Augustus Silver Denarius, RIC I (second edition) Augustus 37B

Monetary Context and Imperial Authority

The monetary system of the early Roman Empire underwent profound institutional transformation under Augustus following the constitutional settlements of 27 BC and 23 BC. Prior to the stabilization of a centralized imperial currency system in the mid-to-late teens BC, silver denarius production was frequently decentralized to sustain military commands and administrative reorganizations in the provinces. In the western provinces, particularly the Iberian peninsula, the protracted Cantabrian campaigns demanded substantial fiscal expenditure, prompting the establishment or authorization of dedicated imperial mints in Hispania Tarraconensis and Baetica. RIC I (second edition) Augustus 37B was minted in this context of regional stabilization between 19 BC and 18 BC. Unlike earlier triumviral and civil-war issues that emphasized individual factional commanders, Augustan provincial denarii introduced standardized ideological messaging that affirmed both Augustus's personal authority and the restored public order. Denarii struck under this authority adhered to the classical Roman weight standard of roughly 3.8 to 3.9 grams of high-purity silver, aligning with the standard currency tariff of four sestertii or sixteen asses. Through types like RIC 37B, the newly established Principate reinforced ideological cohesion across the western provinces by pairing fiscal liquidity with iconography asserting imperial patronage and divine legitimacy.

Production Standards and Mint Attribution

RIC I (second edition) Augustus 37B is formally assigned to the mint of Caesaraugusta, situated at modern Zaragoza in northeast Spain. In earlier numismatic scholarship, including the first edition of Roman Imperial Coinage and Harold Mattingly's arrangement in the British Museum catalogue, several Spanish denarii featuring anepigraphic reverses or celestial iconography were assigned to provisional mint categories such as Mint I, Mint II, or Colonia Patricia. In the revised second edition of RIC Volume I (1984), C. H. V. Sutherland established a refined classification based on stylistic grouping, epigraphic nuances, and regional hoard distribution, attributing this specific series to Caesaraugusta. Striking at Caesaraugusta during the 19 to 18 BC period is characterized by well-modeled portraiture showing distinct provincial treatment, typically featuring sharp die-cutting, compact lettering, and consistent axial alignment. Silver blanks were carefully weighed to maintain standard imperial fineness, though slight variations in flan thickness and centering are common across surviving specimens. Sutherland separated the series into discrete catalog numbers based on portrait orientation and decorative attributes, classifying the left-facing oak-wreathed variety as RIC 37B.

Obverse Iconography and Civic Ideology

The obverse of RIC 37B portrays the head of Augustus turned toward the left, crowned with a wreath of oak leaves known as the corona civica. The choice of a left-facing orientation is a deliberate typological variant from the companion issue RIC 37A, which features the identical head facing right. In early Augustan numismatics, alternating portrait orientations between paired catalogue numbers was a standard workshop practice that may have served administrative or die-tracking purposes. The corona civica was voted to Augustus by the Senate in January 27 BC to commemorate his role in ending the civil wars and preserving Roman citizens (ob cives servatos). Historically conferred only upon a soldier who had directly saved a fellow citizen in battle, the award was monumentalized when the Senate hung the oak wreath above the portal of Augustus's Palatine residence. On RIC 37B, the foliage is delineated with prominent acorns and lobed leaves, framing an idealized, youthful portrait that eschews the hyper-realistic verism of Late Republican portraiture. By displaying the civic wreath rather than a monarchical diadem or laurel crown, the portrait carefully communicates magistrate moderation and republican restoration while securing paramount personal prestige.

Reverse Iconography: The Sidus Iulium

The reverse design of RIC 37B is dominated by the sidus Iulium, the Julian comet that appeared in July 44 BC during the funeral games held by Octavian in honor of the assassinated Julius Caesar. Regarded in popular and political religion as physical proof of Caesar's catasterism and reception into the pantheon of gods, the celestial phenomenon became a core element of Augustan theological propaganda. The comet is depicted on the coin as an eight-rayed star, with a long, undulating tail pointing upward toward the top rim of the flan. The execution of the tail varies slightly between individual dies, appearing either as a straight plume or as a gently curved flame. Unlike some later issues from the Rome mint that depict the comet behind the head of a youth or atop a statue, the Caesaraugusta reverse presents the celestial body in isolated, monumental scale across the center of the flan. Flanking the stellar body is the inscription naming Divus Iulius, completing a visual composition that links Augustus's civic virtues directly to his position as divi filius, the son of a deified father.

Epigraphy and Titular Legends

The inscriptions on RIC 37B are concise and typify the restrained epigraphic style of early Augustan provincial issues. The obverse legend reads CAESAR AVGVSTVS, curving along the outer margins of the field. This pairing combines the dynastic family name Caesar with the sacrosanct honorific title Augustus conferred by the Senate in 27 BC. The omission of traditional republican offices, such as consulships, tribunician dates, or the office of pontifex maximus, creates a timeless titular statement that was immediately recognizable across linguistic and geographic divides within the empire. On the reverse, the legend DIVVS IVLIVS is inscribed across the field, usually arranged with DIVVS positioned to the left of the comet and IVLIVS to the right, though die cutters occasionally adapted the placement to fit the flare of the rays. The lettering at the Caesaraugusta workshop is characterized by serifs, balanced letter-spacing, and neat proportions, reflecting the high standard of die engraving maintained in the Spanish imperial workshops during this period.

Typology and Chronological Classification

Within the chronological scheme of early imperial coinage, RIC I (second edition) Augustus 37B is firmly set between 19 BC and 18 BC, during the closing years of Augustus's extended military and administrative reorganizations in the West. It forms a typological dyad with RIC 37A, which shares the identical weight standard, mint attribution, legends, and designs, differing solely in the right-facing direction of the obverse portrait. The Caesaraugusta series also includes related denarii featuring an unwreathed portrait of Augustus paired with the comet, as well as companion issues showing reverse motifs such as shields (clipeus virtutis), laurel trees, and triumphal chariots. Sutherland grouped these issues chronologically to coincide with the return of Augustus to Rome from the East in 19 BC, when the settlement with Parthia and the recovered legionary standards generated a nationwide resurgence of dynastic celebration. Similar comet reverse designs were struck shortly thereafter at the mint of Rome by the monetary magistrate M. Sanquinius around 17 BC in conjunction with the celebration of the Saecular Games (Ludi Saeculares), demonstrating the broad adoption and lasting utility of the celestial motif across imperial mints.

Circulation Patterns and Archaeological Evidence

Denarii of the Spanish Augustan series, including RIC 37B, circulated extensively throughout the western provinces of the Roman Empire. Initially struck to satisfy administrative commitments, military remuneration, and veterans' settlement costs following the Cantabrian Wars, these silver pieces were rapidly integrated into commercial networks across Hispania, Gaul, and the Rhine frontier. Hoard evidence recorded throughout the Iberian peninsula and the northern frontier zones demonstrates that Spanish denarii of Augustus circulated alongside late Republican silver for several decades. Because early imperial denarii maintained high silver fineness, they remained in active circulation through the Julio-Claudian era until the monetary reforms of Nero in AD 64 gradually caused their withdrawal or replacement due to Gresham's law. Surviving examples frequently exhibit honest circulation wear, test cuts, or bankers' punch marks, attesting to their prolonged function in daily commerce and bullion verification across the western provinces.

References

1. Coins of the Roman Empire in the British Museum, Volume I: Augustus to Vitellius. pp. 59-62
2. Catalogue des monnaies de l'Empire romain, I: Auguste. nos. 1290-1310
3. Online Coins of the Roman Empire: RIC I (second edition) Augustus 37B. ric.1(2).aug.37B
4. The Roman Imperial Coinage, Volume I: From 31 BC to AD 69 (Revised Edition). pp. 44-46, no. 37B
5. The Power of Images in the Age of Augustus. pp. 33-37