Augustus Silver Cistophorus

Monetary Context and Denominational System

The cistophorus originated during the early second century BC under the Attalid kingdom of Pergamon as a closed-currency silver tetradrachm designed to circulate throughout western Asia Minor. When the kingdom was bequeathed to Rome in 133 BC and reconstituted as the province of Asia, Roman administrators preserved this regional currency rather than replacing it with the republican denarius. The cistophorus was tariffed at three Roman denarii, corresponding to four cistophoric drachms valued at three-quarters of a denarius each. This fixed relationship allowed the Roman state to collect taxes, disburse funds, and support legionary deployments without dismantling long-established market conventions. Following his victory at Actium in 31 BC, Octavian retained the denomination as the primary silver medium of the province of Asia. Striking cistophori offered substantial fiscal advantages: by issuing coin on the provincial standard, which was lighter than Attic-weight tetradrachms and slightly overvalued relative to Italian silver, the imperial administration conserved bullion while fulfilling provincial liquidity demands. Augustan cistophori typically maintain a target weight range of 11.5 to 12.0 grams and a diameter of 25 to 28 mm, with an alloy fluctuating around 80 to 90 percent silver fineness. Through this denomination, the new imperial regime integrated Roman political messaging directly into the traditional monetary structure of Asia Minor.

Production and Mint Attributions

The attribution of Augustan cistophori to specific provincial workshops has been an enduring topic of numismatic scholarship. In his foundational die study, C. H. V. Sutherland classified the series into seven primary groups (Groups I through VII) and distributed the bulk of production between Ephesus and Pergamum, while leaving certain transitional dies unassigned or designated to uncertain Asian traveling workshops. The primary criteria for dividing production between these two cities include distinctive portrait styles, epigraphic variations, and localized reverse motifs. The inaugural issue of 28 BC is conventionally assigned to Ephesus, a major financial and administrative hub where Octavian oversaw post-war reorganization. Subsequent middle issues dating from approximately 27 to 20 BC present parallel emissions: while the altar depicting the confronted hinds of Diana Ephesia securely links one series to Ephesus, related issues featuring sphinxes, bundles of grain ears, and capricorns have been attributed between Ephesus and Pergamum based on die carving idiosyncrasies. The final issues of 19 to 18 BC, distinguished by representations of the provincial Temple of Roma and Augustus, are universally assigned to Pergamum, the primary center of the provincial assembly (the Koinon of Asia). While Sutherland proposed multiple distinct workshops within these cities, the editors of Roman Provincial Coinage emphasize that the entire series represents closely coordinated administrative production, with several groups potentially struck in sequence or through centralized regional operations.

Obverse Iconography and Styles

The obverse dies of the Augustan cistophoric series document the rapid evolution of imperial portraiture between the final phase of the triumviral civil wars and the mature Augustan Principate. On the earliest emission of 28 BC, Octavian appears with a laureate head facing right, executed in an expressive, dynamic late Hellenistic manner that emphasizes victorious generalship. Following the constitutional settlement of 27 BC, the portraiture transitioned toward the idealized, classicizing aesthetic characteristic of Augustan state art. The head is consistently depicted bare, almost always facing right, though rare left-facing dies are documented for certain Pergamene varieties. A notable iconographic feature on several early Pergamene dies is the addition of a lituus (an augural staff) in front of the neck or beneath the chin. This attribute emphasizes Augustus's membership in the College of Augurs and reinforces his religious authority alongside his civil power. On the final series of 19 to 18 BC, the portrait achieves its definitive Prima Porta elegance: a serene, youthful profile with carefully articulated locks of hair, surrounded by a delicate linear or dotted border.

Reverse Designs and Iconographic Program

The reverse repertoire of the Augustan cistophorus discarded the traditional Hellenistic bowcase and serpents in favor of powerful symbols of peace, prosperity, personal destiny, and imperial diplomacy. The series opened in 28 BC with a transitional design: the goddess Pax stands holding a caduceus, resting her foot upon a parazonium or vanquished weapon, while beside her stands a cista mystica with an emerging serpent, all framed by a celebratory laurel wreath. This composition directly linked the traditional cistophoric emblem with the dawn of universal Roman peace. Subsequent emissions from 27 to 20 BC introduced recurring emblems that symbolized the blessings of the Augustan golden age: a bundle of six ears of grain tied tightly together, representing agrarian fertility and commercial abundance; the capricorn with a cornucopia upon its back, representing Augustus's natal sign of conception and auspicious fortune; a seated sphinx, personal signet device of the princeps prior to his adoption of the portrait of Alexander the Great; and the ornate, garlanded altar of Diana Ephesia, adorned with two confronted stags. The final group, struck circa 19 to 18 BC, celebrated Augustus's diplomatic triumph over the Parthian Empire, which resulted in the peaceful recovery of the Roman military standards lost at Carrhae in 53 BC. Three reverse types comprise this group: a triumphal arch surmounted by a quadriga carrying Augustus, flanked by legionary eagles; a circular, domed tholos representing the Temple of Mars Ultor on the Capitoline, sheltering an aquila; and a hexastyle temple set upon a five-tiered podium, representing the provincial sanctuary of Roma and Augustus at Pergamum.

Epigraphy and Legend Structure

Unlike the majority of provincial and civic coinages struck in the Greek East, Augustan cistophori feature exclusively Latin inscriptions. This linguistic choice underscores the official imperial authority underlying their production and reflects their status as direct instruments of Roman provincial governance. The legend of the 28 BC Peace issue provides one of the most explicit ideological statements on ancient coinage: the obverse reads IMP CAESAR DIVI F COS VI LIBERTATIS P R VINDEX ("Imperator Caesar, Son of the Divine, Consul for the Sixth Time, Champion of the Liberty of the Roman People"), paired with PAX on the reverse. On the middle series (circa 27 to 20 BC), the legends become exceptionally succinct: the obverse carries IMP CAESAR (frequently arranged across the fields or beneath the bust as IMP CAE-SAR), while the reverse simply displays AVGVSTVS, announcing his newly granted sacred honorific. The series of 19 to 18 BC features detailed chronological dating and explicit programmatic labels. The obverse legend reads IMP IX TR PO V or IMP IX TR POT V, indicating Augustus's ninth imperatorial acclamation and fifth annual grant of tribunician power. The reverses bear commemorative inscriptions: the arch issue is inscribed S P R SIGNIS RECEPTIS ("The Senate and People of Rome: With the Standards Recovered"); the circular temple type is inscribed MART VLTO across the field ("To Mars the Avenger"); and the Pergamene temple issue carries COM ASIAE across the upper fields with ROM ET AVGVST on the temple architrave, referencing the sanction of the Commune Asiae.

Typology and Chronological Sequence

Numismatists organize the Augustan cistophori into three distinct chronological and typological horizons, corresponding to Sutherland's seven structural groups: 1. Initial Actian Phase (28 BC, Sutherland Group I; RPC I 2203, RIC I 476): Issued during Octavian's sixth consulship, featuring the Pax and cista mystica reverse. This emission announced the restoration of public order and civil peace across the Eastern Mediterranean. 2. Middle Asian Phase (circa 27 to 20 BC, Sutherland Groups II through VI; RPC I 2204-2215, RIC I 477-494): Comprising issues struck at both Pergamum and Ephesus. Early Pergamene emissions (Groups II-IV) depict the sphinx (RPC I 2204, 2207), grain bundle (RPC I 2206, 2212), and capricorn (RPC I 2211). Ephesian production (Groups V-VI) includes parallel capricorn (RPC I 2213) and grain bundle (RPC I 2214) designs alongside the distinctive altar of Diana Ephesia (RPC I 2215). 3. Late Commemorative Phase (circa 19 to 18 BC, Sutherland Group VII; RPC I 2218-2220, RIC I 506-510): Struck exclusively at Pergamum. Securely anchored by the dual titles IMP IX and TR POT V, this phase comprises three architectural reverses: the triumphal arch for the Parthian standards (RPC I 2218), the hexastyle temple of Roma and Augustus (RPC I 2219), and the circular temple of Mars Ultor (RPC I 2220).

Circulation, Hoards, and Afterlife

Augustan cistophori circulated overwhelmingly within their intended geopolitical boundary: the province of Asia and immediately adjacent districts of western Asia Minor. Significant hoard discoveries, such as the Penkalas hoards from Aizanoi and the Halicarnassus deposit, demonstrate that Augustan cistophori circulated in close monetary harmony with Roman denarii. In local accounting, one cistophorus consistently passed as three denarii, providing convenient high-denomination silver for bulk regional commerce, administrative fees, and military expenditure. The volume of production was substantial enough to ensure that Augustan cistophori remained in circulation for generations. By the late first century AD, many surviving pieces showed heavy wear and received imperial countermarks under the Flavian dynasty, most commonly IMP VES AVG or VESPASIANVS AVG, certifying their continuing value. During the reigns of Trajan and Hadrian in the early second century AD, older Augustan cistophori were systematically recalled to serve as host flans for renewed provincial silver emissions. Numerous Hadrianic cistophori from cities like Ephesus, Sardis, and Aezanis clearly exhibit undertype traces of Augustan designs, including the 28 BC Pax reverse and the corn-ear bundles, marking the eventual physical absorption of the Augustan series into later imperial coinage.

References

1. The Roman Imperial Coinage, Volume I: From 31 BC to AD 69 (Revised Edition). pp. 79-83, nos. 476-510
2. Roman Provincial Coinage, Volume I: From the Death of Caesar to the Death of Vitellius (44 BC - AD 69). pp. 376-382, nos. 2203-2220
3. The Cistophori of Augustus. Royal Numismatic Society Special Publication 5