Augustus Denarius, RIC I (second edition) Augustus 193A

Monetary Context and Imperial Currency Reforms

The monetary reforms initiated under Augustus progressively transformed the disorganized, episodic precious-metal coinage of the late Roman Republic into a unified, tripartite imperial system. During the early triumviral and post-Actian periods, silver denarii were issued across a mobile network of military mints, Spanish workshops, and eastern provincial centers. In the late teens BC, the senatorial moneyers at Rome briefly resumed the production of precious-metal currency. However, that urban coinage ceased around 12 BC as Augustus relocated the regular striking of gold and silver to Lugdunum in Gallia Comata. This shift consolidated fiscal authority firmly within the imperial domain while positioning mass production close to the Rhine and Danube frontiers, where legionary troop pay and infrastructural subsidies created persistent demand for high-value coin. The denarius denominated the monetary accounting of the empire, tariffed at four sestertii, sixteen asses, or one twenty-fifth of a gold aureus. Type RIC I (second edition) Augustus 193A was minted within this reorganized administrative framework, exemplifying the fully centralized production of silver coin under the direct oversight of the emperor and his procurators.

Production Standards and the Lugdunum Mint

The mint of Lugdunum had operated as a major regional administrative center since the 40s BC, but its formal elevation to the paramount imperial gold and silver mint took place around 15 BC. Situated at the confluence of the Rhone and Saone rivers, Lugdunum possessed exceptional logistical advantages, including rapid communication lines to Italy and direct riverine routes to the military frontiers in northern Gaul and the Rhineland. The technical execution of the dies at Lugdunum is noted for its high aesthetic discipline, uniform relief, and clean metallic fabric. Type RIC I (second edition) Augustus 193A was struck from carefully refined silver blanks prepared on the theoretical Augustan standard of roughly 1/84 of a Roman pound (libra), yielding a nominal individual weight around 3.8 to 3.9 grams, though surviving specimens demonstrate standard manufacturing tolerances between 3.5 and 4.0 grams due to al marco blank preparation. The die axes were commonly oriented in a regular or semi-regular manner, reflecting increasingly mechanized and disciplined workshop practices in the Gallic facility.

Obverse Iconography and Imperial Portraiture

The obverse of RIC I (second edition) Augustus 193A depicts the head of Augustus facing right, crowned with a laurel wreath tied at the nape of the neck with fluttering ribbons. Stylistically, this portrait belongs to the mature imperial iconographic group crafted at Lugdunum, characterized by idealizing classicism balanced with identifiable Julio-Claudian facial features. The portrait eschews the severe, veristic age marks common in Late Republican portraiture, instead presenting the princeps with timeless, calm dignity. The hair is arranged in the characteristic Augustan schema, featuring distinct locks parting across the brow. The laurel wreath directly evokes victorious imperium, civic deliverance, and ritual purification, functioning as both an honorific attribute granted by the Senate and an explicit signifier of divine favor.

Reverse Iconography: Apollo Citharoedus

The reverse composition showcases Apollo Citharoedus standing toward the right, draped in long, flowing robes (stola or peplos) characteristic of the divine musician and patron of the arts. In his right hand, the deity holds a plectrum, while his left hand supports a large lyre (cithara). Apollo had occupied a central role in the personal religious devotion and political visual vocabulary of Augustus since the civil wars. The princeps attributed his victory over Mark Antony and Cleopatra at Actium in 31 BC directly to the intervention of Actian Apollo, later constructing a magnificent marble temple dedicated to the god on the Palatine Hill adjacent to his own residence. On the coinage of Lugdunum, the representation of Apollo carrying the lyre blends the celebration of military triumph with the restoration of civil harmony, culture, and golden-age peace throughout the Roman world.

Epigraphy and Imperial Titles

The epigraphic program of this denarius is split cleanly between the obverse and reverse fields. The obverse legend reads AVGVSTVS DIVI F, arranged along the rim. This concise phrasing combines the sacred cognomen Augustus, conferred upon him by the Senate in 27 BC, with the patronymic Divi Filius (son of the deified), asserting his religious and legal descent from Divus Julius Caesar. The reverse bears the solitary legend IMP XII, referring to the emperor's twelfth acclamation as imperator. Unlike late triumviral coinage that crowded numerous civil offices and familial lineages onto the flan, these mature Lugdunese inscriptions favored brevity and stark ideological resonance, allowing the visual imagery of the emperor and his divine patron to dominate the viewer's attention.

Typology and Chronological Classification

In the revised classification of Roman Imperial Coinage Volume I, type 193A is placed within the substantive series of denarii and aurei carrying the acclamation IMP XII, struck at Lugdunum between 11 BC and 10 BC. The title Imperator XII was assumed by Augustus in late 11 BC following significant frontier successes, notably the campaigns of his stepsons Tiberius in Pannonia and Nero Claudius Drusus in Germany. This chronological marker securely dates the production of type 193A to the subsequent administrative cycle before the assumption of IMP XIII in late 9 BC or early 8 BC. Type 193A is typologically distinguished by the right-facing direction of both the obverse portrait and the reverse standing figure of Apollo, contrasting with related catalogue entries within the IMP X, IMP XI, and IMP XII sequences that feature alternative postures, left-facing portraits, or Diana reverse pairings.

Circulation, Hoard Evidence, and Monetary Impact

The denarii issued under the IMP XII series circulated across the Roman Empire, but hoard evidence demonstrates their heaviest initial concentration in the western provinces, particularly along the Rhine limes, northern and central Gaul, and the Iberian peninsula. Struck in fine silver, these coins were widely absorbed by legionaries and auxiliary units active in the continuous frontier campaigns of the late first century BC. Over time, the high metallurgical purity of the Augustan denarius ensured that coins of type 193A remained in active circulation for several decades, often appearing in hoards deposited during the Julio-Claudian era down to the reign of Nero. Continued everyday exchange smoothed the high-relief surfaces of Apollo's drapery and Augustus's wreath, but the distinctive combination of the imperial title and the cithara made the type instantly identifiable even in moderately worn contexts.

References

1. Coins of the Roman Empire in the British Museum, Volume I: Augustus to Vitellius. pp. 80-83
2. Catalogue des monnaies de l'Empire romain, I: Auguste. nos. 1395-1400
3. Online Coins of the Roman Empire: RIC I (second edition) Augustus 193A. ric.1(2).aug.193A
4. The Roman Imperial Coinage, Volume I: From 31 BC to AD 69 (Revised Edition). pp. 52-54, no. 193A