51, no. 158
5. Roman Provincial Coinage, Volume I: From the Death of Caesar to the Death of Vitellius (44 BC - AD 69). RPC I 524