Augustus Denarius, RIC I (second edition) Augustus 167A

Monetary Context and Reform

The introduction of the imperial denarius series at Lugdunum marks one of the definitive structural shifts in the monetary system of the early Roman Empire. Prior to 15 BC, Augustus had relied on an array of regional mints, including facilities in Hispania such as Colonia Patricia and Emerita, along with the traditional senatorial mint at Rome, which primarily issued bronze, brass, and occasional precious-metal pieces managed by moneyers (tresviri monetales). In the mid-15s BC, Augustus orchestrated a profound centralization of gold and silver production in Gaul. The foundation of the imperial mint at Lugdunum in approximately 15 BC provided the principate with direct control over the precious-metal output needed to sustain the massive military apparatus in the northwest. The silver denarius, tariffed at sixteen bronze asses or four sestertii, constituted the staple coin of military pay and high-value interprovincial commerce. Under the Augustan monetary system, the denarius maintained an official weight standard theoretically calibrated near 1/84 of a Roman pound (libra), yielding an average struck weight hovering around 3.8 to 3.9 grams of high-purity silver. Denarius type RIC 167A was produced at this full reformed standard, functioning alongside parallel aurei that shared similar iconographic themes. By shifting the central issuing authority for precious metals from the moneyers at Rome to an imperial enterprise closely overseen by the princeps, Augustus secured regularized pay for legionaries defending the Germanic frontier while propagating his personal ideological program throughout the western empire.

Production and the Mint of Lugdunum

Type RIC 167A was struck exclusively at Lugdunum, an administrative hub located at the confluence of the Rhone and Saone rivers. Chosen for its strategic location, political stability, and proximity to the Rhine military commands, Lugdunum emerged as the preeminent mint for imperial gold and silver for several decades. The workshop operated under imperial civil servants and freedmen, drawing on bullion extracted from Iberian and Alpine mining districts alongside melted Republican or regional coin stocks. Technically, the coins of this series reflect advanced striking methods, characterized by carefully centered flans, well-prepared dies, and relatively consistent metal purity. The engravers at Lugdunum developed a distinctive, classicizing artistic style that stood in contrast to the late Republican and triumviral traditions. Augustus's portraiture on these issues exhibits refined, idealized features often referred to as the mature or classic imperial portrait. The dies for RIC 167A were meticulously aligned and cut in high relief, though striking pressure varied, leading to minor variations in strike softness or off-centering across the surviving population. The production of the 'IMP X' series at Lugdunum was massive, indicating a concerted mobilization of resources to meet the immense logistical expenses of Tiberius and Drusus's northern campaigns.

Obverse Iconography

The obverse of RIC 167A presents an unadorned, bare head of Augustus facing right. The treatment of the emperor eschews explicit regal or military paraphernalia; there is neither a laurel wreath nor a diadem, emphasizing the princeps's public image as a civic magistrate and first citizen rather than an absolute monarch. The portrait shows the idealized Hellenistic-influenced realism characteristic of Augustan court art, with smooth facial contours, a calm and resolute expression, a sharp jawline, and the famous 'Augustan' lock of hair combed forward on the forehead. Surrounding the portrait is the continuous legend AVGVSTVS DIVI F, beginning typically at the lower left and reading upward around the perimeter. The die cutters achieved exceptional clarity in the letter forms, using neat, squared Roman capitals with prominent serifs. While the portrait exhibits uniform official traits, minute differences in the curvature of the neck truncations and the configuration of the hair tufts demonstrate the handiwork of multiple individual engravers operating simultaneously within the Lugdunum workshops.

Reverse Iconography

The reverse of the type features a vigorous and muscular bull charging or butting towards the right. The animal is depicted mid-stride with its head lowered, horn thrust forward in an aggressive posture, its right foreleg raised, and its tail lashing back over its rump. Below the groundline, within the exergue, is the inscription IMP X. The dynamic modeling of the bull highlights the high artistic standard of the Lugdunum mint, showcasing anatomically convincing musculature, tension, and movement. Scholars have long debated the precise symbolic origin and intent of the butting bull motif. A longstanding interpretation connects the bull to the ancient Greek coinage of Thurium in southern Italy, noting that Augustus's family, the Octavii, hailed from the nearby town of Velitrae and that his grandfather had family ties to the region, leading to Suetonius's report that Augustus was in his infancy nicknamed 'Thurinus'. A more direct, contemporary explanation views the charging bull as an emblem of raw, unstoppable strength, martial vigor, and legionary power, echoing the emblems of several Roman legions, particularly Legio VI and Legio X. Furthermore, in the context of Gaul, the bull held significant cultural and religious resonance among Celtic populations, making it a compelling, multifunctional visual metaphor that simultaneously communicated Roman military supremacy and resonant regional authority.

Inscriptions and Epigraphy

The legends on RIC 167A are succinct, authoritative, and direct, combining ideological legitimacy with clear chronological documentation. The obverse legend reads AVGVSTVS DIVI F, expanding to Augustus Divi Filius ('Augustus, Son of the Divine [Julius]'). By maintaining the title 'Divi Filius', Augustus asserted his unique status as the adoptive son of the deified Julius Caesar, anchoring his authority in divinely sanctioned heritage while reinforcing his personal sacred designation 'Augustus', granted by the Senate in 27 BC. The reverse inscription, placed horizontally in the exergue below the ground line, reads IMP X. This stands for Imperator Decimum ('Imperator for the tenth time'), denoting Augustus's tenth imperial salutation. In the Roman epigraphic tradition, the title Imperator followed by an ordinal number recorded formal acclamations voted to the commander-in-chief by the Roman army and confirmed by the Senate after major military triumphs. Because acclamations were awarded sequentially upon specific victories, IMP X acts as an essential epigraphic anchor, dating this coinage to the period immediately following the Alpine campaigns of 15 BC and maintaining currency until the eleventh salutation in 12 BC.

Typology and Chronological Classification

Within modern numismatic classification, RIC 167A occupies a specific position in the second edition of Roman Imperial Coinage Volume I, edited by C. H. V. Sutherland in 1984. Sutherland refined the chronology established by Harold Mattingly in BMCRE, reorganizing the early Lugdunum issues around imperial salutations. The type is closely linked to RIC 167B, which features the butting bull charging to the left rather than to the right, and RIC 166A, where the emperor wears a laurel wreath on the obverse. Together with corresponding aurei (such as RIC 165A and 166A) and fractional quinarii, these coins form the core of the first major Lugdunum precious-metal emission. Chronologically, Augustus received his tenth imperial acclamation in the late summer or autumn of 15 BC following the subjugation of the Raeti and Vindelici by his stepsons Tiberius and Nero Claudius Drusus. Production of the IMP X series began immediately thereafter and continued through 14 BC and into 13 BC, at which point Augustus's eleventh salutation (IMP XI) was decreed following further pacification efforts in the Illyrian and Balkan theaters. The IMP X bull types therefore constitute a tightly bounded chronological horizon that allows archaeologists and numismatists to establish a firm terminus post quem for archaeological contexts in which they appear.

Circulation, Hoards, and Archaeological Context

The denarii of type RIC 167A experienced extensive and long-lasting circulation throughout the Roman world, particularly in the western and northern frontier provinces. Because they were struck in large quantities to satisfy military pay in the Germanies and Gaul, these coins are frequently encountered in military camp excavations along the Rhine limes, such as Dangstetten, Oberaden, Haltern, and Neuss, as well as in auxiliary posts across Raetia and Noricum. Due to their high silver purity and Augustus's standardized weight standard, specimens of this type circulated for decades after their initial release. They frequently appear in mid-first-century AD hoards deposited during the reigns of Claudius and Nero, and worn examples are found in deposits as late as the Flavian era. The high survival rate in both single-find contexts and major coin hoards across Gaul, Britain, and the German frontier reflects the substantial volume of the original strike and the enduring commercial reliability of the early Lugdunum denarius.

References

1. Catalogue des monnaies de l'Empire romain, I: Auguste. nos. 1373-1378
2. Coins of the Roman Empire in the British Museum, Vol. I: Augustus to Vitellius. pp. 78-79, nos. 450-456
3. Online Coins of the Roman Empire: RIC I (second edition) Augustus 167A. Type ric.1(2).aug.167A
4. The Roman Imperial Coinage, Vol. I: From 31 BC to AD 69 (Revised Edition). pp. 52-54, no. 167A