Augustus Denarius, RIC I (second edition) Augustus 40B

Monetary Context and the Augustan Settlement

The introduction of the silver denarius catalogued as RIC I (second edition) Augustus 40B took place during a critical transformative juncture in Roman monetary history. Following the conclusion of the civil wars at Actium in 31 BC and the constitutional settlement of 27 BC, Augustus sought to regularize a fragmented currency system inherited from decades of triumviral and late Republican disruptions. Although the senate in Rome re-established a regular bronze and brass coinage around 19 BC, silver and gold coinages were initially minted predominantly outside the capital. The military operations in northwestern Hispania, culminating in the Cantabrian Wars under Augustus and his general Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa, created an enormous fiscal demand for high-value silver coinage to pay legions, establish veteran settlements, and integrate the newly pacified provincial economies. The Spanish issues of circa 19 to 18 BC filled this immediate void, providing high-purity silver denarii that circulated alongside older Republican denarii while establishing the primary visual iconography of the principate across the western Roman world.

Production Standards and Mint Attribution

The workshop responsible for RIC I (second edition) Augustus 40B was identified by C. H. V. Sutherland in the revised 1984 edition of Roman Imperial Coinage as Caesaraugusta, modern Zaragoza in the Ebro valley of northeastern Spain. Earlier numismatists, including Harold Mattingly in the initial 1923 edition, had grouped these Spanish coinages under broader regional headings such as 'Uncertain Spanish Mint' or debated between Colonia Patricia (Corduba) and Caesaraugusta. Sutherland distinguished the Caesaraugusta series through idiosyncratic stylistic treatments of the imperial portrait, including linear hair locks, sharp facial profiles, and distinct die-axis patterns that tend toward six o'clock or twelve o'clock alignments. The technical production adhered strictly to the restored denarius standard of the early principate, with planchets struck at an average theoretical weight of approximately 3.85 grams of high-grade silver, though individual surviving specimens exhibit normal mint tolerances between roughly 3.50 and 4.00 grams. Metallurgical analyses of contemporary Hispanic denarii confirm an exceptionally high silver fineness, frequently exceeding ninety-five percent purity, designed to inspire absolute fiscal confidence.

Obverse Iconography and Portraiture

The obverse of RIC 40B features a bare head of Augustus oriented to the left, rendered in a classical, idealized manner that became the hallmark of Augustan artistic patronage following the adoption of the imperial title in 27 BC. Unlike later Roman coinages that frequently depict the emperor wearing a laurel wreath, radiate crown, or military cuirass, this Hispanic series portrays Augustus without regal or triumphal headgear, emphasizing his status as civil princeps and primus inter pares. The left-facing bust is notably less common within the Caesaraugusta emission than the corresponding right-facing portrait classified as RIC 40A. Engravers at Caesaraugusta captured the princeps with crisp, clean contours, an elongated profile, and neat layers of hair terminating in small, controlled curls around the forehead and temples. The orientation toward the left creates an uncluttered field that emphasizes the dignified restraint of the portrait, visually balancing the surrounding epigraphic formula.

Reverse Typology and the Civic Crown

The reverse design of this denarius is entirely occupied by the corona civica, an oak wreath composed of two bound branches of Quercus leaves tied with a ribbon at the bottom, surrounding the central dedication OB CIVIS SERVATOS. In Republican tradition, the civic crown was one of the most prestigious military decorations, granted to an individual soldier who had saved the life of a Roman citizen in battle. In January of 27 BC, the Roman Senate voted that an oak wreath be suspended permanently above the entrance of Augustus's house on the Palatine Hill, signifying that the emperor had saved the entire body of Roman citizens from the catastrophic devastation of prolonged civil war. By transforming an extraordinary military accolade into a permanent imperial badge of civic benefaction, Augustus established a template for imperial visual ideology. The Caesaraugusta die engravers rendered the oak leaves with naturalistic veins and acorns, enclosing the three-line inscription neatly within the interior of the wreath.

Epigraphy and Legend Structure

The legends of RIC 40B are distinguished by their classical simplicity, austerity, and absence of extensive consular or tribunician dating formulae. The obverse legend reads CAESAR AVGVSTVS, distributed symmetrically along the peripheral field. The name CAESAR asserts the princeps's adoptive descent from Julius Caesar and ties to the divine lineage, while AVGVSTVS conveys the august, sacred dignity conferred by the Senate in 27 BC. The reverse legend, inscribed in horizontal lines framed within the oak wreath, reads OB CIVIS SERVATOS, an archaic or alternative accusative plural form of 'ob cives servatos', translating to 'for having saved the citizens'. The use of CIVIS instead of CIVES represents a standard linguistic variant well attested in Augustan monumental epigraphy and Republican literary Latin. The lettering is typically executed in neat, square Roman capitals with well-defined serifs, reflecting skilled provincial craftsmanship working under centralized imperial stylistic oversight.

Typological Sequences and Relative Chronology

RIC I (second edition) Augustus 40B forms part of a cohesive typological group struck alongside related issues bearing reverse motifs honoring Augustus's military and diplomatic achievements. These concurrent Caesaraugustan designs include the round shield inscribed CL V (clipeus virtutis), a triumphal quadriga, and military trophies celebrating victories in the western provinces. Within this structure, RIC 40A represents the right-facing obverse portrait counterpart, while RIC 40B designates the left-facing variety. A closely related variant, catalogued as RIC 41, presents the same reverse theme with subtle variations in legend arrangement or head adornments, such as an oak wreath or laurel branch on the obverse. Modern numismatic consensus places this entire production span between 19 BC and 18 BC, aligning with the demobilization and administrative organization following the final pacification of the northern Hispanic tribes. The emission ceased when imperial silver striking shifted toward central mint operations at Lugdunum (modern Lyon) and Rome.

Circulation Patterns and Archaeological Evidence

Silver denarii of the Caesaraugusta emission entered broad circulation across the western provinces of the Roman Empire, heavily concentrated in the Iberian Peninsula, Gaul, and the northern military zones along the Rhine frontier. Hoard evidence demonstrates that these coins circulated extensively alongside late Republican issues, triumviral denarii of Mark Antony, and later Julio-Claudian issues. Because the Augustan silver standard remained exceptionally pure and consistent, denarii of the RIC 40B type enjoyed prolonged circulation lives, appearing in deposits dated as late as the Flavian era and the reign of Trajan. In Hispania itself, the circulation of this issue helped establish a uniform monetary economy, gradually replacing regional bronze coinages and older Iberian-standard silver issues. Surviving specimens recovered from European coin hoards often exhibit significant wear, confirming that the type was not retained purely as a donative or prestige piece but functioned as an active everyday medium of trade, tax payment, and military remuneration.

References

1. Roman Provincial Coinage, Volume I. Introduction to the Coinage of Hispania, pp. 63-71
2. Catalogue des monnaies de l'empire romain, I: Auguste. Bibliotheque nationale de France, pp. 180-184
3. RIC I (second edition) Augustus 40B. ric.1(2).aug.40B
4. The Roman Imperial Coinage, Volume I: From 31 BC to AD 69. pp. 44-45, no. 40B
5. Roman Coins and Their Values, Volume I. Augustus, denarii of Spanish mints, pp. 280-285
6. The Roman Imperial Coinage: Revised Edition, Volume I. General Introduction to the Spanish Mints, pp. 24-28