Augustus Copper As, RIC I (second edition) Augustus 233

Monetary Context and the Augustan Base-Metal System

Following the constitutional settlements of the 20s BC, Augustus undertook a comprehensive restructuring of Roman coinage. This reform established a coherent bimetallic and base-metal denominational hierarchy that endured for more than two centuries. Central to this system was the reintroduction of abundant fractional bronze and copper denominations: the sestertius and dupondius struck in orichalcum (brass), alongside the as, semis, and quadrans struck in unalloyed copper or bronze. The as represented the practical everyday unit of account and small-scale exchange across the Mediterranean and the western provinces. While the Senate nominally supervised the output of aes coinage at Rome, the logistical demands of the northern frontier and Gaul prompted the creation of massive imperial base-metal issues outside Italy. The establishment of the federal sanctuary of the Three Gauls at Lugdunum provided both the political occasion and the infrastructural nexus for a substantial regional striking. RIC I (second edition) Augustus 233 emerged from this need to supply the Rhine frontier and northwestern civilian markets with stable, state-backed token money, easing commercial integration and standardizing regional liquidity against older Celtic and republican fractional currencies.

Mint Attribution and Lugdunum Production Technology

This type was minted exclusively at Lugdunum (modern Lyon, France), a major administrative center chosen for its strategic geographic location at the crossroads of the western road network. Lugdunum was exceptionally well-suited to supply base-metal coinage to legions stationed along the Rhine and garrisons throughout Gaul and Roman Germany. Metallurgically, specimens belonging to this late Altar series were struck from cast copper or copper-alloy blanks prepared to precise weight tolerances, generally clustering around 10 to 11 grams with diameters between 25 and 28 millimeters, though individual specimens routinely exhibit slight variations due to manual flan preparation. Mint technicians employed high-relief engraved bronze or iron dies, striking heated blanks manually between an anvil die and a hand-held punch die. Die orientation was predominantly regular, often fixed at roughly twelve or six o'clock, reflecting the tight organizational oversight characteristic of the Lugdunum workshops during the late Augustan principate. The immense volume of dies attested across surviving examples demonstrates the vast scale of production maintained by the mint during the final five years of Augustus's life.

Obverse Portraiture and Ideological Representation

The obverse of RIC I (second edition) Augustus 233 features a mature, dignified portrait of Augustus, facing right. He wears the triumphal laurel wreath (corona triumphalis), with ties trailing gracefully at the back of the neck. Stylistically, this portrait belongs to the late 'Prima Porta' artistic tradition adapted for the provincial workshop, emphasizing classicizing Augustan serenity, composed facial planes, and crisp hair curls arranged in distinctive comma-shaped locks over the forehead. Rather than revealing the natural physical aging of an emperor who had reached his seventies by AD 9, the die engravers rendered Augustus in idealized majesty, projecting divine favor, calm authority, and perpetual youth. The portrait fills the central flan, enclosed neatly by the circumscription legend. Engravers at Lugdunum achieved a balance between naturalistic musculature in the neck and the formal, statuesque qualities required of official imperial iconography, establishing an enduring visual benchmark for early Julio-Claudian provincial aes.

Reverse Iconography: The Altar of Lugdunum

The reverse design provides an exceptionally valuable architectural record of the Great Altar of the Three Gauls (Ara Trium Galliarum), dedicated on 1 August 12 BC at the confluence of the Rhone and Saone rivers. On RIC I (second edition) Augustus 233, the altar is depicted as a massive rectangular monument set on a stepped podium. Flanking the altar are two tall, slender columnar pedestals, each surmounted by a sculpted winged Victory holding out a laurel wreath toward the altar and bearing a palm branch over her shoulder. The frontal facade of the altar itself is embellished with intricate relief carvings. At the center appears the corona civica (civic oak wreath) awarded to Augustus for saving the lives of citizens, flanked by laurel branches and stylized standing male figures, often interpreted as personifications or sacrificial attendants. Above the upper cornice, decorative sacrificial acroteria or stylized plant motifs frame the altar platform. This design served as a powerful reminder of provincial loyalty, divine celebration, and the shared religious cult binding the Gallic tribes to Rome and its princeps.

Epigraphy and Titulature

The inscriptions on RIC I (second edition) Augustus 233 are executed in clear, tall Roman capitals and encapsulate the core legal and religious foundations of the Augustan regime. The obverse legend reads CAESAR AVGVSTVS DIVI F PATER PATRIAE, running clockwise from the lower left. This formula highlights his adopted family name (Caesar), the revered title granted by the Senate in 27 BC (Augustus), his divine lineage as son of the deified Julius Caesar (Divi Filius), and his supreme civil honor as 'Father of the Fatherland' (Pater Patriae), which had been formally conferred on 5 February 2 BC. The reverse carries the concise, declarative legend ROM ET AVG, positioned prominently across the lower exergue or flanking the altar base. This legend is an abbreviation of 'Romae et Augusto' ('To Roma and Augustus'), directly dedicating the illustrated monument and its ritual cult to the personification of the Roman state and the living emperor. The epigraphy displays standardized letterforms with well-defined serifs, indicative of the professional standards maintained across the imperial workshops at Lugdunum.

Typological Placement and Chronological Sequence

In the sequence of Lugdunum bronze issues, the Altar series is divided into distinct typological groups. The earlier Group I (or Series I) was struck from circa 10 BC onward, characterized by earlier obverse titular formulas. RIC I (second edition) Augustus 233 belongs to Group II (Series II), marked by the addition of the title PATER PATRIAE and refined stylistic execution of the altar reliefs. Numismatic consensus, established by Harold Mattingly and later refined by C. H. V. Sutherland and Jean-Baptiste Giard, dates this definitive late phase between AD 9 and AD 14. This chronological window overlaps with the aftermath of the clades Variana (the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest in AD 9), an era when substantial military pay and monetary re-supply were urgently dispatched to the Rhine legions under the commands of Tiberius and Germanicus. RIC 233 is strictly catalogued by its laureate right-facing head and complete titular sequence, distinguishing it from contemporary variants featuring bare-headed portraits (such as RIC 230), left-facing busts, or subsequent memorial issues struck under Tiberius.

Circulation Patterns and Archaeological Evidence

Archaeological finds show that RIC I (second edition) Augustus 233 and its companion base-metal types circulated vigorously throughout Gaul, the Rhineland, the Iberian Peninsula, and Britain. Massive quantities have been uncovered in excavation contexts at major legionary fortresses along the Rhine, such as Haltern, Xanten (Vetera), Mainz (Mogontiacum), and Neuss (Novaesium). The high volume of finds in military vici confirms that these coins formed the primary vehicle for daily transactions, provisioning, and soldier disbursements in the western provinces. Because the production of base-metal coinage at Rome remained intermittent, Lugdunum asses served as the workhorse currency of the West. Their widespread presence also gave rise to secondary phenomena: coins of this type are frequently found countermarked by imperial authorities (such as VAR, TIB, or AVG marks) to extend circulation validity or re-validate currency under successive commanders. Additionally, the acute demand for small change in frontier regions inspired numerous contemporary cast and struck imitations, produced locally by civilian and military communities to alleviate ongoing shortages of official token coin.

References

1. Coins of the Roman Empire in the British Museum, Vol. I: Augustus to Vitellius. pp. 92-94
2. The Imperial Cult in the Latin West: Studies in the Ruler Cult of the Western Provinces of the Roman Empire. Vol. I.1, pp. 97-125
3. Catalogue des monnaies de l'Empire romain, I: Auguste. pp. 240-246
4. Online Coins of the Roman Empire: RIC I (second edition) Augustus 233. RIC I (second edition) Augustus 233
5. The Roman Imperial Coinage, Vol. I (revised edition). pp. 57-58, no. 233